# How iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF (QUAL) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: EasyCompare research, https://easycompare.io/research/qual
> Data as of October 20, 2026. Total returns include reinvested dividends. Past performance does not predict future results; nothing here is investment advice.

Built by QuantCommons' quantitative engine, this page is about relative opportunity, not data on QUAL alone. It places QUAL (iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF) against 20+ popular alternatives, its neighboring categories and the entire market of over 10,000 U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs, and surfaces what has done better on consistent outperformance, return for the risk taken, behavior in real market crashes and diversification. The result is a clearer view of where QUAL stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: QUAL's full trading record, from July 2013 through September 2026. The crash tests reach back to 2000 using older funds and the S&P 500. All returns include reinvested dividends. Data as of October 20, 2026.

## Key findings

- **What you're buying:** For a correlation of 0.98 with the S&P 500, QUAL is effectively an S&P 500 fund, while charging 0.15% a year against VOO's 0.03%. QUAL's 0.15% fee costs about $120 more than GSLC's 0.09% on $10,000 over 20 years, for a fund that tracks the same thing.
- **Right now:** Both QUAL and the S&P 500 are within a few percent of a record high.
- **Fund or market?:** QUAL rose 4.3% over the past 3 months, in line with the S&P 500, which rose 3.9%: a market move, not its own. Its similar funds did not move as one over the past 3 months: USMV (iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF) rose 6.4%, while SPMO (Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF) fell 1.6%.
- **Long term:** QUAL turned $10,000 into $39,300 over the past decade, against $42,100 in the S&P 500. That said, its 10-year return of 293% puts it ahead of 89% of the ETFs with at least $100 million in assets with that much history. The S&P 500 returned 321%.
- **In a crash:** In the 2022 bear market, QUAL fell harder than most of its similar funds, including DYNF (iShares U.S. Equity Factor Rotation Active ETF), USMV and SPMO. QUAL fell further than the S&P 500 in two of the last three sell-offs, including the 2022 bear market (27.5% against 24.5%).
- **Diversification:** QUAL is more of the same, not a cushion: a correlation of 0.98 with the S&P 500 over 5 years and 0.97 with the total US market, more closely than 95% of ETFs with at least $100 million in assets. When the S&P 500 had a down month, QUAL usually fell with it (19 of 22 months).
- **Better options**
  - **Popular alternatives:** JQUA (JPMorgan U.S. Quality Factor ETF) earned more than QUAL with less volatility over the past 5 years: 13.6% a year at 15.7% volatility, against 11.4% a year at 17.3%.
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** FNDX (Schwab Fundamental U.S. Large Company ETF, US large-cap value) and HDV (iShares Core High Dividend ETF, US dividend equity) earned more than QUAL with less volatility over the past 5 years. FNDX returned 13.5% a year at 14.9% volatility, against 11.4% a year at 17.3%.
  - **Whole market:** Few investments have done better on both counts: only 46 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than QUAL with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them EFV (iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF), FNDX (Schwab Fundamental U.S. Large Company ETF) and FNDF (Schwab Fundamental International Large Company Index ETF).

## How much would $10,000 in QUAL have grown?

This chart tracks a hypothetical $10,000 investment in QUAL over the past 13 years, with dividends reinvested, alongside the same amount in the S&P 500, investments that ended ahead of QUAL over the same span and QUAL's popular alternatives, among those that traded for the entire period.

- $10,000 invested in QUAL at the end of September 2013 would have grown to $53,143 by September 2026, less than the $56,474 it would have become in SPY, an S&P 500 fund.
- Five of the eight other investments on the chart ended ahead of QUAL, and NVDA finished highest, at $6,301,092.

## QUAL at a glance

This section summarizes the key facts about the fund, its returns over periods from one to ten years and the risk it has carried, with dividends reinvested throughout.

- QUAL is trading within 1% of its all-time high.
- QUAL's deepest decline since it began trading in 2013 was 34.1%, from February to March 2020. It took five months from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 12 full calendar years, QUAL's best was 2019, when it returned 33.9%, and its worst was 2022, when it lost 20.5%. It lost money in two of those years.

- Type: ETF, Broad Market (Asset Management - Global)
- Trading since: July 18, 2013
- Assets: $48B
- Expense ratio: 0.15%
- Volatility (5 years): 17.3%; Sharpe ratio: 0.71
- Worst decline ever: −34.1%, from February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020; back at its high by August 12, 2020

| Period | QUAL total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | +1.2% |
| 3 months | +4.3% |
| 6 months | +9.7% |
| year to date | +14.0% |
| 1 year | +16.4% |
| 3 years | +76.9% |
| 5 years | +71.5% |
| 10 years | +293% |

## QUAL against the whole market

Where QUAL ranks among every stock and fund, and what across the market has done better.

### How does QUAL rank among all ETFs?

This section ranks QUAL on return, volatility, risk-adjusted return and worst decline against every ETF worth at least $100 million with enough history.

- QUAL's 10-year return ranks in the top 11% of the 958 ETFs with at least $100 million in assets with 10 years of history.

| Measure | QUAL | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +16.4% | 676 of 2,485 (top 28%) |
| 3-year return | +76.9% | 636 of 1,949 (top 33%) |
| 5-year return | +71.5% | 364 of 1,560 (top 24%) |
| 10-year return | +293% | 106 of 958 (top 12%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 17.3% | 882 of 1,560 (top 57%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.71 | 503 of 1,560 (top 33%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −34.1% | 297 of 951 (top 32%) |

### What has beaten QUAL on both return and risk?

Each dot is an investment, placed by how much it earned a year over the past 5 years (higher is better) and how much its price swung, its volatility (further left is calmer).

- 46 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than QUAL over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is 1% of the 3,633 screened. Few investments beat it on both counts.
- Among those with at least half QUAL's swings, LVHI has the best return for its risk: 17.0% a year at 11.1% volatility, 36% less than QUAL's 17.3%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.48 against 0.71 for QUAL.
- Among QUAL's popular alternatives, JQUA is in the region. JQUA earned 13.6% a year against 11.4% a year for QUAL, at 15.7% volatility, 9% less than QUAL's 17.3%.

### Is there a better investment than QUAL?

The table below lists investments that beat QUAL over the past 5 years on at least one of these measures: a higher annual return with lower volatility, a higher annual return at similar volatility, a similar return with lower volatility, a higher Sharpe ratio with a smaller worst decline, a higher total return in most periods from 3 months to 10 years, or smaller losses in recent market crashes, and, for funds, the same exposure at a lower expense ratio.

- Among QUAL's popular alternatives, JQUA earned more than QUAL with less volatility over the past 5 years: 13.6% a year at 15.7% volatility, against 11.4% a year at 17.3%.
- GSLC tracks the same thing for 0.09% a year against QUAL's 0.15%, and has kept pace over the past decade: about $60 less in fees on $10,000 over 10 years.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, FNDX (US large-cap value) and HDV (US dividend equity) earned more than QUAL with less volatility over the past 5 years. FNDX returned 13.5% a year at 14.9% volatility, against 11.4% a year at 17.3%.

The 15 strongest of 46 investments that beat QUAL over the past 5 years, out of 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million.

| Investment | Group | Annual return (5 years) | Volatility | Sharpe | Worst decline (10 years) | 10Y return | Correlation with QUAL | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| QUAL: iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF (this page) |  | +11.4% | 17.3% | 0.71 | −34.1% | +293% |  |  |
| FNDX: Schwab Fundamental U.S. Large Company ETF | US Large-Cap Value | +13.5% | 14.9% | 0.93 | −37.7% | +291% | 0.91 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| DFIV: Dimensional - International Value ETF | International Equity | +14.8% | 16.4% | 0.93 | −25.4% | — | 0.68 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| IWX: iShares Russell Top 200 Value ETF | Broad Market | +12.7% | 13.8% | 0.94 | −35.8% | +221% | 0.86 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| DIVB: iShares Core Dividend ETF | Dividend & Income | +13.9% | 15.4% | 0.93 | −36.9% | — | 0.85 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| JQUA: JPMorgan U.S. Quality Factor ETF | US Quality Equity | +13.6% | 15.7% | 0.89 | −32.9% | — | 0.97 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| PWV: Invesco Large Cap Value ETF | Broad Market | +13.5% | 14.2% | 0.97 | −37.6% | +223% | 0.77 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| FDRR: Fidelity Dividend ETF for Rising Rates | Dividend & Income | +12.6% | 15.0% | 0.87 | −36.5% | +265% | 0.91 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| FYLD: Cambria Foreign Shareholder Yield ETF | Dividend & Income | +13.1% | 16.0% | 0.85 | −44.6% | +203% | 0.62 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| DIVI: Franklin International Core Dividend Tilt Index ETF | International | +13.4% | 15.5% | 0.89 | −27.7% | +184% | 0.78 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| SIXA: ETC 6 Meridian Mega Cap Equity ETF | Broad Market | +12.8% | 12.7% | 1.01 | −18.4% | — | 0.85 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | International Equity | +17.0% | 11.1% | 1.48 | −32.4% | +194% | 0.60 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| VSLU: Applied Finance Valuation Large Cap ETF | Broad Market | +13.7% | 16.2% | 0.88 | −23.8% | — | 0.96 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| FNDF: Schwab Fundamental International Large Company Index ETF | International Equity | +13.6% | 16.3% | 0.87 | −40.2% | +194% | 0.74 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| DBEF: Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF | International Equity | +13.1% | 13.8% | 0.96 | −32.5% | +206% | 0.86 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| IDV: iShares International Select Dividend ETF | International Equity | +12.8% | 15.5% | 0.86 | −42.5% | +159% | 0.60 | Higher return, lower volatility |

## QUAL against its popular alternatives

The investments people most often weigh against QUAL, compared period by period and year by year.

### How do QUAL's risk and return compare with its alternatives?

This map plots each investment's annual return over the past 5 years against its volatility, the size of its typical price swings.

- Eight of the 18 popular alternatives, led by LRGF, JQUA and SPHQ, were both more rewarding and calmer than QUAL over the past 5 years, earning a higher annual return with lower volatility.
- Over the past 5 years, QUAL returned 11.4% a year, less than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with higher volatility (17.3% against 17.1%).

### Has QUAL consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

This section compares QUAL with the investments people most often weigh against it, checking each one over eight periods from one month to ten years.

- Two of the 20 popular alternatives, SPMO and JQUA, outperformed QUAL in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- SPMO, JQUA and DGRW earned more for the risk they took than QUAL (a higher Sharpe ratio) and fell less in their worst decline of the past 10 years.
- SPY outperformed QUAL over all three long-term periods but in none of the five short-term ones, so QUAL has had the better of it lately.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of QUAL | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| QUAL: iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF (this page) | +16.4% | +76.9% | +71.5% | +293% |  |  | 0.71 |
| SPMO: Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF | +18.1% | +156% | +136% | +499% | 3/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | consistent | 0.93 |
| JQUA: JPMorgan U.S. Quality Factor ETF | +22.2% | +84.2% | +88.9% | — | 5/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.89 |
| [IWF](https://easycompare.io/research/iwf): iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF | +4.0% | +87.7% | +74.1% | +416% | 0/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.62 |
| [SPY](https://easycompare.io/research/spy): State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF | +15.8% | +89.3% | +81.7% | +321% | 0/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.79 |
| MTUM: iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF | +17.2% | +119% | +68.0% | +336% | 2/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.58 |
| [DYNF](https://easycompare.io/research/dynf): iShares U.S. Equity Factor Rotation Active ETF | +17.1% | +106% | +98.5% | — | 1/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.87 |
| LRGF: iShares U.S. Equity Factor ETF | +15.0% | +91.5% | +89.8% | +274% | 0/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.84 |
| [IWD](https://easycompare.io/research/iwd): iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF | +27.7% | +84.4% | +71.7% | +205% | 3/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.81 |
| ROE: Astoria US Equal Weight Quality Kings ETF | +26.5% | +96.1% | — | — | 3/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | — |
| SPHQ: Invesco S&P 500 Quality ETF | +14.9% | +75.6% | +76.1% | +300% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.76 |
| GSLC: Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF | +14.0% | +83.5% | +73.1% | +297% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.74 |
| FQAL: Fidelity Quality Factor ETF | +15.1% | +80.4% | +73.1% | +291% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.76 |
| DGRW: WisdomTree U.S. Quality Dividend Growth Fund | +12.8% | +65.2% | +74.6% | +276% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.87 |
| OMFL: Invesco Russell 1000 Dynamic Multifactor ETF | +19.5% | +66.6% | +54.1% | — | 3/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.61 |
| QUS: State Street SPDR MSCI USA StrategicFactors ETF | +15.9% | +71.9% | +69.3% | +273% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.81 |
| OUSA: ALPS Funds O’Shares U.S. Quality Dividend ETF | +12.7% | +57.9% | +56.8% | +186% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.74 |
| USMV: iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF | +9.7% | +49.7% | +44.4% | +176% | 2/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.66 |
| [VIG](https://easycompare.io/research/vig): Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF | +13.7% | +67.0% | +64.0% | +258% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.78 |
| XMHQ: Invesco S&P MidCap Quality ETF | +11.9% | +59.9% | +58.9% | +240% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.56 |
| QDF: Northern Trust Quality Dividend ETF | +16.4% | +75.0% | +72.3% | +215% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.78 |

### How did QUAL do year by year?

This table shows each investment's total return in every full calendar year since 2014, along with where QUAL ranked among its popular alternatives each year.

