Owns the health care companies in the S&P 500: drugmakers, medical device makers, care providers, biotech firms and life sciences toolmakers.
XLV, the Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund, is a $43.4 billion ETF whose main story is the biology trade. It holds 36.3% of the money in ETFs carrying that story, 1st of 92. Over the past year it returned +18.0%, against +16.8% for broad US ETFs. Figures to October 2, 2026; past performance, not a recommendation.
The narrative it carries
This is its only narrative.
The biology trade →
Health care from drugmakers and insurers to genomics: the science that gets approved, and who pays for it.
The band is where this narrative’s level sits among the 22 this week. QUIET means less talked about, not falling.
| # | ETF | SHARE | ASSETS | 1 YEAR | COST |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | XLV | 36.3% | $43.39bn | +18.0% | 0.08% |
| 2 | VHT | 15.3% | $18.31bn | +18.9% | 0.09% |
| 3 | IBB | 9.4% | $11.20bn | +37.5% | 0.44% |
| 4 | XBI | 8.7% | $10.36bn | +51.2% | 0.35% |
| 5 | IXJ | 3.6% | $4.32bn | +11.8% | – |
| 87 other ETFs | 26.7% |
Share is each ETF’s slice of the capital carrying this narrative. 1 year is market price total return; cost is the expense ratio. See all 92 ETFs on the narrative page →
FRI OCT 2MARKET PRICE TOTAL RETURN
| 1M | 3M | YTD | 1Y | 3Y* | 5Y* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| XLV | −3.5% | +1.9% | +8.7% | +18.0% | +10.8% | +7.2% |
| The biology tradeits narrative | −3.5% | +2.1% | +13.7% | +24.2% | +15.2% | +6.7% |
| The marketbroad US ETFs | +0.8% | +2.6% | +14.6% | +16.8% | +22.9% | +12.9% |
1M, 3M, 1Y, 3Y, 5Y: one month to five years. YTD: year to date. * A year, annualised. A dash means the ETF has not traded for the whole period. Since it started trading on December 22, 1998: +8.6% a year.
$10,000 invested October 31, 2016
Year by year
Total return in each calendar year; this year is year to date. A year appears only if XLV traded for all of it.
Total return on the market price, with each distribution reinvested on its ex-date. Not the NAV return the issuer publishes; the two differ when the ETF trades above or below the value of its holdings. The narrative is the asset-weighted return of the unlevered ETFs that carry it. The market is the asset-weighted return of broad US index ETFs. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
FRI OCT 2MARKET PRICE TOTAL RETURN
How closely it moves
XLV moves partly with the market. When the market has moved 1%, XLV has tended to move 0.43%.
XLV moves closely with the biology trade. When the biology trade has moved 1%, XLV has tended to move 0.75%.
Weekly returns over 157 weeks. The narrative is measured without XLV in it, so it is not compared with itself.
ETFs it moves most and least like
Correlation of weekly returns over the last 3 years, among unlevered ETFs StoryVector covers.
Where it sits in The biology trade
Each dot is one of 58 unlevered ETFs whose main narrative is the biology trade, placed by its return (up) and how much it swung (right) over the last year.
Risk
Cost against its peers
XLV is the 1st cheapest of 32 ETFs in the biology trade. The dashed line is the middle of the group, 0.45% a year.
How it is built
An unlevered long ETF that owns its holdings directly. It counts toward Share of Narrative.
Narrative exposure
Common questions
What story is XLV selling?
XLV’s main story is the biology trade, which covers health care from drugmakers and insurers to genomics: the science that gets approved, and who pays for it.
Which ETFs compete with XLV?
The ETFs whose weekly returns move most like XLV’s over the past 3 years are IYH (1.00), VHT (0.99) and FHLC (0.99).
How much of the biology trade does XLV hold?
XLV holds 36.3% of the money in ETFs carrying that story, 1st of 92.
How has XLV performed against its story?
Over the past year XLV returned +18.0%, the ETFs carrying the biology trade +24.2% and broad US ETFs +16.8%, to October 2, 2026. Its weekly returns have a correlation of 0.87 with the story. Past performance only.
Run an ETF in the biology trade? StoryVector shows issuers where their ETFs stand against the closest rivals, every week.
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