Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
QQQ vs SDY: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, QQQ returned +15.2% to SDY's +16.5%; 7% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $483.0bn for Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 and $21.9bn for State Street SPDR S&P Dividend ETF.
Pair scorecard
QQQ costs 0.17 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.3 points; QQQ is far larger, $483.0bn against $21.9bn.
| Measure | QQQ | SDY |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +15.2% | +16.5% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 4.5%, high on Oct 6, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Nasdaq-100 Index | S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.18% | 0.35% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $483.0bn | $21.9bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 7% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 46.7% | 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 returnsQQQ returned more: +1,873.6% to +506.8%. SDY swung less: 17.5% to 20.1%. QQQ fell slightly less at its worst: −51.4% to −54.4%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | QQQ | SDY | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +1,873.6% | +506.8% | QQQ | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +15.3% | +9.0% | QQQ | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +1,581.5% | +188.8% | QQQ | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 20.1% | 17.5% | SDY | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 13.7% | 12.3% | SDY | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −51.4% | −54.4% | QQQ (slight) | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.72 | 0.48 | QQQ | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 1.06 | 0.68 | QQQ | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.30 | 0.16 | QQQ | 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, QQQ and SDY hold 7% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.
half
7% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
QQQ and SDY on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
QQQ and SDY do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. QQQ follows Nasdaq-100 Index and SDY follows S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index.
- Holdings in common. 7% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
- Cost. QQQ charges 0.18% of assets a year and SDY 0.35%, a gap of 0.17 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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QQQ
QQQ tracks the Nasdaq-100. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +15.2% with distributions reinvested, against +15.2% for its benchmark, the Nasdaq-100 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.18% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 96% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 103 positions, with the top ten at 46.7%. It sat 4.5% below its high of Oct 6, 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, QQQ or SDY?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, QQQ returned +15.2% and SDY +16.5%.
- Which is cheaper, QQQ or SDY?
- QQQ is cheaper, by 0.17 percentage points a year. That is about $17 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, QQQ against SDY, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/qqq-vs-sdy
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). QQQ against SDY. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/qqq-vs-sdy
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