Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
SPY vs SPYG: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, SPY returned +13.6% to SPYG's +12.2%; 66% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $814.8bn for SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust and $55.9bn for State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 Growth ETF.
Pair scorecard
SPYG costs 0.05 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.4 points; SPY is 14.6 times larger.
| Measure | SPY | SPYG |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +13.6% | +12.2% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 4.1%, high on Oct 6, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | S&P 500 Index | S&P 500 Growth Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.09% | 0.04% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $814.8bn | $55.9bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 66% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 38.1% | 59.6% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Oct 13, 2000 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,358 weekly returnsEach against its own benchmark: SPY against VOO, Sep 17, 2010 to Oct 23, 2026; SPYG against IVW, Oct 13, 2000 to Oct 23, 2026.
SPY returned more: +778.0% to +634.7%. SPY swung less: 17.5% to 19.7%. SPY fell less at its worst: −54.6% to −64.7%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | SPY | SPYG | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +778.0% | +634.7% | SPY | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +8.7% | +7.9% | SPY (slight) | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +452.5% | +457.3% | Tie | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 17.5% | 19.7% | SPY | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 12.5% | 14.0% | SPY | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −54.6% | −64.7% | SPY | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 99.8% | 104.2% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 100.0% | 103.2% | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. | |
| Beta | 1.00 | 1.05 | Not an edge | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 1.00 | 0.92 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.46 | 0.40 | SPY | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.65 | 0.56 | SPY | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | 0.133 | 0.074 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | 0.16 | 0.12 | SPY | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | VOO | IVW | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | −0.1% a year | −1.1% a year | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | −0.51 | −1.00 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | −0.3% to +0.1% | −3.2% to +1.1% | Includes zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. |
| Information ratio | −0.15 | −0.11 | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 0.4% | 5.6% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,358 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, SPY and SPYG hold 66% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.
half
66% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
SPY and SPYG on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
SPY and SPYG do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. SPY follows S&P 500 Index and SPYG follows S&P 500 Growth Index.
- Number of holdings. SPY holds 504 positions and SPYG holds 152.
- Size. SPY has $814.8bn in net assets and SPYG $55.9bn (net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026); SPY is 14.6 times larger.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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SPY
SPY tracks the S&P 500. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.6% with distributions reinvested, against +13.7% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.09% 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 504 positions, with the top ten at 38.1%.
SPYG
SPYG tracks the S&P 500 Growth. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +12.2% with distributions reinvested, against +12.1% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Growth Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.04% 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 152 positions, with the top ten at 59.6%. It sat 4.1% below its high of Oct 6, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, SPY or SPYG?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SPY returned +13.6% and SPYG +12.2%.
- Which is cheaper, SPY or SPYG?
- SPYG is cheaper, by 0.05 percentage points a year. That is about $5 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, SPY against SPYG, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/spy-vs-spyg
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). SPY against SPYG. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/spy-vs-spyg
[SPY against SPYG (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/spy-vs-spyg)
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