DFAL vs SPYM: Differences, Returns & Fees
DFAL and SPYM hold 54% of their weight in the same names. Net assets: $1.5bn on Jul 31, 2026 for Dimensional US Large Cap Core Equity Market ETF, and $178.5bn on Oct 8, 2026 for State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF.
SPYM costs 0.10 points a year less; SPYM is far larger, $161.6bn against $1.5bn.
| DFAL | SPYM | |
|---|---|---|
| Expense ratio | 0.12% | 0.02% |
| Net assets, as of Jul 31, 2026 | $1.5bn | $161.6bn |
| Total return, 1 year | not published | +17.3% |
| What it tracks | not published | S&P 500 Index ? |
| Holdings in common | 54% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 56.6% | 39.0% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 8, 2026.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, DFAL and SPYM hold 54% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 8, 2026.
half
54% in common
On the same fields
DFAL and SPYM on the fields both publish, as of Oct 9, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
DFAL in plain words
The prospectus expense ratio is 0.12% a year. By its holdings filed for Jul 31, 2026, 54% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 545 positions, with the top ten at 56.6%.
SPYM in plain words
SPYM tracks the S&P 500. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 it returned +17.3% with distributions reinvested, against +17.3% for the S&P 500. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.02% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 8, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 506 positions, with the top ten at 39.0%.
Questions people ask
- Which is cheaper, DFAL or SPYM?
- SPYM is cheaper, by 0.10 percentage points a year. That is about $10 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure; a link is not an endorsement. 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, DFAL against SPYM, data as of Oct 9, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dfal-vs-spym
ETFIQ. (Oct 9, 2026). DFAL against SPYM. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dfal-vs-spym
[DFAL against SPYM (ETFIQ, Oct 9, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dfal-vs-spym)
Free to use with attribution for figures ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.