XLC ETF: fees, returns, drawdowns and holdings

How has XLC done since 2018?#

XLCS&P 500 (SPY)Growth of $10,000, log scale, with dividends reinvested. Past results do not tell you what happens next.

From June 2018 to October 2026, XLC returned about 11.1% a year. The S&P 500 returned about 14.7% a year over the same dates. Say you put in $10,000 at the start. It would have been worth about $23,955 at the end, with every dividend reinvested.

Period	XLC	S&P 500 (SPY)
1 month	−2.1%	1.5%
3 months	−1.8%	1.9%
6 months	−6.6%	9.3%
Year to date	−5.4%	12.8%
1 year	−2.2%	16.8%
3 years per year	18.8%	22.0%
5 years per year	7.7%	12.8%
Since 2018 per year	11.1%	14.7%

Periods longer than a year show the return per year (CAGR). Prices through October 16, 2026. Figures use daily closing prices adjusted for splits, with dividends reinvested. They do not include taxes or the cost of buying and selling. Past results do not tell you what will happen next.

XLC returns by month and year#

XLC rose in 61 of its 101 months (60%). Its best month was January 2023, at 14.8%. Its worst was April 2022, at −14.1%.

Return each month, in percent
Year	Total	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
2026	−5.4%	2.0	−1.7	−5.8	5.1	−0.7	−7.2	1.0	3.0	−0.1	−0.6
2025	23.1%	5.8	−0.4	−5.2	−1.0	6.2	7.3	−1.0	3.7	6.6	−3.0	0.5	2.4
2024	34.7%	4.4	4.6	3.2	−4.6	6.9	3.2	0.2	1.8	3.8	1.8	6.9	−1.4
2023	52.8%	14.8	−2.9	8.7	3.3	3.9	4.7	5.7	−1.5	−2.9	−1.3	7.8	4.4
2022	−37.6%	−4.8	−7.4	0.7	−14.1	1.9	−9.6	3.9	−3.5	−11.7	0.7	6.9	−6.6
2021	16.0%	−0.9	7.0	2.6	6.5	1.0	3.0	1.8	3.9	−6.3	0.2	−6.1	3.3
2020	26.9%	0.5	−5.8	−12.6	13.7	7.4	0.2	7.6	8.8	−5.9	−0.3	10.5	3.4
2019	31.1%	11.8	−0.5	2.0	7.1	−5.9	4.8	3.2	−2.5	0.2	2.2	3.8	2.3
2018	−16.9%						−0.9	−2.2	1.5	−0.1	−6.0	−2.2	−8.0

Each month runs from the last close of the month before. The first month counts from the first close.

How risky is XLC compared with the S&P 500?#

Measured from October 2021 to October 2026, on the days both traded.

Beta 1.00. When the S&P 500 moved 1% in a day, XLC tended to move about 1.00%.
Correlation 0.82. XLC mostly moved with the S&P 500.
Up and down months. In months the S&P 500 rose, XLC rose 99% as much on average. In months it fell, XLC fell 125% as much.

Measure	XLC	S&P 500 (SPY)
Return per year	7.5%	12.8%
Volatility	21.1%	17.1%
Worst drop	−44.2%	−24.5%
Sharpe ratio	0.45	0.79
Sortino ratio	0.64	1.15
Calmar ratio	0.17	0.52

Volatility is how much the price swings in a year. The Sharpe ratio is return per unit of volatility, the Sortino ratio counts only the falls, and the Calmar ratio is the return per year over the worst drop. Higher ratios mean more return for the risk taken.

Is XLC above its 200-day average?#

XLC closed 2.3% below its 200-day average on October 16, 2026. A rule that holds XLC only above that average would be out of it today.

vs 200-day average: −2.3%; below it
50-day vs 200-day: −1.1%; trend falling
vs 52-week high: −7.3%; high of $119.00

A moving average is the average close over the last so many days. Trend rules such as the 10-month moving average strategy hold a fund only while it is above one. You can build that rule for XLC and backtest it in a minute.

