QLV vs XSLV

QLVANorthern Trust US Quality Low Volatility ETF

XSLVCInvesco S&P SmallCap Low Volatility ETF

In short

QLV Low vol with a quality gate: the index cuts the weakest-scoring fifth of US large and mid caps, then optimizes what's left for calm. Fee is 0.08% net of a waiver through March 1, 2027.

XSLV Low volatility is mostly a large-cap trade. XSLV runs the same screen down in the small-cap weeds, holding about 120 of the calmest names in the S&P SmallCap 600 and giving the steadiest ones the biggest slots.

Stated mandate

QLV The fund seeks to track the Northern Trust Quality Low Volatility Index and provide exposure to U.S. companies selected for lower overall volatility and quality characteristics.

XSLV The fund seeks to provide US small-cap equity exposure while emphasizing stocks with comparatively low realized volatility. It tracks the S&P SmallCap 600 Low Volatility Index and is intended to offer potential upside participation with risk mitigation.

Why people hold it

• QLV The quality screen is the point: stocks are ranked on profitability, management efficiency and cash flow, and the bottom fifth is cut before the volatility work starts.sec.gov
• 0.08% net of a waiver through March 1, 2027: below the category median, and under USMV at 0.15% and LGLV at 0.12%.
• Sector, industry and single-stock limits inside the optimization push back on the utilities-and-staples pileup typical of low vol. Roughly 120 holdings.sec.gov
• Sits in the top quartile of its US low volatility peer group, and pays quarterly.

• XSLV A rare small-cap version of a large-cap idea: the rest of the low-vol shelf (USMV, LGLV, QLV, FDLO) screens big companies. This one works the S&P SmallCap 600.
• The rulebook is simple and public: rank the 600 on the past year's price swings, keep the roughly 120 calmest, weight by the inverse of that volatility, re-sort quarterly.invesco.comspglobal.com
• Live since 2013, so the strategy carries a real record through multiple small-cap drawdowns rather than a backtest. Pays quarterly.

Worth knowing

• QLV One of the less-traded funds in the category, so the bid-ask spread can matter more at the point of trade than the expense ratio.
• Assets stay modest next to the category's multi-billion-dollar incumbents.
• Low volatility here is relative, not absolute: the aim is calmer than the Northern Trust 1250 parent index, not shelter from a broad selloff.sec.gov

• XSLV 0.25% a year sits above the typical low-vol ETF, and large-cap rivals undercut it (QLV 0.09%, LGLV 0.12%). You pay up for the small-cap slice.
• A smaller, lightly traded fund next to the household-name low-vol ETFs, so spreads can be wider. Limit orders earn their keep here.
• The screen looks only at past price swings, not business quality or sector balance, so the sector mix can sit a long way from a plain small-cap index. Calmer small caps are still small caps.invesco.com

Full QLV profile⁠

Full XSLV profile⁠