# ETFs and Stocks That Consistently Outperformed XLF (Financial Sector)

> Source: BetterThanSPY research, https://betterthanspy.com/research/etfs-and-stocks-that-outperform-xlf
> Data as of October 22, 2026. Total returns include reinvested dividends. Past performance does not predict future results; nothing here is investment advice.

XLF (State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF) screened against the entire market of over 10,000 stocks and ETFs over 8 periods from 1 month to 10 years, with dividends reinvested. To make the list, an investment had to outperform XLF in at least 3 of 5 short-term periods and 2 of 3 long-term periods. "All-weather" means outperforming in every long-term period and all but one short-term period. Returns in the tables are total returns over each period; volatility and Sharpe ratio cover 5 years.

## Key findings

- How hard it was to top XLF: Across a screen of over 10,000 stocks and ETFs, 97 of 957 eligible ETFs (10%) and 293 of 1,502 eligible stocks (20%) outperformed XLF in a majority of both short-term and long-term timeframes. A smaller group held ahead in all but one short-term timeframe and every long-term timeframe: 16 ETFs and 91 stocks.
- Who came out ahead across the three groups:
  - Popular alternatives: None of the listed comparisons made the cut. JPM outperformed in 2 of 5 short-term timeframes and 3 of 3 long-term ones, while MS and GS each managed 1 of 5 short-term and 3 of 3 long-term timeframes. C and BAC also fell short, with C ahead in 1 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, and BAC ahead in 0 of 5 and 2 of 3.
  - Top ETFs: Technology was the leading category, with 7 of the top ETFs, alongside 4 broad-market funds. Standouts include technology funds IYW, VGT, FTEC, and CIBR, each ahead in 4 of 5 short-term and 3 of 3 long-term timeframes. BNO and DBE also outperformed in every listed timeframe.
  - Top stocks: 293 stocks made the cut. The top stocks span healthcare, consumer staples, industrials, and energy. LLY from healthcare, COKE from consumer staples, URI from industrials, and MPC from energy each outperformed in 5 of 5 short-term and 3 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- The risk trade-off: The top ETFs and stocks generally had bumpier returns than XLF over 5 years. The top ETFs had median volatility of 26.1% versus 18.3% for XLF, and 14 of 15 had higher Sharpe ratios, a measure of return relative to risk. The top stocks had median volatility of 39.8%, roughly double or more than XLF, while all 10 had higher Sharpe ratios.

## How popular alternatives compare

| Investment | Status | Periods outperformed | 1M | 3M | 6M | YTD | 1Y | 3Y | 5Y | 10Y | Volatility | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| XLF: State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (benchmark) |  |  | +3.4% | +1.4% | +9.3% | +4.4% | +9.8% | +85.5% | +52.0% | +245% | 18.3% | 0.55 |
| [JPM](https://betterthanspy.com/research/jpm): JPMorgan Chase & Co. | Fell short | 2/5 short, 3/3 long | −0.5% | −2.9% | +8.5% | +5.4% | +16.6% | +154% | +122% | +534% | 24.3% | 0.78 |
| [MS](https://betterthanspy.com/research/ms): Morgan Stanley | Fell short | 1/5 short, 3/3 long | −8.1% | −15.3% | −2.7% | +2.8% | +19.0% | +181% | +112% | +630% | 28.9% | 0.67 |
| [GS](https://betterthanspy.com/research/gs): The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. | Fell short | 1/5 short, 3/3 long | −6.1% | −18.4% | −3.8% | −1.1% | +22.1% | +218% | +143% | +524% | 28.6% | 0.77 |
| [C](https://betterthanspy.com/research/c): Citigroup Inc. | Fell short | 1/5 short, 2/3 long | −7.5% | −6.9% | −4.6% | +4.8% | +29.9% | +245% | +104% | +234% | 29.4% | 0.63 |
| [BAC](https://betterthanspy.com/research/bac): Bank of America Corporation | Fell short | 0/5 short, 2/3 long | −9.1% | −16.7% | −2.9% | −7.2% | +2.1% | +115% | +21.4% | +281% | 26.6% | 0.28 |
| IYF: iShares U.S. Financials ETF | Fell short | 0/5 short, 2/3 long | +1.5% | −0.9% | +6.1% | +2.7% | +9.9% | +91.9% | +58.8% | +244% | 18.9% | 0.59 |
| [WFC](https://betterthanspy.com/research/wfc): Wells Fargo & Company | Fell short | 0/5 short, 2/3 long | −0.2% | −3.4% | +4.2% | −11.4% | +1.1% | +126% | +85.1% | +140% | 29.5% | 0.57 |
| KBE: State Street SPDR S&P Bank ETF | Fell short | 2/5 short, 1/3 long | +0.9% | −4.5% | +4.4% | +9.5% | +18.1% | +105% | +32.7% | +143% | 26.9% | 0.35 |
| KRE: State Street SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF | Fell short | 2/5 short, 1/3 long | +1.7% | −3.7% | +5.8% | +12.9% | +22.6% | +102% | +14.1% | +114% | 29.4% | 0.24 |
| [BX](https://betterthanspy.com/research/bx): Blackstone Inc. | Fell short | 0/5 short, 1/3 long | −4.2% | −2.3% | −6.7% | −22.9% | −23.6% | +40.9% | +2.8% | +647% | 39.9% | 0.21 |

