DFAU vs SPYM: Differences, Returns & Fees
DFAU and SPYM hold 83% of their weight in the same names. Net assets: $12.4bn on Jul 31, 2026 for Dimensional US 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; their one-year returns differ by 0.1 points; SPYM is 13.0 times larger.
| DFAU | SPYM | |
|---|---|---|
| Expense ratio | 0.12% | 0.02% |
| Net assets, as of Jul 31, 2026 | $12.4bn | $161.6bn |
| Total return, 1 year | +17.2% | +17.3% |
| What it tracks | No index, actively managed | S&P 500 Index ? |
| Holdings in common | 83% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 33.7% | 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, DFAU and SPYM hold 83% 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
83% in common
On the same fields
DFAU and SPYM on the fields both publish, as of Oct 9, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
About DFAU
DFAU is actively managed and tracks no index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.12% a year. By its holdings filed for Jul 31, 2026, 87% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 2,192 positions, with the top ten at 33.7%.
Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 it returned +17.2% with distributions reinvested, against +16.7% for its benchmark, the Russell 3000 Index.
About SPYM
SPYM tracks the S&P 500. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 it returned +17.3% with distributions reinvested, against +17.3% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index ?. 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 returned more over the last year, DFAU or SPYM?
- In the year to Oct 9, 2026, with distributions reinvested, DFAU returned +17.2% and SPYM +17.3%.
- Which is cheaper, DFAU 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, DFAU against SPYM, data as of Oct 9, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dfau-vs-spym
ETFIQ. (Oct 9, 2026). DFAU against SPYM. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dfau-vs-spym
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