The numbers are the catch. Over the past ten years, SPY returned about 314%, or 15.49% a year. SPHQ returned about 302%, or 14.91% a year. QUAL returned about 14.27% a year, the lowest of the three. Both quality funds tracked the index closely, and both finished a step behind it. Removing the weakest names did not add return over this stretch. It roughly matched the index while tilting toward financial strength.