## ETFs that consistently outperformed XLF

| Investment | Periods outperformed | 1M | 3M | 6M | YTD | 1Y | 3Y | 5Y | 10Y | Volatility | Sharpe | Expense | Assets |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| XLF: State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (benchmark) |  | +3.4% | +1.4% | +9.3% | +4.4% | +9.8% | +85.5% | +52.0% | +245% | 18.3% | 0.55 |  |  |
| BNO: United States Brent Oil Fund LP | 5/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | +19.0% | +34.0% | +36.4% | +144% | +139% | +118% | +205% | +359% | 37.1% | 0.79 | 1.15% | $768M |
| DBE: Invesco DB Energy Fund | 5/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | +11.4% | +26.4% | +33.5% | +130% | +123% | +98.0% | +149% | +268% | 30.6% | 0.75 | 0.79% | $132M |
| IYW: iShares U.S. Technology ETF | 4/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | −6.4% | +2.4% | +16.3% | +24.7% | +26.1% | +138% | +135% | +773% | 26.7% | 0.78 | 0.37% | $24B |
| [VGT](https://betterthanspy.com/research/vgt): Vanguard Information Technology ETF | 4/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | −6.1% | +2.7% | +15.4% | +25.9% | +26.7% | +135% | +130% | +753% | 26.1% | 0.77 | 0.09% | $178B |
| FTEC: Fidelity MSCI Information Technology Index ETF | 4/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | −6.1% | +2.6% | +15.4% | +25.9% | +26.9% | +136% | +132% | +737% | 26.1% | 0.78 | 0.08% | $22B |
| RSPT: Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Technology ETF | 4/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | −3.9% | +6.2% | +21.6% | +40.0% | +43.0% | +141% | +116% | +559% | 25.1% | 0.74 | 0.40% | $6.1B |
| FXL: First Trust Technology AlphaDEX Fund | 4/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | −2.1% | +8.6% | +17.8% | +28.7% | +29.3% | +104% | +66.4% | +514% | 26.2% | 0.52 | 0.60% | $2.7B |
| CIBR: First Trust Nasdaq Cybersecurity ETF | 4/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | +0.2% | +15.1% | +49.3% | +45.8% | +35.2% | +134% | +96.7% | +461% | 26.2% | 0.65 | 0.58% | $17B |
| EWT: iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF | 4/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | −9.7% | +2.3% | +20.7% | +60.6% | +67.3% | +187% | +147% | +448% | 24.3% | 0.87 | 0.59% | $12B |
| UGA: United States Gasoline Fund, LP | 4/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | −0.6% | +16.0% | +32.8% | +132% | +125% | +117% | +227% | +401% | 35.1% | 0.85 | 1.08% | $167M |
| HACK: Amplify Cybersecurity ETF | 4/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | +0.6% | +15.7% | +51.5% | +54.8% | +42.0% | +142% | +87.4% | +381% | 25.8% | 0.62 | 0.60% | $3.3B |
| CRAK: VanEck Oil Refiners ETF | 4/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | +0.5% | +15.8% | +36.4% | +69.7% | +74.3% | +118% | +143% | +325% | 20.9% | 0.96 | 0.61% | $810M |
| WTV: WisdomTree U.S. Value Fund | 4/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | +2.9% | +3.5% | +11.1% | +16.8% | +20.7% | +92.0% | +89.0% | +306% | 17.0% | 0.84 | 0.12% | $3.2B |
| FNDX: Schwab Fundamental U.S. Large Company ETF | 4/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | +2.3% | +4.2% | +12.3% | +21.0% | +26.2% | +90.0% | +89.3% | +292% | 14.9% | 0.93 | 0.25% | $28B |
| PRF: Invesco RAFI US 1000 ETF | 4/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | +1.6% | +3.7% | +12.1% | +20.5% | +26.1% | +91.8% | +84.6% | +270% | 15.0% | 0.90 | 0.34% | $10B |