What was XLC’s worst drop?#

Drawdown: how far XLC was below its last high on each day.

A drawdown is how far a fund falls from its last high point. XLC’s worst fall was −46.7%, from September 1, 2021 to November 3, 2022. It got back to that high on June 4, 2024. On October 16, 2026 it was 7.3% below its highest close.

Drop	From the high	To the bottom	Back to the high
−46.7%	Sep 1, 2021	Nov 3, 202214 months	Jun 4, 202419 months
−30.1%	Feb 19, 2020	Mar 20, 202030 days	Jul 10, 20204 months
−24.3%	Jul 25, 2018	Dec 24, 20185 months	Jul 26, 20197 months
−18.0%	Feb 14, 2025	Apr 8, 20252 months	Jun 24, 20253 months
−11.7%	Jan 30, 2026	Jul 23, 20266 months	Not yet

Big drops are normal for some funds. They matter because selling during a drop locks in the loss.

What does XLC hold?#

This fund owns the communication companies in the S&P 500, such as phone, media, entertainment and internet firms. It held only 22 companies in October 2026. Because it holds only one sector, it is less spread out than the whole market.

It tracks the Communication Services Select Sector Index. It had 22 holdings as of October 15, 2026, according to SPDR (State Street).

What is the XLC expense ratio?#

XLC charges 0.08% a year. An expense ratio is the yearly fee a fund takes to run itself. On $10,000, a 0.08% fee comes to about $8 a year. Of the 162 ETFs on Tactfolio, 60% charge more.

You never get a bill for it. The fund takes the fee out of its own value a little each day.

0.08%

Which Tactfolio strategies hold XLC?#

No classic strategy holds XLC yet. You can add it to your own rules in the builder and see how they would have done.

How does XLC compare with similar ETFs?#

Funds that can stand in for XLC:

VOX: Vanguard Communication Services ETF, 0.09% a year
XLK: State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF, 0.08% a year
FTEC: Fidelity MSCI Information Technology Index ETF, 0.084% a year
VGT: Vanguard Information Technology ETF, 0.09% a year

See all 8 XLC alternatives, compared on the same dates as XLC.

Test XLC in your own rules#

Tactfolio is a platform where you build rules-based investing strategies, backtest them on decades of real prices, share them, and run them automatically in your own Alpaca account. Open the builder, add XLC, and see how a rule such as “hold it only above its 200-day average” would have done. Strategies run on daily prices and hold US stocks and ETFs only.

The details#

Prices come from Tactfolio’s stored daily prices for XLC and SPY. Each close is adjusted for splits, and dividends are reinvested on the day the fund pays them out. CAGR is the steady yearly return that turns the starting value into the ending value. Volatility is the yearly standard deviation of daily returns. Beta and correlation compare daily returns with the S&P 500 over the same dates.

Fund facts come from SPDR (State Street). We checked them on October 17, 2026. Read what a backtest simulates and how to read drawdown and CAGR for more on these measures.

Common questions#

What is the expense ratio of XLC?#

XLC charges 0.08% a year, according to SPDR (State Street) as of October 17, 2026. That is about $8 a year for every $10,000 you hold.

When did XLC start trading?#

XLC started trading on June 18, 2018. It is run by SPDR (State Street).

What does XLC track?#

XLC tracks the Communication Services Select Sector Index. This fund owns the communication companies in the S&P 500, such as phone, media, entertainment and internet firms.

How much has XLC returned per year?#

From June 2018 to October 2026, XLC returned about 11.1% a year with dividends reinvested. Its worst drop was −46.7%. Past returns do not tell you what it will do next.

Is XLC above its 200-day moving average?#

On October 16, 2026, XLC closed 2.3% below its 200-day moving average. This page updates after each US market close.

Which strategies use XLC?#

None of Tactfolio’s classic strategies hold XLC yet. You can test it in your own rules in the builder.

Sources#

SPDR (State Street): State Street Communication Services Select Sector SPDR ETF fund page