Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
COWZ vs SDY: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, COWZ returned +24.4% to SDY's +16.5%; 13% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $19.5bn for Pacer US Cash Cows 100 ETF and $21.9bn for State Street SPDR S&P Dividend ETF.
Pair scorecard
SDY costs 0.14 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 7.9 points; SDY is 1.1 times larger.
| Measure | COWZ | SDY |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +24.4% | +16.5% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Pacer US Cash Cows 100 Index | S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.49% | 0.35% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $19.5bn | $21.9bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 13% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 20.4% | 20.4% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Dec 30, 2016 to Oct 23, 2026 · 512 weekly returnsCOWZ returned more: +251.9% to +146.0%. SDY swung less: 16.6% to 19.6%. SDY fell less at its worst: −32.4% to −36.3%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | COWZ | SDY | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +251.9% | +146.0% | COWZ | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +13.6% | +9.6% | COWZ | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +188.5% | +85.1% | COWZ | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 19.6% | 16.6% | SDY | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 13.8% | 11.8% | SDY | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −36.3% | −32.4% | SDY | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.62 | 0.48 | COWZ | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.89 | 0.68 | COWZ | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.38 | 0.30 | COWZ | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 512 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, COWZ and SDY hold 13% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.
half
13% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
COWZ and SDY on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
COWZ and SDY are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- What each follows. COWZ follows Pacer US Cash Cows 100 Index and SDY follows S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index.
- Holdings in common. 13% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 COWZ returned +24.4% and SDY +16.5% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 7.9 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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COWZ
COWZ tracks an index of US Cash Cows 100. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +24.4% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.49% a year. By its holdings filed for Jul 31, 2026, 95% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 100 positions, with the top ten at 20.4%.
SDY
SDY tracks the S&P Dividend. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +16.5% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.35% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 84% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 156 positions, with the top ten at 20.4%.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, COWZ or SDY?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, COWZ returned +24.4% and SDY +16.5%.
- Which is cheaper, COWZ or SDY?
- SDY is cheaper, by 0.14 percentage points a year. That is about $14 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.
How this is computed
Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.
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ETFIQ, COWZ against SDY, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/cowz-vs-sdy
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). COWZ against SDY. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/cowz-vs-sdy
[COWZ against SDY (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/cowz-vs-sdy)
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