## Stocks that consistently outperformed XLF

| Investment | Periods outperformed | 1M | 3M | 6M | YTD | 1Y | 3Y | 5Y | 10Y | Volatility | Sharpe | Market cap |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| XLF: State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (benchmark) |  | +3.4% | +1.4% | +9.3% | +4.4% | +9.8% | +85.5% | +52.0% | +245% | 18.3% | 0.55 |  |
| [LLY](https://betterthanspy.com/research/lly): Eli Lilly and Company | 5/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | +11.7% | +12.5% | +42.3% | +21.5% | +61.9% | +131% | +461% | +1,870% | 32.8% | 1.22 | $1.2T |
| COKE: Coca-Cola Consolidated, Inc. | 5/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | +12.5% | +16.7% | +15.1% | +44.1% | +67.4% | +257% | +468% | +1,564% | 38.0% | 1.11 | $14B |
| [URI](https://betterthanspy.com/research/uri): United Rentals, Inc. | 5/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | +6.5% | +7.5% | +38.9% | +32.3% | +13.0% | +179% | +213% | +1,407% | 39.1% | 0.78 | $69B |
| [MPC](https://betterthanspy.com/research/mpc): Marathon Petroleum Corporation | 5/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | +17.9% | +45.8% | +108% | +181% | +148% | +226% | +660% | +1,314% | 33.4% | 1.39 | $129B |
| CVI: CVR Energy, Inc. | 5/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | +12.5% | +68.6% | +88.5% | +134% | +62.6% | +105% | +289% | +1,306% | 52.4% | 0.79 | $5.9B |
| WSM: Williams-Sonoma, Inc. | 5/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | +12.4% | +17.7% | +33.1% | +40.7% | +40.7% | +249% | +202% | +1,298% | 44.4% | 0.72 | $31B |
| FRO: Frontline Plc | 5/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | +6.9% | +41.8% | +62.0% | +182% | +148% | +222% | +762% | +1,270% | 49.7% | 1.12 | $11B |
| HALO: Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. | 5/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | +8.2% | +60.0% | +82.1% | +77.1% | +89.4% | +258% | +220% | +1,255% | 40.4% | 0.78 | $14B |
| ANF: Abercrombie & Fitch Co. | 5/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | +18.6% | +68.2% | +74.7% | +30.6% | +136% | +169% | +323% | +1,132% | 62.9% | 0.77 | $6.9B |
| DHT: DHT Holdings, Inc. | 5/5 short, 3/3 long, all-weather | +12.8% | +41.9% | +50.2% | +133% | +126% | +207% | +443% | +1,094% | 39.0% | 1.07 | $3.9B |

## What stands out

The ETF results lean toward technology, while the strongest listed stocks are spread across several sectors. That mix suggests the results were not limited to financial companies, though the screen does not explain what drove each holding's returns. The leading examples were not recent-only winners: IYW, VGT, FTEC, and CIBR kept ahead in all 3 long-term timeframes as well as most short-term ones. The listed stocks LLY, COKE, URI, and MPC also outperformed across every timeframe shown.

The risk figures show the cost of that performance was a rougher ride. The top ETFs had moderately higher median volatility than XLF, and the top stocks had much higher volatility. Still, most of the ETFs and all of the top stocks had higher Sharpe ratios, meaning their returns were stronger relative to their measured risk over 5 years. These figures describe the selected winners, not the full market, and past results do not ensure the same pattern will continue.

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## Explore further

- Full page: https://betterthanspy.com/research/etfs-and-stocks-that-outperform-xlf
- All research pages: https://betterthanspy.com/llms.txt