ETF Versus

XLRE vs XLU

State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF vs State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF

Last updated: 2026-04-10

XLRE SPDR

State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) is an exchange-traded fund issued by SPDR that provides exposure to us sector - real estate securities. It charges a low expense ratio of 0.08%. The fund offers an attractive dividend yield of 3.27%. Launched in 2015, the fund has a 11-year track record.

AUM: $7.5B ER: 0.08% Yield: 3.27% Since: Oct 7, 2015
XLU SPDR

State Street Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLU) is an exchange-traded fund issued by SPDR that provides exposure to us sector - utilities securities. It charges a low expense ratio of 0.08%. The fund offers an attractive dividend yield of 2.51%. Launched in 1998, the fund has a 28-year track record.

AUM: $25.1B ER: 0.08% Yield: 2.51% Since: Dec 16, 1998

Quick Verdict

Over the past year, XLU has significantly outperformed with a 25.8% return vs 11.5%. Income investors may prefer XLRE for its higher yield (3.3% vs 2.5%).

Key Metrics

Metric XLRE XLU
Expense Ratio 0.08% 0.08%
Dividend Yield 3.3% 2.5%
Fund Family SPDR SPDR
Category US Sector - Real Estate US Sector - Utilities

Performance Chart

Indexed to 100 at start (5-year comparison)

75 90 105 120 135 150 2021-04 2022-07 2023-10 2025-01 2026-04
XLRE +5.4%
XLU +46.2%

Performance Comparison

Period XLRE XLU Difference
1 Month +0.90% +2.70% -1.80%
3 Months +5.34% +11.36% -6.02%
6 Months +4.60% +4.33% +0.27%
YTD +5.97% +9.81% -3.84%
1 Year +11.49% +25.77% -14.28%
3 Years +14.20% +36.00% -21.80%
5 Years +5.45% +46.16% -40.71%

Fee Impact Over Time

Estimated fee cost difference assuming 8% annual returns

Investment Period XLRE Fees XLU Fees You Save
$10,000 10 years $159 $159 $0
$10,000 20 years $686 $686 $0
$10,000 30 years $2,212 $2,212 $0
$50,000 10 years $797 $797 $0
$50,000 30 years $11,061 $11,061 $0
$100,000 30 years $22,123 $22,123 $0

Risk Metrics

Based on 5 years of daily returns

Metric XLRE XLU
Annualized Volatility 19.1% 17.2%
Max Drawdown -37.9% -28.1%
Sharpe Ratio -0.08 0.27

Dividend Comparison

Metric XLRE XLU
Annual Dividend (per share) $1.40 $1.19
Dividend Yield 3.27% 2.51%
Distribution Frequency Quarterly Quarterly

Top Holdings

0 of top 10 holdings overlap (0% overlap in top holdings)

XLRE Top Holdings

NameWeight
Welltower Inc.WELL10.17%
Prologis, Inc.PLD9.10%
Equinix, Inc.EQIX7.12%
American Tower CorporationAMT5.87%
Digital Realty Trust, Inc.DLR4.60%
Simon Property Group, Inc.SPG4.58%
CBRE Group, Inc.CBRE4.53%
Ventas, Inc.VTR4.36%
Realty Income CorporationO4.35%
Public StoragePSA4.33%

XLU Top Holdings

NameWeight
NextEra Energy, Inc.NEE13.52%
The Southern CompanySO7.38%
Duke Energy CorporationDUK7.06%
Constellation Energy CorporationCEG6.11%
American Electric Power Company, Inc.AEP5.02%
SempraSRE4.45%
Dominion Energy, Inc.D3.72%
Entergy CorporationETR3.57%
Exelon CorporationEXC3.47%
Vistra Corp.VST3.42%

Which One Should You Choose?

Choose XLU if...

recent performance momentum matters to your strategy. Note that past performance doesn't guarantee future results.

Choose XLRE if...

you prioritize dividend income and want higher regular distributions from your portfolio.

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