Are IMF and SPY in the same category?

IMF is an alternatives ETF and SPY is a stock ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.

Which returned more over the last year, IMF or SPY?

In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IMF returned +20.1% and SPY +14.8%.

Which is cheaper, IMF or SPY?

SPY is cheaper, by 0.56 percentage points a year. That is about $56 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Across categories

IMF vs SPY: Differences, Returns & Fees

Share on X Download as PDF

Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, IMF returned +20.1% to SPY's +14.8%, and SPY charges 0.09% to IMF's 0.65%.

askIQ about this page

askIQ about IMF and SPY

Net assets on Nov 3, 2026: $304m for Invesco Managed Futures Strategy ETF and $804.8bn for SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust.

IMF on its own →SPY on its own →

At a glance

+20.1%

IMF total return, 1 year

+14.8%

SPY total return, 1 year

0.65%

IMF expense ratio

0.09%

SPY expense ratio

Pair scorecard

SPY costs 0.56 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 5.3 points; SPY is far larger, $804.8bn against $304m.

IMF vs SPY: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IMF	SPY
Return
Measure	IMF	SPY
Total return, 1 year	+20.1%	+14.8%
Total return, 52 weeks	+19.2%
Against its benchmark
Measure	IMF	SPY
What it tracks	not published	S&P 500 Index
Treasury bills, 52 weeks	+3.7%
Against cash	15.6 points ahead
Cost and size
Measure	IMF	SPY
Expense ratio	0.65%	0.09%
Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026	$304m	$804.8bn
Holdings
Measure	IMF	SPY
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight		100%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund		37.3%
Risk
Measure	IMF	SPY
Correlation with the S&P 500’s weekly returns	+0.38
Beta to the S&P 500	+0.24: about 0.24% for each 1%
Its average week when the S&P 500 fell	fell 0.14%
Down-week capture	13.0%
Weeks the S&P 500 fell	26 of 52, by 1.07% on average

Method

Side by side

IMF Invesco Managed Futures Strategy ETF SPY SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust

Where it sits Alternatives ETF Stock ETF

Issuer Invesco State Street

What it is Managed futures Tracks the S&P 500

Total return, 1 year +20.1% +14.8%

Its benchmark over the same days not measured +14.8% (VOO)

Gap to its benchmark not measured 0.0 pts vs VOO

Expense ratio 0.65% 0.09%

Holdings not read by ETFIQ 504

Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 $304m $804.8bn

IMF and SPY on the fields both publish, as of Nov 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Alert

About each fund

IMF

IMF is a managed futures fund. ETFIQ measures what every alternatives fund is sold on: whether it moves differently from the stock market. Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, its weekly returns had a correlation of +0.38 with the S&P 500’s and a beta of +0.24, so for each 1% the index moved it moved about 0.24% the same way. The S&P 500 fell in 26 of those 52 weeks, by 1.07% on average. In the same weeks IMF fell 0.14% on average, a down-week capture of 13.0%. Over the same 52 weeks IMF returned +19.2% and a Treasury bill fund +3.7%, so it finished 15.6 percentage points ahead of cash.

SPY

SPY tracks the S&P 500. Over the year to Nov 4, 2026 it returned +14.8% with distributions reinvested, against +14.8% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.09% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Nov 3, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 504 positions, with the top ten at 37.3%.

Questions people ask

Are IMF and SPY in the same category?: IMF is an alternatives ETF and SPY is a stock ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
Which returned more over the last year, IMF or SPY?: In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IMF returned +20.1% and SPY +14.8%.
Which is cheaper, IMF or SPY?: SPY is cheaper, by 0.56 percentage points a year. That is about $56 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

IMF vs IVV IMF vs VOO IMF vs QQQ BND vs IMF RSST vs SPY KMLM vs SPY SPY vs WTMF SPY vs TFPN

Where to next

BIL, the T-bill fund these are measured against →IMF on its own →SPY on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →IMF dividend history →SPY dividend history →SPY holdings →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

IMF filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IMF prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Invesco page for IMF ↗

SPY filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

State Street website ↗

Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, IMF against SPY, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/imf-vs-spy

Open data →

Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.