Data as of Sep 12, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.
SPY vs VPU: how they differ
SPY and VPU hold 2% of their weight in the same names, and SPY returned more over the year.
SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust and Vanguard Utilities Index Fund.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, SPY and VPU hold 2% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | SPY | VPU |
|---|---|---|
| NextEra Energy, Inc. | 0.28% | 11.84% |
| Southern Co. (The) | 0.17% | 6.70% |
| Duke Energy Corp. | 0.15% | 6.31% |
| Constellation Energy Corp. | 0.12% | 5.86% |
| American Electric Power Co., Inc. | 0.12% | 4.47% |
| Sempra | 0.09% | 3.85% |
| Dominion Energy, Inc. | 0.09% | 3.78% |
| Entergy Corp. | 0.08% | 3.22% |
| Vistra Corp. | 0.08% | 3.59% |
| Xcel Energy, Inc. | 0.08% | 3.11% |
| Exelon Corp. | 0.07% | 3.05% |
| Consolidated Edison, Inc. | 0.06% | 2.52% |
| Only in SPY | Only in VPU |
|---|---|
| NVIDIA Corp. 7.52% | Talen Energy Corp 0.99% |
| Apple, Inc. 6.59% | Essential Utilities Inc 0.69% |
| Microsoft Corp. 4.30% | OGE Energy Corp 0.64% |
| Amazon.com, Inc. 3.62% | IDACORP Inc 0.50% |
| Alphabet, Inc. 3.25% | UGI Corp 0.50% |
| Broadcom, Inc. 2.77% | National Fuel Gas Co 0.46% |
| Alphabet, Inc. 2.59% | Ormat Technologies Inc 0.44% |
| Micron Technology, Inc. 2.02% | Oklo Inc 0.39% |
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 SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust | VPU Vanguard Utilities Index Fund | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | Core index fund | Core index fund |
| Issuer | State Street | Vanguard |
| What it is | S&P 500, book from IVV | Utilities |
| Total return, 1 year | +17.5% | +2.1% |
| S&P 500 over the same days | +17.5% | +17.5% |
| Gap to the S&P 500 | 0.0 pts | −15.4 pts |
| Expense ratio | 0.09% | 0.09% |
| Already in the S&P 500 | 100.0% | 90.1% |
| Holdings | 504 | 66 |
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%.
VPU in plain words
VPU is an index equity fund tracking the Utilities. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +2.1% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. By its holdings filed for May 31, 2026, 90% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 66 positions, with the top ten at 52.7%. It sat 9.8% below its high of Feb 27, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, SPY or VPU?
- In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SPY returned +17.5% and VPU returned +2.1%, so SPY returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
- Which is cheaper, SPY or VPU?
- SPY charges 0.09% a year and VPU charges 0.09%, so VPU is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
- How much do SPY and VPU overlap with the S&P 500?
- By their latest filed holdings, 100% of SPY and 90% of VPU by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds. Between the two funds, 2% of their books are the same securities at the same weight.
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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.
Cite this page. ETFIQ, SPY against VPU, data as of Sep 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/SPY-VPU Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources