Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
SDY vs SPHQ: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, SDY returned +16.5% to SPHQ's +14.1%; 13% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $21.9bn for State Street SPDR S&P Dividend ETF and $18.7bn for Invesco S&P 500 Quality ETF.
Pair scorecard
SPHQ costs 0.20 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 2.4 points; SDY is 1.2 times larger.
| Measure | SDY | SPHQ |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +16.5% | +14.1% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 6.4%, high on Jun 30, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index | S&P 500 Quality Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.35% | 0.15% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $21.9bn | $18.7bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 13% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 20.4% | 43.3% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Dec 16, 2005 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,088 weekly returnsSPHQ returned more: +599.2% to +501.8%. SDY swung slightly less: 17.5% to 18.0%. SDY fell slightly less at its worst: −54.4% to −56.9%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | SDY | SPHQ | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +501.8% | +599.2% | SPHQ | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +9.0% | +9.7% | SPHQ (slight) | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +188.1% | +432.7% | SPHQ | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 17.5% | 18.0% | SDY (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 12.3% | 13.0% | SDY (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −54.4% | −56.9% | SDY (slight) | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.48 | 0.51 | SPHQ (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.68 | 0.70 | SPHQ (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.16 | 0.17 | SPHQ (slight) | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,088 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, SDY and SPHQ hold 13% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.
half
13% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
SDY and SPHQ on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
SDY and SPHQ do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. SDY follows S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index and SPHQ follows S&P 500 Quality Index.
- Holdings in common. 13% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 SDY returned +16.5% and SPHQ +14.1% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 2.4 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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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%.
SPHQ
SPHQ tracks the S&P 500 Quality. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +14.1% with distributions reinvested, against +13.7% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 102 positions, with the top ten at 43.3%. It sat 6.4% below its high of Jun 30, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, SDY or SPHQ?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SDY returned +16.5% and SPHQ +14.1%.
- Which is cheaper, SDY or SPHQ?
- SPHQ is cheaper, by 0.20 percentage points a year. That is about $20 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, SDY against SPHQ, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/sdy-vs-sphq
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). SDY against SPHQ. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/sdy-vs-sphq
[SDY against SPHQ (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/sdy-vs-sphq)
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