IYM vs XLB: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

iShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF

IYMBNYSE Arca

State Street Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF

XLBANYSE Arca

Overlap

53.4%by weight

Expense ratio

XLB −0.29pt a year

IYM0.37%XLB0.08%

Avg volume · 30D

XLB 56.4×the volume

IYM198KXLB11.1M

10Y return · a year

XLB +0.1pt

IYM+10.6%XLB+10.7%

IYM vs XLB Performance

Oct 29, 2021 – Oct 30, 2026

+46.1%IYM+36.8%XLB

Expense ratio: IYM 0.37%; XLB 0.08%, better
Fund size: IYM $1.28B; XLB $8.3B
1Y total return: IYM +27.6%, better; XLB +25.3%
Yield (12M): IYM 1.28%; XLB 1.64%, better
Holdings: IYM 43; XLB 27
Avg volume (30D): IYM 198K sh; XLB 11.1M sh, better
NAV per share: IYM $179.54; XLB $52.52
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for IYM, XLB, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	IYM	XLB
Cost30% weight	C50	A95Higher
Mission25% weight	Not scored	A83
Risk15% weight	B67	A76Higher
Tradability15% weight	B67	A99Higher
Holdings10% weight	D32	C43Higher
Durability5% weight	A74	A81Higher

Rank among Materials (Broad) funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. IYM and XLB are both graded against the same 14 Materials (Broad) funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

Materials (Broad)⁠

Category · 14 funds

See all 14 ›

XLB ranks 1st and IYM 5th of 14 funds in the Materials (Broad) Category.

Rank 1AXLBState Street Materials Select Sector SPDR ETFScore 84
Rank 2AFMATFidelity MSCI Materials Index ETFScore 70
Rank 4BXMEState Street SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETFScore 62
Rank 5BIYMiShares U.S. Basic Materials ETFScore 55
Rank 6CMXIiShares Global Materials ETFScore 54

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

IYMBiShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF

XLBAState Street Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF

In short

IYM A materials-sector original from June 2000, re-engineered in 2021 around a capped Russell 1000 index: roughly 40 U.S. chemical, metals and mining, and packaging names, with mid caps sitting beside the giants.

XLB The original materials play. A 1998-vintage slice of the S&P 500's chemical, mining, packaging and building-materials names, run at eight basis points and traded in size all day long.

Stated mandate

IYM The fund seeks to track an index composed of U.S. equities in the basic materials sector.

XLB The fund seeks to track, before expenses, the price and yield performance of the Materials Select Sector Index.

Why people hold it

IYM Launched June 2000, it has traded through a quarter century of commodity cycles and is a billion-dollar-plus fund today.blackrock.com
The index caps any single issuer at 22.5%, and all names above 4.5% at 45% combined, reset each quarterly rebalance, so one chemical giant cannot swallow the portfolio.blackrock.com sec.gov
Built from the Russell 1000, so mid caps qualify alongside the mega caps: roughly 40 holdings across metals, chemicals and forestry products. Pays quarterly.sec.gov ishares.com

XLB Charges 0.08% a year against a peer-group median of 0.38%, and nothing in the cohort undercuts it (FMAT matches).
Trading since December 1998 as one of the original Select Sector SPDRs, with a multi-billion-dollar asset base behind it.sec.gov
Very actively traded for a sector fund, which is the whole point if you use it for tactical tilts rather than buy-and-forget.
Clean mandate: chemicals, metals and mining, paper and forest products, containers and packaging, construction materials. No thematic drift.ssga.com

Worth knowing

IYM At 0.37% with no waiver, the fee lands near the category median, but XLB (0.08%), FMAT (0.084%) and VAW (0.09%) cover the same sector for a sliver of that.
Materials is a cyclical corner: results track commodity prices and global industrial demand, and with roughly 40 names, single-stock news lands hard.ishares.com
Trading is moderate rather than heavy for the category, so spreads and order type matter more than with the most heavily traded sector funds.

XLB Around 26 stocks, and index rules let one name reach 25% at a quarter-end measurement. A couple of chemical giants carry outsized weight.sec.gov
The universe is the S&P 500 only. Smaller miners and specialty producers sit outside the net, which is the water VAW and XME fish in.ssga.com
One sector, tied to commodity prices and building demand, so it can travel a very different path from the broad market. Distributions come quarterly.ssga.com

Full IYM profile⁠

Full XLB profile⁠

IYM vs XLB Holdings

How IYM and XLB differ

Overlap by weight

53.4%

Shared holdings make up 70.2% of IYM and 60.1% of XLB.

Level by level

Holdings14 in both53.4%
Sector3 Sectors85.7%
Countryby domicile93.3%
Asset classEquity100%

Sector

Sector weights in IYM and XLB, widest gap first
Sector	More in IYMMore in XLB	IYM	XLB
Consumer Discretionary	XLB +14.4 points	3.2%	17.6%
Industrials	IYM +10.9 points	10.9%	0.0%
Materials	IYM +3.5 points	85.8%	82.4%

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in IYM and XLB, widest gap first
Country	More in IYMMore in XLB	IYM	XLB
United States	IYM +6.5 points	99.8%	93.3%
Ireland	XLB +3.4 points	0.0%	3.4%
United Kingdom	XLB +3.3 points	0.0%	3.3%
Canada	IYM +0.2 points	0.2%	0.0%

