Are MNA and SPY in the same category?

MNA 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, MNA or SPY?

In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, MNA returned +2.9% and SPY +14.8%.

Which is cheaper, MNA or SPY?

SPY is cheaper, by 0.69 percentage points a year. That is about $69 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Across categories

MNA vs SPY: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, MNA returned +2.9% to SPY's +14.8%, and SPY charges 0.09% to MNA's 0.78%.

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Net assets: $252m on Jul 31, 2026 for NYLIM Merger Arbitrage ETF, and $804.8bn on Nov 3, 2026 for SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust.

MNA on its own →SPY on its own →

At a glance

+2.9%

MNA total return, 1 year

+14.8%

SPY total return, 1 year

0.78%

MNA expense ratio

0.09%

SPY expense ratio

Pair scorecard

SPY costs 0.69 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 11.9 points.

MNA vs SPY: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	MNA	SPY
Return
Measure	MNA	SPY
Total return, 1 year	+2.9%	+14.8%
Total return, 52 weeks	+2.9%
Against its benchmark
Measure	MNA	SPY
What it tracks	not published	S&P 500 Index
Treasury bills, 52 weeks	+3.7%
Against cash	0.7 points behind
Cost and size
Measure	MNA	SPY
Expense ratio	0.78%	0.09%
Net assets, MNA as of Jul 31, 2026 and SPY as of Nov 3, 2026	$252m	$804.8bn
Holdings
Measure	MNA	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	MNA	SPY
Correlation with the S&P 500’s weekly returns	+0.22
Beta to the S&P 500	+0.05: about 0.05% for each 1%
Its average week when the S&P 500 fell	fell 0.00%
Down-week capture	0.2%
Weeks the S&P 500 fell	26 of 52, by 1.07% on average

Method

Side by side

MNA NYLIM Merger Arbitrage ETF SPY SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust

Where it sits Alternatives ETF Stock ETF

Issuer New York Life Investments State Street

What it is Event driven Tracks the S&P 500

Total return, 1 year +2.9% +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 0.78% 0.09%

Holdings not read by ETFIQ 504

Net assets, MNA as of Jul 31, 2026 and SPY as of Nov 3, 2026 $252m $804.8bn

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

Alert

About each fund

MNA

MNA is an event driven 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 +0.22 with the S&P 500’s and a beta of +0.05, so for each 1% the index moved it moved about 0.05% the same way. The S&P 500 fell in 26 of those 52 weeks, by 1.07% on average. In the same weeks MNA fell 0.00% on average, a down-week capture of 0.2%. Over the same 52 weeks MNA returned +2.9% and a Treasury bill fund +3.7%, so it finished 0.7 percentage points behind 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 MNA and SPY in the same category?: MNA 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, MNA or SPY?: In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, MNA returned +2.9% and SPY +14.8%.
Which is cheaper, MNA or SPY?: SPY is cheaper, by 0.69 percentage points a year. That is about $69 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

MNA vs VOO IVV vs MNA MNA vs QQQ GLD vs MNA RSBA vs SPY MRGR vs SPY BTAL vs SPY SHDG vs SPY

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

MNA filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

MNA prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

New York Life Investments website ↗

SPY filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

State Street website ↗

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

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

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