- QUAL finished ahead of the S&P 500 in three of its 12 full calendar years, and behind it in each of the last two.
- Among its popular alternatives, OMFL came out ahead of QUAL most often, in six of the eight years both traded.
- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, QUAL finished in the top quarter in two of 12 years and in the bottom quarter in two. In 2025, it ranked 15 of 20.

| Year | QUAL | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +12.7% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +22.3% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +30.9% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −20.5% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +26.9% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | +17.0% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +33.9% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | −5.7% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +22.3% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +9.2% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How QUAL has fallen, how it held up in crashes beside the S&P 500 and its popular alternatives, and what moves independently of it.

### What were QUAL's worst declines?

A drawdown is the decline from a peak to the lowest point before a new high.

- In four of QUAL's five worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- The longest climb back to a previous high took 14 months, after QUAL fell 28.2% from December 2021 to October 2022.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −34.1% | February 19, 2020 | March 23, 2020 | August 12, 2020 | −33.7% | Covid crash |
| −28.2% | December 29, 2021 | October 14, 2022 | December 11, 2023 | −24.2% | 2022 bear market |
| −20.5% | September 21, 2018 | December 24, 2018 | April 5, 2019 | −19.3% | late-2018 sell-off |
| −18.0% | December 4, 2024 | April 8, 2025 | July 23, 2025 | −17.8% |  |
| −11.5% | July 20, 2015 | August 25, 2015 | October 28, 2015 | −11.9% | 2015 China and oil sell-off |

### How did QUAL do in stock market crashes?

This section measures how far QUAL, the S&P 500 and each alternative fell from peak to trough during every major market crash since 2000.

- Among its popular alternatives, OUSA held up best, falling less than QUAL in five of the six crashes they both traded through.
- QUAL began trading after the 2008 financial crisis, but five of its popular alternatives lived through it. The mildest fall among them was VIG's 46.8%, against 55.2% for the S&P 500.
- QUAL fell further than the S&P 500 in two of the six crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the 2022 bear market, when QUAL fell 27.5% and the S&P 500 fell 24.5%.

| Crash | Dates | QUAL fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | not trading | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | not trading | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | not trading | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | not trading | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −11.2% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −6.1% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −20.5% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −34.1% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −27.5% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −3.3% | −3.4% |

### How closely does QUAL move with the S&P 500?

Upside capture measures how much of the S&P 500's gains an investment kept in the months the market rose, and downside capture how much of its losses it took in the months the market fell.

- Nine of the 15 popular alternatives had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than QUAL's 0.96, led by SPMO, MTUM and IWF.
- SPMO took just 76% of the S&P 500's losses, against 102% for QUAL, while still keeping 102% of its gains.
- Over the past 10 years, QUAL captured 98% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 102% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 1.00. Its share of the market's losses was slightly larger than its share of the gains.

Measured over the past 10 years of monthly returns against SPY.

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| QUAL: iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF (this page) | 98.0% | 102% | 1.00 |
| SPMO: Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF | 102% | 76.0% | 0.99 |
| [IWF](https://easycompare.io/research/iwf): iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF | 110% | 104% | 1.10 |
| MTUM: iShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF | 94.0% | 81.0% | 0.99 |
| LRGF: iShares U.S. Equity Factor ETF | 95.0% | 99.0% | 0.99 |
| [IWD](https://easycompare.io/research/iwd): iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF | 87.0% | 99.0% | 0.93 |
| SPHQ: Invesco S&P 500 Quality ETF | 91.0% | 87.0% | 0.91 |
| GSLC: Goldman Sachs ActiveBeta U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF | 97.0% | 99.0% | 0.98 |
| FQAL: Fidelity Quality Factor ETF | 95.0% | 96.0% | 0.96 |
| DGRW: WisdomTree U.S. Quality Dividend Growth Fund | 91.0% | 93.0% | 0.88 |
| QUS: State Street SPDR MSCI USA StrategicFactors ETF | 90.0% | 90.0% | 0.88 |
| OUSA: ALPS Funds O’Shares U.S. Quality Dividend ETF | 80.0% | 91.0% | 0.79 |
| USMV: iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF | 70.0% | 75.0% | 0.70 |
| [VIG](https://easycompare.io/research/vig): Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF | 85.0% | 86.0% | 0.84 |
| XMHQ: Invesco S&P MidCap Quality ETF | 94.0% | 105% | 1.01 |
| QDF: Northern Trust Quality Dividend ETF | 91.0% | 103% | 0.96 |

### What diversifies QUAL?

Correlation measures how closely two investments move together, on a scale from 1 (in lockstep) through 0 (unrelated) to -1 (in opposite directions).

