# How to compare two funds on the facts

> Learn a four-step way to compare two ETFs: what they hold, the same time window, risk next to return, and cost. Uses real QQQ, VOO and SPY data.

Data as of Nov 10, 2026. Rebuilt every trading night.

## How to compare two funds on the facts

Data as of Nov 10, 2026. Rebuilt every trading night.

Over the year to Nov 10, 2026 , QQQ returned +8.77% to VOO's +11.34% , yet from September 2010 to November 2026 it returned +1,467.9% to +774.7% .

Build a Simple Portfolio · Lesson 5 of 6 1 2 3 4 5 6

Set an amount. See QQQ against VOO over ten years. Amount (hypothetical) $10,000 QQQ VOO $10,000 from Nov 2016 to Oct 2026: QQQ $63,246, VOO $41,901. Hypothetical amount. ETFIQ monthly total returns, ten years to Nov 6, 2026.

### The question

Two funds keep coming up. How do I compare them without just picking the one with the bigger recent number?

### The idea

- A fair comparison asks four questions, in this order: - Do they hold the same thing? If not, you are choosing what to own, not which fund is better.

- Same window? Compare returns over exactly the same dates, and look at more than one window.

- Return next to risk. A bigger return usually came with bigger swings and deeper falls.

- Cost. The fee, in dollars a year.

- No single number settles it. The facts together tell you what each fund is.

### Worked example

Both are index funds ( lesson 3 ). QQQ tracks the Nasdaq-100, about 100 large companies listed on the Nasdaq exchange. VOO tracks the S&P 500. Facts from ETFIQ's QQQ vs VOO page, as of Nov 10, 2026 .

1. What they hold. QQQ holds 103 companies, VOO 505 . QQQ's top 10 are 46.6% of the fund, VOO's 39.1% . Their overlap by weight ( lesson 2 ) is 55% : related, but not the same fund.

2. Two windows, two stories. On $10,000:

| Window | QQQ | VOO |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Year to Nov 10, 2026 | +8.77% : $10,877 | +11.34% : $11,134 |
| Sep 17, 2010 to Nov 6, 2026 | +1,467.9% : $156,790 | +774.7% : $87,470 |

For the long window: $10,000 × (1 + 14.6790 ) = $156,790 , and $10,000 × (1 + 7.7470 ) = $87,470 . Over the last year VOO led by 2.57 points. Over 16 years QQQ led by a wide margin. Neither window is "the truth"; each is a fact about its dates.

3. Risk next to return. Over the same 16 years:

- Volatility (how much weekly returns swing, scaled to a year): QQQ 19.0% , VOO 15.9%

- Worst fall ( lesson 1 ): QQQ −35.1% , VOO −31.8%

QQQ's higher return came with bigger swings.

4. Cost. QQQ's fee is 0.18% , VOO's 0.03% . On $10,000: $18 a year against $3 .

Now the easy case. SPY and VOO both track the S&P 500, so step 1 is settled: same holdings. Cost and tracking decide. SPY charges 0.09% to VOO's 0.03% . From Sep 17, 2010 to Nov 6, 2026 , SPY returned +766.3% and VOO +774.7% : on $10,000, $86,630 against $87,470 , a gap of $840 , in line with VOO's lower fee.

### The common mistake

"The one that went up more is the better fund." That reads one window as a verdict. Over the year to Nov 10, 2026 VOO "won"; over 16 years QQQ did, with bigger swings. Both are true. Comparing well means stating the window every time and putting risk beside return.

A second mistake is treating different funds as copies. QQQ is not a costly VOO; it is a different list.

### Check your understanding

Pick an answer to see why. Two of three right passes the lesson.

1. Two funds track the same index. One charges 0.20%, the other 0.05%. Over five years their returns differ by about 0.15 points a year. What explains it best? A One manager picked better stocks B The fee gap C One fund is riskier D Luck Answer: B. The fee gap. Same index means same holdings, and 0.20 − 0.05 = 0.15 points a year. Not A: index funds copy a list; there is no stock picking. 2. Fund X returned 25% last year, fund Y 12%. What should you check before calling X better? A Nothing; 25% is more B Whether they hold the same thing, other windows, and their risk C Only the fees D Which is older Answer: B. Whether they hold the same thing, other windows, and their risk. One window can flip, and a higher return often came with bigger swings. Not C: fees matter, but they are one fact of four. 3. Over the year to Nov 10, 2026 VOO beat QQQ; over 16 years QQQ beat VOO. Which statement is true? A VOO is better B QQQ is better C Each result is a fact about its own window D The data must be wrong Answer: C. Each result is a fact about its own window. Returns depend on start and end dates, so both are true. Not B: the long window is one fact, and it came with deeper falls.

### Takeaways

- Start with what each fund holds: different holdings means a different job, not a better fund.

- Always compare the same dates, and look at more than one window.

- Put volatility and worst fall beside every return, and the fee in dollars beside both.

### Do it on ETFIQ

Compare two funds you own or are reading about

### Where to next

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Source: ETFIQ, independent ETF data. Recomputed nightly from public filings and prices.
Cite: ETFIQ, How to compare two funds on the facts, data as of Nov 10, 2026. https://etfiq.com/academy/build-a-simple-portfolio/compare-two-funds/
Licence: https://etfiq.com/license/ Data ETFIQ computes is free to use with attribution: ETFIQ (etfiq.com). Issuer data stays under its owner's terms.
HTML: https://etfiq.com/academy/build-a-simple-portfolio/compare-two-funds/