Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
DIA vs SDY: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, DIA returned +11.6% to SDY's +16.5%; 10% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $45.9bn for SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust and $21.9bn for State Street SPDR S&P Dividend ETF.
Pair scorecard
DIA costs 0.19 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 4.9 points; DIA is 2.1 times larger.
| Measure | DIA | SDY |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +11.6% | +16.5% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 3.0%, high on Aug 5, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Dow Jones Industrial Average | S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.16% | 0.35% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $45.9bn | $21.9bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 10% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 54.7% | 20.4% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Nov 25, 2005 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,091 weekly returnsDIA returned more: +653.7% to +506.8%. DIA swung slightly less: 17.1% to 17.5%. DIA fell slightly less at its worst: −50.9% to −54.4%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | DIA | SDY | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +653.7% | +506.8% | DIA | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +10.1% | +9.0% | DIA | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +376.9% | +188.8% | DIA | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 17.1% | 17.5% | DIA (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 12.1% | 12.3% | Tie | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −50.9% | −54.4% | DIA (slight) | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.55 | 0.48 | DIA | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.77 | 0.68 | DIA | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.20 | 0.16 | DIA | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,091 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, DIA and SDY hold 10% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.
half
10% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
DIA and SDY on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
DIA and SDY do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. DIA follows Dow Jones Industrial Average and SDY follows S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index.
- Holdings in common. 10% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 DIA returned +11.6% and SDY +16.5% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 4.9 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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DIA
DIA tracks the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +11.6% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.16% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 97% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 30 positions, with the top ten at 54.7%. It sat 3.0% below its high of Aug 5, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
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, DIA or SDY?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, DIA returned +11.6% and SDY +16.5%.
- Which is cheaper, DIA or SDY?
- DIA is cheaper, by 0.19 percentage points a year. That is about $19 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, DIA against SDY, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dia-vs-sdy
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). DIA against SDY. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dia-vs-sdy
[DIA against SDY (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dia-vs-sdy)
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