Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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SLV vs SPYM: Differences, Returns & Fees

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SLV is a commodity fund and SPYM an equity index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, SLV returned +14.9% against +13.7%.

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Net assets: $26.9bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares Silver Trust, and $185.0bn on Oct 27, 2026 for State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF.

At a glance
+14.9%
SLV total return, 1 year
+13.7%
SPYM total return, 1 year
0.50%
SLV expense ratio
0.02%
SPYM expense ratio

Pair scorecard

SPYM costs 0.48 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.2 points; SPYM is 7.0 times larger.

SLV vs SPYM: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureSLVSPYM
Return
Total return, 1 year+14.9%+13.7%
Drawdown
Below its high53.5%, high on Jan 28, 2026
Benchmark
What it tracksSilverS&P 500 Index
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.50%0.02%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026$26.5bn$185.0bn
Holdings
Holdings in commonnot published
In the S&P 500, by weight100%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund38.1%

Method

Risk and return

May 5, 2006 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,068 weekly returns
SLV SPYM
Return
Total return edge SPYM +248.1% +747.0%
Annualized edge SPYM +6.3% +11.0%
Price return edge SPYM +248.1% +485.1%
Risk
Volatility edge SPYM 32.5% 17.3%
Max drawdown edge SPYM −75.2% −53.9%
Downside capture 100.2% 96.9%
Beta 1.00 0.96
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe edge SPYM 0.30 0.59
Sortino edge SPYM 0.42 0.83
Treynor 0.107 0.106
Calmar edge SPYM 0.08 0.20
Against the benchmark
Alpha −0.2% a year +0.4% a year
Alpha t-stat −0.92 0.53
Information ratio −0.19 0.00
Tracking error 0.8% 3.8%

Each against its own benchmark: SLV against SIVR, Jul 31, 2009 to Oct 23, 2026; SPYM against IVV, Nov 25, 2005 to Oct 23, 2026.

Reading

SPYM returned more: +747.0% to +248.1%. SPYM swung less: 17.3% to 32.5%. SPYM fell less at its worst: −53.9% to −75.2%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured
Open ↓
Risk and return: SLV vs SPYM: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureSLVSPYMEdgeHow it is measured
Return
Total return+248.1%+747.0%SPYMPrice change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized+6.3%+11.0%SPYMTotal return as a yearly rate.
Price return+248.1%+485.1%SPYMPrice change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility32.5%17.3%SPYMSpread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation23.0%12.2%SPYMLike volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown−75.2%−53.9%SPYMDeepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture100.2%94.1%Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture100.2%96.9%Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta1.000.96Not an edgeHow far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared1.000.95Not an edgeShare of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe0.300.59SPYMReturn above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino0.420.83SPYMReturn above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor0.1070.106Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar0.080.20SPYMAnnualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
BenchmarkSIVRIVVThe ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha−0.2% a year+0.4% a yearNot significantYearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat−0.920.53Not an edgeHow sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range−0.6% to +0.2%−1.2% to +2.0%Includes zeroThe 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio−0.190.00Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error0.8%3.8%Not an edgeHow far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,068 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

Side by side

SLV iShares Silver Trust SPYM State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF
Where it sits Commodity ETF Stock ETF
What it is Holds silver Tracks the S&P 500
Total return, 1 year +14.9% +13.7%
Its benchmark over the same days +15.0% (SIVR) +13.7% (IVV)
Gap to its benchmark −0.1 pts vs SIVR 0.0 pts vs IVV
Expense ratio 0.50% 0.02%
Holdings not counted 506
Net assets, SLV as of Oct 28, 2026 and SPYM as of Oct 27, 2026 $26.9bn $185.0bn
Former ticker none SPLG

SLV and SPYM on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-EFD2A2B72B

SLV and SPYM do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?

  1. What each follows. SLV follows Silver and SPYM follows S&P 500 Index.
  2. Cost. SLV charges 0.50% of assets a year and SPYM 0.02%, a gap of 0.48 points.
  3. Size. SLV has $26.5bn in net assets and SPYM $185.0bn (net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026); SPYM is 7.0 times larger.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund
SLV

Its expense ratio is 0.50% a year, for the three months to Jun 30, 2026, as its 10-Q states.

SLV holds silver. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +14.9% with distributions reinvested, against +15.0% for its benchmark, the price of silver. It sat 53.5% below its high of Jan 28, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

SPYM

SPYM tracks the S&P 500. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.7% with distributions reinvested, against +13.7% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.02% 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 506 positions, with the top ten at 38.1%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, SLV or SPYM?
In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SLV returned +14.9% and SPYM +13.7%.
Which is cheaper, SLV or SPYM?
SPYM is cheaper, by 0.48 percentage points a year. That is about $48 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's own filings.
Other comparisons
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ETFIQ, SLV against SPYM, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/slv-vs-spym

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