XLV vs VHT: ETF comparison
Health Care Select Sector SPDR® Fund and Vanguard Health Care Index Fund ETF Shares side by side: cost, yield, returns, risk and holdings, from end-of-day data (to 23 Oct 2026) and SEC filings. Educational, not advice.
XLV and VHT at a glance
| XLV | VHT | |
|---|---|---|
| Fund | Health Care Select Sector SPDR® Fund | Vanguard Health Care Index Fund ETF Shares |
| Issuer (by our rules) | State Street (SPDR) | Vanguard |
| Category (by our rules) | Healthcare | Healthcare |
| Price | $179.28 | $332.53 |
| Expense ratio | 0.08% | 0.09% |
| Yield (last 12 months) | 1.42% | 1.39% |
| Distributions | Quarterly | Quarterly |
| Holdings | 65 | 407 |
| Net assets (fund, SEC) | $40.6B | $19.0B |
| Top 10 holdings share | 61.5% | 51.9% |
| 1-year total return | +24.8% | +24.0% |
| 3 years a year | +14.0% | +14.7% |
| 5 years a year | +8.1% | +7.0% |
| Volatility (1 year) | 16.4% | 15.8% |
| Largest drop in our data | −39.2% | −39.1% |
What differs
XLV charges 0.08% a year against 0.09% for VHT: on $10,000 that is $1 a year less in fund costs.
Over 5 years the annualised total return was +8.1% for XLV and +7.0% for VHT. Past returns do not predict future ones.
Top holdings
Eli Lilly & Co16.51%
Johnson & Johnson10.64%
AbbVie Inc7.74%
UnitedHealth Group Inc6.57%
Merck & Co Inc5.52%
Amgen Inc3.40%
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc3.24%
Abbott Laboratories2.75%
As of 30 Jun 2026 (SEC Form N-PORT).
Eli Lilly & Co14.04%
Johnson & Johnson8.47%
AbbVie Inc6.09%
UnitedHealth Group Inc5.45%
Merck & Co Inc4.66%
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc2.93%
Amgen Inc2.87%
Gilead Sciences Inc2.64%
As of 31 May 2026 (SEC Form N-PORT).
Go further
For a deeper overlap check between two funds, use the overlap checker on ETFWinner. Fund pages: XLV, VHT.
Educational information, not financial advice or a recommendation to choose either fund. Funds can lose value, and past performance does not guarantee future results.