Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
SDY vs VEU: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, SDY returned +16.5% to VEU's +14.4%; 0% 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 $68.1bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard FTSE All World Ex US ETF.
Pair scorecard
VEU costs 0.31 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 2.1 points; VEU is 3.3 times larger.
| Measure | SDY | VEU |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +16.5% | +14.4% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 5.0%, high on Sep 4, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index | FTSE All-World ex US Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.35% | 0.04% |
| Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026 | $20.4bn | $68.1bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 20.4% | 15.2% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Mar 16, 2007 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,023 weekly returnsSDY returned more: +420.7% to +173.1%. SDY swung slightly less: 17.9% to 19.3%. SDY fell slightly less at its worst: −54.4% to −60.1%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | SDY | VEU | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +420.7% | +173.1% | SDY | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +8.7% | +5.2% | SDY | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +158.4% | +59.0% | SDY | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 17.9% | 19.3% | SDY (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 12.6% | 14.0% | SDY (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −54.4% | −60.1% | SDY (slight) | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.47 | 0.28 | SDY | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.67 | 0.39 | SDY | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.16 | 0.09 | SDY | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,023 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, SDY and VEU hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.
half
0% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
SDY and VEU on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
SDY and VEU do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. SDY follows S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index and VEU follows FTSE All-World ex US Index.
- Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026 and Sep 30, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 SDY returned +16.5% and VEU +14.4% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 2.1 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%.
VEU
VEU tracks the FTSE All-World ex-US. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +14.4% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.04% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 3,816 positions, with the top ten at 15.2%. It sat 5.0% below its high of Sep 4, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, SDY or VEU?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SDY returned +16.5% and VEU +14.4%.
- Which is cheaper, SDY or VEU?
- VEU is cheaper, by 0.31 percentage points a year. That is about $31 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 VEU, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/sdy-vs-veu
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). SDY against VEU. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/sdy-vs-veu
[SDY against VEU (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/sdy-vs-veu)
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