Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
SDY vs VBR: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, SDY returned +16.5% to VBR's +17.6%; 12% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets: $21.9bn on Oct 27, 2026 for State Street SPDR S&P Dividend ETF, and $35.1bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Morningstar Small-Cap Value ETF.
Pair scorecard
VBR costs 0.30 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.1 points; VBR is 1.7 times larger.
| Measure | SDY | VBR |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +16.5% | +17.6% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 3.9%, high on Aug 14, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index | Morningstar US Small Cap Value Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.35% | 0.05% |
| Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026 | $20.4bn | $35.1bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 12% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 20.4% | 5.9% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Nov 25, 2005 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,091 weekly returnsSDY and VBR returned about the same: +506.8% and +504.4%. SDY swung less: 17.5% to 22.3%. SDY fell less at its worst: −54.4% to −61.3%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | SDY | VBR | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +506.8% | +504.4% | Tie | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +9.0% | +9.0% | Tie | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +188.8% | +283.2% | VBR | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 17.5% | 22.3% | SDY | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 12.3% | 15.7% | SDY | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −54.4% | −61.3% | SDY | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.48 | 0.42 | SDY | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.68 | 0.59 | SDY | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.16 | 0.15 | SDY | 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, SDY and VBR hold 12% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.
half
12% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
SDY and VBR on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
SDY and VBR do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. SDY follows S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index and VBR follows Morningstar US Small Cap Value Index.
- Holdings in common. 12% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026 and Sep 30, 2026).
- Number of holdings. SDY holds 156 positions and VBR holds 822.
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%.
VBR
VBR tracks an index of Small-Cap Value. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +17.6% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.05% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 30% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 822 positions, with the top ten at 5.9%. It sat 3.9% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, SDY or VBR?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SDY returned +16.5% and VBR +17.6%.
- Which is cheaper, SDY or VBR?
- VBR is cheaper, by 0.30 percentage points a year. That is about $30 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 VBR, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/sdy-vs-vbr
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). SDY against VBR. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/sdy-vs-vbr
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