At a glance
XLF charges 0.08% a year, below the 0.28% average of the 8 funds most like it (the cheapest of 9). It has $51.35B in assets, the largest of that group; it paid 1.47% of its price in distributions over the past 12 months, quarterly. Over the past year it returned +9.9% with distributions reinvested (S&P 500: +11.5%), 4th of those 9 funds; over three years it returned +22.7% a year. At its worst it fell 25.8% in the 2022 bear market (S&P 500: 24.5%), and was back at its earlier high 16 months after the low. Its ten largest positions make up 57.6% of the fund, out of 76 in all.
The short version
Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF), from State Street, tracks the Financial Select Sector Index: the S&P 500's financial companies, from banks and insurers to Visa and Mastercard. Its 0.08% expense ratio (annual fee) undercuts all eight similar funds compared here, which average 0.28%. As of June 30, 2026, it had $51.4 billion in net assets, far more than any of them, with Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase alone making up about 24% of the portfolio.
Price history
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XLF +9.9% over the year to Oct 30, 2026, total return with distributions reinvested.
How it has behaved
| YTD | 1 yr | 3 yr | 5 yr | 10 yr | Since start | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XLF official prospectus, to Dec 31, 2025 | — | +14.92% | — | +15.15% | +13.05% | — |
| XLF price data to Oct 30, 2026 | +4.4% | +9.9% | +22.7% | +8.9% | — | +16.5% |
- Over the year to Oct 30, 2026, XLF returned +9.9%, 4th of 9 among similar funds.
- Its 5-year annualized return was +8.9%.
- Its worst full calendar year was 2022 (-10.6%); its best was 2021 (+34.8%).
- The deepest fall in its price history was 25.8% (Jan 12, 2022 to Oct 12, 2022), recovered by Feb 22, 2024.
Show as a table
| Year | Price data | Prospectus (official) |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | +4.4% | — |
| 2025 | +14.9% | +14.92% |
| 2024 | +30.6% | +30.42% |
| 2023 | +12.0% | +12.05% |
| 2022 | -10.6% | -10.56% |
| 2021 | +34.8% | +34.77% |
| 2020 | — | -1.83% |
| 2019 | — | +31.90% |
| 2018 | — | -13.09% |
| 2017 | — | +22.04% |
| 2016 | — | +22.69% |
| 2008 financial crisis stocks fell Oct 9, 2007 – Mar 9, 2009 | Not in the price data, which starts Jun 2, 2020 |
|---|---|
| 2020 COVID crash stocks fell Feb 19, 2020 – Mar 23, 2020 | Not in the price data, which starts Jun 2, 2020 |
| 2022 bear market stocks fell Jan 3, 2022 – Oct 12, 2022 | Lost 22.3% over that stretch · deepest drop along the way 25.8%, back to its old high 16.4 months after the low |
Dividends and income
Show as a table
| Year | Per share | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 (to date) | $0.6400 | |
| 2025 | $0.7200 | +4.3% |
| 2024 | $0.6900 | +7.8% |
| 2023 | $0.6400 | -7.2% |
| 2022 | $0.6900 | +9.5% |
| 2021 | $0.6300 |
What's inside
As of Jun 30, 2026, the fund held 76 securities; the ten largest made up 57.57% of assets.
| Holding | Weight | |
|---|---|---|
| Berkshire Hathaway Inc | 12.08% | |
| JPMorgan Chase & Co | 11.55% | |
| Visa Inc | 7.50% | |
| Mastercard Inc | 5.46% | |
| Bank of America Corp | 4.90% | |
| Goldman Sachs Group Inc | 3.93% | |
| Wells Fargo & Co | 3.33% | |
| Morgan Stanley | 3.30% | |
| Citigroup Inc | 3.14% | |
| American Express Co | 2.37% | |
| Charles Schwab Corp | 1.99% | |
| Blackrock Inc | 1.83% | |
| Progressive Corp | 1.68% | |
| Capital One Financial Corp | 1.64% | |
| S&P Global Inc | 1.63% |
By country
United States 96.17%Switzerland 1.62%Ireland 1.26%Bermuda 0.79%By asset type
Stocks 99.83%By sector
Sectors of the companies held, for the 91.3% of the fund in companies that have a stock page here; other holdings and cash aren't classified. Source: N-PORT holdings report as of Jun 30, 2026. Cash, money-market funds and derivatives are shown separately from the securities list.What changed recently
- Over the three months to Jun 30, 2026, investors withdrew a net $490.6M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
- Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +5.55%, -1.07%, +4.36%.
How it works
XLF is an index fund: it aims to match, before expenses, the Financial Select Sector Index rather than pick stocks. S&P Dow Jones Indices builds that index from S&P 500 members classed as financials under the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS), a common system for sorting companies by industry. That covers banks, insurers, capital markets firms, consumer lenders, financial services firms and mortgage real estate investment trusts (REITs). The index had 75 stocks as of November 30, 2025.
Weights follow market capitalization, a company's total stock market value, with one modification: S&P can trim oversized positions so the fund meets diversification rules in the federal tax code. Even so, the fund is classed as "non-diversified," so a few stocks can sway it heavily. As of June 30, 2026, Berkshire Hathaway was 12.1% of assets, JPMorgan Chase 11.6%, Visa 7.5% and Mastercard 5.5%; the top 10 holdings made up 57.6%.
