Sector ETFs: the 11 US sectors compared

US companies are grouped into 11 sectors under the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS): technology (software, hardware, semiconductors and IT services); health care (drugmakers, biotech, medical devices and health insurers and services); financials (banks, insurers, asset managers, payment companies and exchanges); consumer discretionary (retail, autos, restaurants, travel and other goods and services people can put off buying); consumer staples (food, drink, household products and grocery and drug retail); energy (oil and gas producers, refiners, pipelines and energy services); industrials (aerospace and defense, machinery, construction, transport and business services); materials (chemicals, metals and mining, packaging and construction materials); utilities (electricity, gas and water utilities and power producers); real estate (real estate investment trusts (REITs) and property companies); communication services (telecom, media, entertainment and interactive media such as search and social networks).

Each sector is represented by its Select Sector SPDR ETF, the standard one-fund-per-sector set. The 11 funds together hold the S&P 500, so each one is the S&P 500 members that belong to one sector. Returns are total returns from end-of-day prices adjusted for splits and distributions, and the S&P 500 is shown through SPY. Other fund families offer sector ETFs too; they are listed on each sector's own page.

Over the last 252 trading days to 23 Oct 2026, the two sectors whose daily returns moved most closely were consumer discretionary and communication services (correlation 0.64), and the two that moved least closely were technology and consumer staples (−0.41). A correlation of 1 means the two rise and fall together every day, 0 means no link, and a negative number means they tend to move in opposite directions. The grid below shows every pair.

They follow different indexes. The Select Sector SPDRs follow S&P Select Sector indexes, which hold only S&P 500 members and cap the weight of the largest holdings. Vanguard and Fidelity sector ETFs follow MSCI indexes that also include mid-sized and smaller companies. The baskets overlap heavily but are not identical, so returns, concentration and cost differ a little. Each sector page compares the funds side by side.

No. Sector leadership changes, sometimes within a few months, and the table shows what happened, not what comes next. Nothing on this page is a forecast or a recommendation to buy or sell a sector.

All 11 reference funds on this page charge 0.08% a year in expense ratio (SEC filings). Other funds for the same sector can charge more or less, especially narrower ones; each sector page lists the funds with their costs side by side.

The figures are recalculated after each US trading day from end-of-day prices; the latest data on this page is for 23 Oct 2026. Distributions and expense ratios come from fund filings and update when new filings appear.