Which returned more over the last year, SPY or VCLT?

In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SPY returned +17.5% and VCLT returned −4.8%, so SPY returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.

Which is cheaper, SPY or VCLT?

SPY charges 0.09% a year and VCLT charges 0.03%, so VCLT is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Sep 12, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.

ETFIQetfiq.com · independent ETF data

SPY vs VCLT: how they differ

SPY and VCLT hold 0% of their weight in the same names, and SPY returned more over the year.

SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust and Vanguard Long-Term Corporate Bond Index Fund.

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, SPY and VCLT hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.

Largest positions each one holds and the other does not
Only in SPY	Only in VCLT
NVIDIA Corp. 7.52%	Anheuser-Busch Cos LLC / Anheuser-Busch 0.38%
Apple, Inc. 6.59%	CVS Health Corp 0.34%
Microsoft Corp. 4.30%	Meta Platforms Inc 0.29%
Amazon.com, Inc. 3.62%	Boeing Co/The 0.27%
Alphabet, Inc. 3.25%	Pfizer Investment Enterprises Pte Ltd 0.27%
Broadcom, Inc. 2.77%	Amazon.com Inc 0.26%
Alphabet, Inc. 2.59%	Oracle Corp 0.24%
Micron Technology, Inc. 2.02%	AT&T Inc 0.24%

Weight overlap is an ETFIQ calculation: for every security both funds hold, the smaller of the two weights, summed. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and May 31, 2026.

SPY and VCLT on the fields both publish, as of Sep 12, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
	SPY SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust	VCLT Vanguard Long-Term Corporate Bond Index Fund
Where it sits	Core index fund	Core index fund
Issuer	State Street	Vanguard
What it is	S&P 500, book from IVV	Long-Term Corporate Bond
Total return, 1 year	+17.5%	−4.8%
S&P 500 over the same days	+17.5%	+17.5%
Gap to the S&P 500	0.0 pts	−22.3 pts
Expense ratio	0.09%	0.03%
Holdings	504	2775

SPY in plain words

SPY is an index equity fund tracking the S&P 500. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +17.5% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.09% a year. By its holdings filed for Jun 30, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 504 positions, with the top ten at 36.4%.

VCLT in plain words

VCLT is a bond fund tracking the Long-Term Corporate Bond. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned −4.8% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. It sat 18.1% below its high of Sep 22, 2021 on Sep 11, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, SPY or VCLT?: In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SPY returned +17.5% and VCLT returned −4.8%, so SPY returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
Which is cheaper, SPY or VCLT?: SPY charges 0.09% a year and VCLT charges 0.03%, so VCLT is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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Where these figures came from

ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.

SPY against VCLT, ETFIQ, data as of Sep 12, 2026. Every figure is arithmetic on a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this page. ETFIQ, SPY against VCLT, data as of Sep 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/SPY-VCLT Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.

A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources