# XLRE ETF: fees, returns, drawdowns and holdings

> What XLRE holds, its 0.08% yearly fee, returns by year, its worst drop, and which Tactfolio strategies hold it. Updated daily.

State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLRE) is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) run by SPDR (State Street). This fund owns the real estate companies in the S&P 500, mostly REITs that own and rent out property. It charges 0.08% a year. From October 2015 to October 2026 it returned about 6.7% a year, and its worst drop was −38.8%.

Written by [the Tactfolio research team](https://tactfolio.com/about/editorial-policy). Fund facts checked October 17, 2026. Prices through October 16, 2026.

## Key points

- Expense ratio: 0.08% a year (about $8 on $10,000).
- Started trading on October 7, 2015.
- Last close: $42.16 on October 16, 2026.
- Return over the last year: 4.5%.
- Worst drop since 2015: −38.8%.
- No Tactfolio classic strategies hold it.

## How has XLRE done since 2015?

From October 2015 to October 2026, XLRE returned about 6.7% 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 $20,380 at the end, with every dividend reinvested.

| Period | XLRE | S&P 500 (SPY) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 month | −0.7% | 1.5% |
| 3 months | −6.5% | 1.9% |
| 6 months | −2.1% | 9.3% |
| Year to date | 7.0% | 12.8% |
| 1 year | 4.5% | 16.8% |
| 3 years, per year | 10.4% | 22.0% |
| 5 years, per year | 1.6% | 12.8% |
| 10 years, per year | 6.6% | 15.4% |
| Since 2015, per year | 6.7% | 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.

## XLRE returns by month and year

XLRE rose in 79 of its 133 months (59%). Its best month was November 2023, at 12.5%. Its worst was March 2020, at −15.1%.

| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Full year |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026 (part) | 2.7% | 5.8% | −6.2% | 8.7% | −0.9% | 1.0% | 2.4% | −2.1% | −6.5% | 3.1% |  |  | 7.0% |
| 2025 | 1.8% | 4.2% | −2.4% | −1.3% | 1.0% | 0.1% | 0.0% | 2.2% | 0.3% | −2.9% | 1.9% | −2.1% | 2.6% |
| 2024 | −4.8% | 2.6% | 1.8% | −8.5% | 5.1% | 2.0% | 7.2% | 5.7% | 3.3% | −3.3% | 4.2% | −8.6% | 5.1% |
| 2023 | 9.9% | −5.9% | −1.5% | 1.0% | −4.5% | 5.6% | 1.3% | −3.1% | −7.2% | −2.9% | 12.5% | 8.8% | 12.4% |
| 2022 | −8.6% | −4.8% | 7.8% | −3.6% | −5.1% | −6.9% | 8.5% | −5.6% | −13.2% | 2.0% | 6.8% | −4.8% | −26.3% |
| 2021 | 0.5% | 1.6% | 6.8% | 8.3% | 1.1% | 3.1% | 4.6% | 2.8% | −6.3% | 7.6% | −0.9% | 10.3% | 46.1% |
| 2020 | 1.5% | −6.2% | −15.1% | 9.4% | 2.1% | 1.2% | 4.2% | 0.0% | −2.1% | −3.2% | 6.9% | 1.5% | −2.2% |
| 2019 | 10.7% | 1.1% | 5.0% | −0.5% | 1.2% | 1.6% | 1.7% | 4.8% | 1.0% | 0.0% | −1.7% | 1.1% | 28.7% |
| 2018 | −1.9% | −6.8% | 3.8% | −0.6% | 2.2% | 4.5% | 1.0% | 2.4% | −2.6% | −1.6% | 5.5% | −7.3% | −2.4% |
| 2017 | −0.1% | 4.7% | −1.1% | 0.2% | 0.7% | 1.9% | 1.2% | 1.0% | −1.4% | 0.8% | 2.9% | −0.4% | 10.7% |
| 2016 | −6.4% | 0.5% | 10.7% | −2.4% | 1.7% | 6.1% | 3.2% | −3.7% | −1.3% | −5.5% | −3.0% | 4.3% | 2.8% |
| 2015 (part) |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 2.5% | −0.7% | 2.5% | 4.4% |

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

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

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

- **Beta 0.70.** When the S&P 500 moved 1% in a day, XLRE tended to move about 0.70%.
- **Correlation 0.63.** XLRE moved with the S&P 500 some of the time.
- **Up and down months.** In months the S&P 500 rose, XLRE rose 76% as much on average. In months it fell, XLRE fell 119% as much.

| Measure | XLRE | S&P 500 (SPY) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Return per year | 1.6% | 12.8% |
| Volatility | 19.2% | 17.1% |
| Worst drop | −34.1% | −24.5% |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.18 | 0.79 |
| Sortino ratio | 0.25 | 1.15 |
| Calmar ratio | 0.05 | 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 XLRE above its 200-day average?

XLRE closed 1.1% below its 200-day average on October 16, 2026. A rule that holds XLRE only above that average would be out of it today.

- Its 50-day average is 0.6% above its 200-day average.
- It closed 7.6% below its highest close of the last 52 weeks.

A moving average is the average close over the last so many days. Trend rules such as [the 10-month moving average strategy](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/faber-10-month-moving-average.md) hold a fund only while it is above one. You can [build that rule for XLRE](https://tactfolio.com/builder) and backtest it in a minute.

