SPHQ vs XSHQ

SPHQAInvesco S&P 500 Quality ETF

XSHQBInvesco S&P SmallCap Quality ETF

In short

SPHQ Live since 2005, SPHQ is an elder statesman of quality investing: rank the S&P 500 on profitability, earnings quality and balance-sheet strength, hold the top 100, charge 0.15% net of a waiver through August 31, 2028.

XSHQ Most quality ETFs shop the S&P 500. XSHQ works the small-cap aisle: start with an index that already requires positive earnings, then keep the roughly 120 names scoring best on profits, accruals and leverage.

Stated mandate

SPHQ The fund seeks exposure to the S&P 500 Quality Index and normally invests at least 90% of assets in common stocks included in that index.

XSHQ The Fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the S&P SmallCap 600 Quality Index.

Why people hold it

• SPHQ 0.15% net of a waiver through August 31, 2028 (0.20% gross), below the median for quality factor funds and level with QUAL and FQAL at 0.15%.
• The rules are published and mechanical: score the S&P 500 on return on equity, accruals ratio and financial leverage ratio, take the top 100, weight by quality score times market cap.spglobal.com
• Universe discipline: candidates come only from the S&P 500, so every holding is an established large cap rather than a smaller name screened in from a broader pool.spglobal.com
• A multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively, pays quarterly, and has run since 2005. It sits in the stronger tier of quality factor ETFs.

• XSHQ Quality is a formula, not a vibe: names ranked on return on equity, accruals ratio and financial leverage, weighted by score times market cap, reset each June and December.invesco.comspglobal.com
• The starting pool is already picky: S&P 600 membership requires positive earnings in the latest quarter and across the trailing four, so chronic money-losers never reach the screen.sec.gov
• Live since 2017, and no other fund in its quality-factor peer group tracks this index. It is the small-cap specialist in a lineup built around blue chips.
• Holdings line up closely with what the label promises, and the fund sits in the upper half of its quality-factor peer group. It pays quarterly.

Worth knowing

• SPHQ About 100 stocks, weighted by quality score times market cap, so the biggest high-scorers carry real weight. Narrower than owning the full S&P 500.spglobal.com
• The index rebalances semiannually, so a company whose fundamentals slip mid-period stays in the portfolio until the next reshuffle.spglobal.com
• Two peers undercut it on fee: JQUA at 0.12% and VFQY at 0.13%.

• XSHQ At 0.29% it runs about double the big large-cap quality funds (JQUA 0.12%, QUAL 0.15%), though that is right at the median for the wider quality group.
• Trades thinly next to the large-cap quality names, so spreads can widen at the open and close.
• Small caps swing harder than blue chips, and the screen narrows to about 120 names, so one company's stumble carries more weight.

Full SPHQ profile⁠

Full XSHQ profile⁠