Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
SDY vs VO: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, SDY returned +16.5% to VO's +12.8%; 14% 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 $103.4bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Morningstar Mid-Cap ETF.
Pair scorecard
VO costs 0.32 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 3.7 points; VO is 5.1 times larger.
| Measure | SDY | VO |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +16.5% | +12.8% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 3.1%, high on Aug 14, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index | Morningstar US Mid Cap Index (formerly CRSP US Mid Cap Index) |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.35% | 0.03% |
| Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026 | $20.4bn | $103.4bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 14% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 20.4% | 9.7% |
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 returnsVO returned more: +579.1% to +506.8%. SDY swung less: 17.5% to 20.0%. SDY fell slightly less at its worst: −54.4% to −58.4%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | SDY | VO | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +506.8% | +579.1% | VO | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +9.0% | +9.6% | VO (slight) | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +188.8% | +394.8% | VO | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 17.5% | 20.0% | SDY | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 12.3% | 14.2% | SDY | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −54.4% | −58.4% | SDY (slight) | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.48 | 0.47 | Tie | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.68 | 0.66 | SDY (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.16 | 0.16 | Tie | 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 VO hold 14% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.
half
14% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
SDY and VO on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
SDY and VO do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. SDY follows S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index and VO follows Morningstar US Mid Cap Index (formerly CRSP US Mid Cap Index).
- Holdings in common. 14% 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 VO +12.8% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 3.7 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%.
VO
VO tracks an index of Mid-Cap. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +12.8% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 91% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 273 positions, with the top ten at 9.7%. It sat 3.1% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, SDY or VO?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SDY returned +16.5% and VO +12.8%.
- Which is cheaper, SDY or VO?
- VO is cheaper, by 0.32 percentage points a year. That is about $32 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 VO, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/sdy-vs-vo
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). SDY against VO. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/sdy-vs-vo
[SDY against VO (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/sdy-vs-vo)
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