## What was XLRE's worst drop?

A drawdown is how far a fund falls from its last high point. XLRE's worst fall was −38.8%, from February 21, 2020 to March 23, 2020. It got back to that high on April 5, 2021. On October 16, 2026 it was 7.6% below its highest close.

| Drop | Started | Bottom | Back to the high | Fall took | Recovery took |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −38.8% | Feb 21, 2020 | Mar 23, 2020 | Apr 5, 2021 | 31 days | 12 months |
| −34.1% | Dec 31, 2021 | Oct 25, 2023 | Jun 9, 2026 | 22 months | 2.6 years |
| −14.6% | Aug 1, 2016 | Nov 10, 2016 | Nov 6, 2017 | 3 months | 12 months |
| −13.4% | Dec 30, 2015 | Feb 11, 2016 | Mar 17, 2016 | 43 days | 35 days |
| −12.5% | Dec 6, 2018 | Dec 24, 2018 | Jan 31, 2019 | 18 days | 38 days |

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

## What does XLRE hold?

This fund owns the real estate companies in the S&P 500, mostly REITs that own and rent out property. Many pay dividends from rent. It held only 30 companies in October 2026, so it is not very spread out.

It tracks the Real Estate Select Sector Index. It had 30 holdings as of October 15, 2026, according to SPDR (State Street).

| Fact | XLRE |
| --- | --- |
| Full name | State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF |
| Issuer | SPDR (State Street) |
| Expense ratio | 0.08% a year |
| Started trading | October 7, 2015 |
| Tracks | Real Estate Select Sector Index |
| Type | Real estate, ETF |
| Holdings | 30 holdings as of October 15, 2026 |
| Facts checked | October 17, 2026 on the [SPDR (State Street) fund page](https://www.ssga.com/us/en/intermediary/etfs/state-street-real-estate-select-sector-spdr-etf-xlre) |

## What is the XLRE expense ratio?

XLRE 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.

## Which Tactfolio strategies hold XLRE?

No classic strategy holds XLRE yet. You can add it to your own rules in the [builder](https://tactfolio.com/builder) and see how they would have done.

## How does XLRE compare with similar ETFs?

Funds that can stand in for XLRE:

- [SCHH](https://tactfolio.com/etf/SCHH.md): Schwab U.S. REIT ETF, 0.07% a year
- [VNQ](https://tactfolio.com/etf/VNQ.md): Vanguard Real Estate ETF, 0.13% a year
- [IYR](https://tactfolio.com/etf/IYR.md): iShares U.S. Real Estate ETF, 0.37% a year
- [RWO](https://tactfolio.com/etf/RWO.md): State Street SPDR Dow Jones Global Real Estate ETF, 0.5% a year

See [all 7 XLRE alternatives](https://tactfolio.com/alternatives/XLRE.md), compared on the same dates as XLRE.

## Test XLRE 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](https://tactfolio.com/builder), add XLRE, 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 XLRE 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](https://tactfolio.com/docs/backtests.md) and [how to read drawdown and CAGR](https://tactfolio.com/docs/concepts/reading-a-backtest.md) for more on these measures.

## Research and test it

- [Portfolio rebalancing](https://tactfolio.com/learn/portfolio-rebalancing): What portfolio rebalancing is, why a 60/40 mix drifts, calendar vs threshold methods, and how taxes and costs fit in.
- [What is an ETF](https://tactfolio.com/learn/what-is-an-etf): An ETF is a fund that trades like a stock. Learn how ETFs work, what they cost, the main types, and the risks, with SEC sources.
- [ETF screener](https://tactfolio.com/screener.md): A free ETF screener for 162 US-listed funds. Filter by type, issuer and fee, sort by returns or worst drop, and compare funds side by side.
- [ETF expense ratio](https://tactfolio.com/learn/etf-expense-ratio): What an ETF expense ratio is, how the fund charges it, and how 0.03% vs 1% adds up over 10 and 30 years, with real fund examples.
- [Backtest a portfolio](https://tactfolio.com/trading-tools/backtest-portfolio): Backtest a portfolio of US stocks and ETFs. Enter tickers and shares, pick when to rebalance, and get the results with a link to share.
- [Backtesting](https://tactfolio.com/backtesting): Free backtesting software for stocks, ETFs, and crypto perps.

## Common questions

### What is the expense ratio of XLRE?

XLRE 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 XLRE start trading?

XLRE started trading on October 7, 2015. It is run by SPDR (State Street).

### What does XLRE track?

XLRE tracks the Real Estate Select Sector Index. This fund owns the real estate companies in the S&P 500, mostly REITs that own and rent out property.

### How much has XLRE returned per year?

From October 2015 to October 2026, XLRE returned about 6.7% a year with dividends reinvested. Its worst drop was −38.8%. Past returns do not tell you what it will do next.

### Is XLRE above its 200-day moving average?

On October 16, 2026, XLRE closed 1.1% below its 200-day moving average. This page updates after each US market close.

### Which strategies use XLRE?

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

## Sources

- [SPDR (State Street): State Street Real Estate Select Sector SPDR ETF fund page](https://www.ssga.com/us/en/intermediary/etfs/state-street-real-estate-select-sector-spdr-etf-xlre)

> Not financial advice. Tactfolio is a research and automation tool. It is not a broker or a financial adviser. This page is for education only. Backtests are hypothetical. They show how rules would have done on past prices, not how they will do. All investing involves risk, including losing the money you put in.