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

IYM68.8%
XLB58.6%

Securities held

IYM40
XLB25

Asset class

IYM: Equity
XLB: Equity

Holdings

Only in IYM26
In both14
Only in XLB11

Only in IYM

26 securities, 29.7% of IYM by weight

Fastenal4.54%
Anglogold Ashanti PLC3.09%
Reliance Steel & Aluminum2.32%
Royal Gold2.02%
Southern Copper Corp1.72%
Rbc Bearings1.50%
Carpenter Technology1.42%
Coeur Mining1.40%
Mueller Industries Inc1.23%
Alcoa Corp1.08%
Solstice Advanced Materials Inc1.00%
Hecla Mining0.89%
Cleveland Cliffs Inc0.84%
Corteva0.82%
Element Solutions Inc0.82%
Eastman Chemical0.79%
Timken0.74%
Hexcel0.61%
Mp Materials Class A0.59%
Celanese Corp0.56%
Newmarket0.50%
Scotts Miracle Gro0.29%
Aura Minerals Inc0.28%
Westlake Corp0.23%
Olin Corp0.21%
Almonty Industries0.20%

Only in XLB

11 securities, 39.7% of XLB by weight

Vulcan Materials Co5.15%
Martin Marietta Materials4.84%
Sherwin Williams Co/The4.73%
Crh PLC4.66%
Ppg Industries Inc4.02%
Dow Inc3.66%
Packaging Corp of America3.40%
Smurfit Westrock PLC3.36%
Amcor PLC3.28%
Ball Corp2.57%
Xab Materials DEC26<0.01%

Weight gaps

All 14 Holdings in both funds, largest gap first.

Holding weights in IYM and XLB, widest gap first
Holding	More in IYMMore in XLB	IYM	XLB
Linde PLCLIN	IYM +8.40 points	21.05%	12.65%
NewmontNEM	IYM +3.60 points	10.02%	6.42%
Freeport Mcmoran IncFCX	IYM +2.82 points	8.00%	5.18%
EcolabECL	IYM +1.72 points	6.80%	5.08%
Steel Dynamics IncSTLD	XLB +1.63 points	3.21%	4.84%
International Flavors & FragrancesIFF	XLB +1.01 points	2.48%	3.49%
International PaperIP	XLB +0.89 points	1.99%	2.88%
Cf Industries Holdings IncCF	XLB +0.72 points	1.97%	2.69%
Lyondellbasell Industries Class ALYB	XLB +0.70 points	1.85%	2.55%
Avery Dennison CorpAVY	XLB +0.63 points	1.45%	2.08%
Albemarle CorpALB	XLB +0.54 points	1.12%	1.66%
NucorNUE	XLB +0.32 points	4.58%	4.90%
MosaicMOS	XLB +0.26 points	0.61%	0.87%
Air Products and ChemicalsAPD	IYM +0.19 points	5.04%	4.85%

All 40 IYM holdings⁠All 24 XLB holdings⁠

How we measure overlap

Each holding counts at its smaller weight in the two funds, summed over the full Holdings. Sector, country and asset class use the same rule on each fund’s split. Cash, FX and derivative lines stay out of the counts. Two bond funds get no overlap figure.

IYM vs XLB Cost

Overpaying IYM vs XLB

$5,824

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

IYM 0.37%
$7,513
XLB 0.08%
$1,689

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

IYM 0.37%
XLB 0.08%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	IYM	XLB	Overpaying
10	$670	$147	$523
20	$2,590	$575	$2,015
30	$7,513	$1,689	$5,824

Expense ratio

0.37%IYM
0.08%XLB, cheaper

XLB0.08%IYM0.37%

0.08%0.99%

Middle half of Materials (Broad) funds
Median 0.37%

XLB cheapest of 14 funds

IYM 7th cheapest of 14 funds

IYM vs XLB Dividends

Last 12 months to Oct 30, 2026

Yield (12M): IYM 1.28%; XLB 1.64%, better
Payout (12M): IYM $2.30; XLB $0.86
Last payment: IYM $0.59; XLB $0.23
Ex-dividend: IYM Sep 15, 2026; XLB Sep 21, 2026
Paid on: IYM Sep 18, 2026; XLB Sep 23, 2026
Frequency: IYM Quarterly; XLB Quarterly

Distribution history

Per share, 2017 to 2026, same scale for both

IYMQuarterly · 39 paymentsAll IYM payments⁠

XLBQuarterly · 39 paymentsAll XLB payments⁠

IYM vs XLB Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: IYM 17.7%XLB 16.6%, better
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: IYM 0.65, betterXLB 0.59
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: IYM −29.9%XLB −24.7%, better
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: IYM 0.88XLB 0.82; Market = 1

IYM and XLB in the news

All news⁠

Sector Pulse
Caterpillar and Deere fell as industrials dropped 2.2%
Oct 7, 2026XLB
Sector Pulse
Materials led the sectors, pulled by Vylor and two steelmakers
Oct 5, 2026XLB
Sector Pulse
Utilities rose 1.2% as the 30-year yield touched its highest since 2002
Sep 29, 2026XLB
Sector Pulse
The S&P 500 slipped 0.07% as utilities closed at a 52-week low
Sep 24, 2026XLB
Sector Pulse
Real estate falls 2.3% as the 10-year yield closes at 5.11%
Sep 23, 2026XLB
Opening Bell
U.S. oil fund down 11% in five sessions, WTI at $89.89
Sep 23, 2026XLB

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IYM vs XLB

In short

Stated mandate

Why people hold it