SSGA Funds Management, State Street's adviser, uses replication: it holds substantially all the index stocks in roughly index proportions, with at least 95% of assets in them. The rest can sit in cash or money market funds; cash was 0.25% as of June 30, 2026. Portfolio turnover, a gauge of trading, was just 6%. The prospectus filed January 28, 2026 calls the fund State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF.
What it really costs
- XLF charges 0.08% a year, versus an average of 0.28% for the similar funds below (1st of 9, cheapest first).
- Of that, 0.03% is the management fee; the rest covers other fund expenses.
- Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $8 in the first year and $103 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).
| Cost of $10,000 (SEC example) | 1 yr | 3 yrs | 5 yrs | 10 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| XLF | $8 | $26 | $45 | $103 |
In a retirement portfolio
XLF holds a single sector, with about 24% of assets in two companies as of June 30, 2026, so it tends to sit beside a broad core rather than serve as one.
XLF adds a focused bet on US financial firms but can swing hard. From 2016 through 2025, its worst calendar year was 2018, at -13.09%, and its worst quarter was January through March 2020, a 31.94% drop, though it finished 2020 down only 1.83%. In 2022 it fell 25.8% between January 12 and October 12, then took about 16 months from that low to regain its peak, on February 22, 2024. Figures for the 2008 financial crisis aren't available here. Cashing out near the October 2022 low to cover spending would have locked in a loss.
Income is modest: a 1.49% yield over the 12 months to October 27, 2026, paid quarterly. Costs are low: 0.08% a year, or $8 in the first year on $10,000 in the SEC's standard example. Past results don't predict the future, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.
Who it may suit — and who should look elsewhere
May suit
- Cost-conscious investors: the 0.08% expense ratio comes to $103 over 10 years on $10,000 in the SEC's standard example.
- Those who want big US banks, Berkshire Hathaway and payment networks Visa and Mastercard in one fund, weighted by company size.
- Patient investors who can ride out drops like the 25.8% fall in 2022, which took about 16 months from the low to recover.
Look elsewhere if
- Investors seeking sizable income: the yield was 1.49% over the 12 months to October 27, 2026, paid quarterly.
- Anyone wanting broad diversification: it holds one sector, and Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase alone were about 24% of assets as of June 30, 2026.
- Retirees who may need to draw on this money in a slump: it lost 31.94% in the first quarter of 2020 alone.
Close alternatives
Matched by holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports.
| Fund | Overlap | Cost | Net assets | 1 yr | 3 yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XLF this fund | — | 0.08% | $51.35B | +9.9% | +22.7% |
| FNCL Fidelity MSCI Financials Index ETF | 86% | 0.084% | $2.38B | +6.5% | +23.6% |
| IYG iShares U.S. Financial Services ETF | 84% | 0.39% | $2.17B | +6.1% | +26.1% |
| VFH Vanguard Financials ETF | 83% | 0.09% | $14.77B | +10.0% | +23.4% |
| IYF iShares U.S. Financials ETF | 79% | 0.39% | $4.43B | +6.7% | +24.4% |
| RSPF Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Financials ETF | 53% | 0.4% | $304.7M | +7.7% | +21.1% |
| IXG iShares Global Financials ETF | 51% | 0.41% | $585.8M | +14.3% | +27.6% |
| KBWB Invesco KBW Bank ETF | 37% | 0.35% | $6.77B | +17.4% | +37.5% |
Questions investors ask
Is XLF good for retirement?
It can play a supporting role, but it isn't built to be a whole retirement portfolio. XLF holds only financial stocks, and it lost 31.94% in the first quarter of 2020. Its yield was 1.49% over the 12 months to October 27, 2026, so it isn't a big income source, though its 0.08% expense ratio is low. Many retirement plans treat sector funds like this as a smaller holding beside broad stock and bond funds.
How often does XLF pay dividends?
XLF pays dividends quarterly. Over the 12 months to October 27, 2026, it paid $0.83 a share, a yield of 1.49%. The money comes from dividends paid by the banks, insurers and other financial companies it holds, minus the fund's 0.08% annual expenses. Payouts can rise or fall from quarter to quarter as those companies change their own dividends, so the amount isn't fixed.
What's the difference between XLF and FNCL?
The differences are small: about 86% of their holdings overlap, and costs are nearly identical at 0.08% a year for XLF versus 0.084% for Fidelity MSCI Financials Index ETF (FNCL). XLF tracks an S&P index limited to S&P 500 members, while FNCL tracks an MSCI index. XLF is much larger: $51.4 billion in net assets as of June 30, 2026, against $2.4 billion for FNCL a month later. One-year returns through October 27, 2026 were 6.4% and 6.5%. Vanguard Financials ETF (VFH), at 0.09%, is another close match.
What are XLF's top holdings?
As of June 30, 2026, XLF's largest holdings were Berkshire Hathaway (12.1%), JPMorgan Chase (11.6%), Visa (7.5%), Mastercard (5.5%) and Bank of America (4.9%). Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and American Express completed the top 10, which together were 57.6% of assets. The fund held 76 holdings in all. That concentration means a rough stretch for one or two giants can move the whole fund.
How has XLF performed over the long term?
XLF returned an average of 13.05% a year over the 10 years through December 31, 2025, and 15.15% a year over the five years through that date, according to its prospectus. The path was bumpy: gains of 34.77% in 2021 and 30.42% in 2024, and losses of 13.09% in 2018 and 10.56% in 2022. Over the 12 months to October 27, 2026, it returned 6.4%. Past results don't predict future ones.