- Moving a fifth of the money in QUAL into DBMF would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 23% over the past 5 years while keeping its annual return (+12.3% for QUAL alone, +12.3% for the mix).
- Among large ETFs, GLD, XLE and AMLP have moved largely independently of QUAL over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.45 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.
- Among large stocks, CAH, CLS and MCK have moved largely independently of QUAL over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.47 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.

| Investment | Correlation with QUAL | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in QUAL's 2 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.18 | +126% | 18.9% | 0.96 | 0 of 2 |
| [XLE](https://easycompare.io/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 0.28 | +177% | 25.5% | 0.93 | 1 of 2 |
| AMLP: Alerian MLP ETF | 0.45 | +111% | 18.9% | 0.89 | 1 of 2 |
| DBMF: iMGP DBi Managed Futures Strategy ETF | -0.28 | +59.7% | 12.4% | 0.82 | 1 of 2 |
| DBA: Invesco DB Agriculture Fund | 0.17 | +66.4% | 13.8% | 0.81 | 1 of 2 |
| GDX: VanEck Gold Miners ETF | 0.31 | +181% | 38.2% | 0.73 | 0 of 2 |
| USO: United States Oil Fund, LP | -0.06 | +176% | 37.7% | 0.73 | 1 of 2 |
| FLSP: Franklin Systematic Style Premia ETF | 0.10 | +49.8% | 13.4% | 0.68 | 1 of 2 |

## Common questions

### What was QUAL's worst drawdown?

QUAL's deepest decline since it began trading in 2013 was 34.1%, from February to March 2020. It took five months from the low to climb back to its old high. Because QUAL launched in July 2013, that record does not include the dot-com bust, the 2008 financial crisis or two other sell-offs.

### What were QUAL's best and worst years?

Over 12 full calendar years, QUAL's best year was 2019, when it returned 33.9%. Its worst was 2022, with a return of -20.5%.

### Is there a better investment than QUAL?

Among QUAL's popular alternatives, JQUA earned more than QUAL with less volatility over the past 5 years: 13.6% a year at 15.7% volatility, against 11.4% a year at 17.3%. GSLC tracks the same thing for 0.09% a year against QUAL's 0.15%, and has kept pace over the past decade: about $60 less in fees on $10,000 over 10 years.

### Is QUAL more volatile than the S&P 500?

Yes. QUAL's volatility over the past 5 years was 17.3%, 1.0 times the S&P 500's 17.1%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, QUAL's return lands within 17.3% of its average, either way. The higher it is, the rougher the ride and the harder it is to hold through a slump.

### What is QUAL's Sharpe ratio?

QUAL's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.71, against 0.79 for the S&P 500, so QUAL earned less for each unit of risk than an index fund did. The Sharpe ratio is the return earned above cash for each unit of volatility: two investments with the same return are not equal if one got there with far bigger swings.

### How correlated is QUAL with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, QUAL's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.98 with the S&P 500. Correlation runs from 1 (moving in lockstep) through 0 (unrelated) to −1 (moving in opposite directions). They move almost in lockstep, so holding both adds little diversification. In the table, the correlation column measures each option against QUAL instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a QUAL holding.

### What are the best alternatives to QUAL?

Of the 20 popular alternatives we compared, two outperformed QUAL in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: SPMO and JQUA.

### Did QUAL outperform the S&P 500?

QUAL finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in three of 12 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +12.6%, against +17.7% for the index.

### How did QUAL do in stock market crashes?

QUAL fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in one of the six major crashes it has traded through, and further in two. The clearest case was the 2022 bear market, when QUAL fell 27.5% and the S&P 500 fell 24.5%.

### What diversifies QUAL?

These had a low correlation with QUAL over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, GLD (correlation 0.18), XLE (correlation 0.28) and AMLP (correlation 0.45); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.32), CLS (correlation 0.47) and MCK (correlation 0.21). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

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## Explore further

- Full page with charts: https://easycompare.io/research/qual
- All research pages: https://easycompare.io/llms.txt
- Compare the entire market against QUAL live: https://betterthanspy.com/?b=QUAL&utm_source=easycompare&utm_medium=research