Financials sector vs S&P 500 (XLF): is it outperforming?
Over the past month, XLF has underperformed the S&P 500 by 3.0 points. Here is where that puts it in the sector rotation — updated daily.
Where XLF sits on the rotation map
Financials highlighted against the 11 broad S&P 500 sectors. Vertical: 1-month spread vs the S&P 500. Horizontal: the longer, time-shifted window — the methodology explains the math.
XLF vs SPY: head-to-head returns
XLF (financials) and SPY (the S&P 500) side by side over every window Zensei tracks. The spread is the difference — positive means XLF won that window.
Data as of 2026-08-28 · computed from daily adjusted closes · how we measure
The read
Financials (XLF) is losing its lead. It built a 13.9-point advantage over the S&P 500 across the longer, time-shifted window, but over the past month it has slipped 3.0 points behind the market — the Cooling quadrant of the rotation map. Ranked by one-month spread, it currently stands #75 of the 115 groups Zensei tracks.
On the shorter tape, XLF's momentum is weakening: the intraday trend that carried the move is cooling across the shorter windows. XLF's relative-strength line — its price ratio against the S&P 500 — is trading above its moving averages, the healthiest configuration we track. The longer trend remains healthier than the recent tape suggests — the kind of divergence worth rechecking in a week.
The exposure comes via Financial Select Sector SPDR, whose 76 tracked holdings are led by JPMORGAN CHASE & CO, BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC CLASS B and VISA INC CLASS A. Weighted by portfolio, the fund's holdings trade at roughly 20.2× earnings and 5.9× sales. The thing to watch from here is whether this is a pause or a handoff: cooling groups sometimes reset and reclaim leadership, but a deepening one-month deficit usually means rotation has moved on.
What's inside XLF
Top 10 of 76 tracked holdings, by portfolio weight.
Financials vs the market — common questions
Is financials outperforming the S&P 500?
Right now, no: over the past month XLF has underperformed the S&P 500 by 3.0 points. This page updates daily, so the answer reflects current market data rather than a dated article.
What is XLF?
XLF is Financial Select Sector SPDR, the fund Zensei uses to measure the financials group against the S&P 500 benchmark (SPY).
Which stocks are in XLF?
XLF's largest tracked positions are JPMORGAN CHASE & CO, BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC CLASS B, VISA INC CLASS A, MASTERCARD INC CLASS A, BANK OF AMERICA CORP — 76 holdings in total. The full list, with each stock measured against the group, is available with a free Zensei account.
What quadrant is financials in right now?
As of the latest daily data, financials is in the Cooling quadrant — still ahead over the longer window, but behind the market over the past month. The quadrant rules are documented on the Zensei methodology page.
Related sectors
Track financials against the whole market
Zensei Edge maps 100+ sectors and themes against the S&P 500 — with the stocks inside each one, rotation history and alerts when leadership changes hands.