Are SPY and TEND in the same category?

SPY is a stock ETF and TEND is a buffer ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.

Which returned more over the last year, SPY or TEND?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SPY returned +13.6% and TEND +12.1%.

Which is cheaper, SPY or TEND?

SPY is cheaper, by 0.41 percentage points a year. That is about $41 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

SPY vs TEND: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, SPY returned +13.6% to TEND's +12.1%, and SPY charges 0.09% to TEND's 0.50%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $814.8bn for SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust and $68m for iShares Large Cap 10% Target Buffer Dec ETF.

SPY on its own →TEND on its own →

At a glance

+13.6%

SPY total return, 1 year

+12.1%

TEND total return, 1 year

0.09%

SPY expense ratio

0.50%

TEND expense ratio

Pair scorecard

SPY costs 0.41 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.5 points; SPY is far larger, $814.8bn against $68m.

SPY vs TEND: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	SPY	TEND
Return
Measure	SPY	TEND
Total return, 1 year	+13.6%	+12.1%
Drawdown
Measure	SPY	TEND
Index fall to the buffer		11.9%
Fund price fall to the buffer		10.5%
Benchmark
Measure	SPY	TEND
What it tracks	S&P 500 Index	IVV
The outcome period
Measure	SPY	TEND
Room to the cap		4.5%
Buffer left, in index points		9.5% of 9.5%
Days left in the period		65
Period ends		Dec 31, 2026
Cost and size
Measure	SPY	TEND
Expense ratio	0.09%	0.50%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$814.8bn	$68m
Holdings
Measure	SPY	TEND
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight	100%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	38.1%

Method

Side by side

SPY SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust TEND iShares Large Cap 10% Target Buffer Dec ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Buffer ETF

Issuer State Street iShares

What it is Tracks the S&P 500 Defined outcome, 0% to 10% on IVV

Total return, 1 year +13.6% +12.1%

Its benchmark over the same days +13.7% (VOO) +12.4% (IVV)

Gap to its benchmark −0.1 pts vs VOO −0.3 pts vs IVV

Expense ratio 0.09% 0.50%

Holdings 504 not read by ETFIQ

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $814.8bn $68m

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

Alert

About each fund

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%.

TEND

From its price on Oct 27, 2026, the fund can gain about 4.5% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 10.5% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's number. In index terms, IVV can fall 11.9% from today's level to the point where the buffer begins. Protection left, in index points: 9.5% of the 9.5% buffer still sits below today's IVV level. 65 days remained on Oct 27, 2026. On Dec 31, 2026 the period ends and a new cap is set.

Questions people ask

Are SPY and TEND in the same category?: SPY is a stock ETF and TEND is a buffer ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
Which returned more over the last year, SPY or TEND?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SPY returned +13.6% and TEND +12.1%.
Which is cheaper, SPY or TEND?: SPY is cheaper, by 0.41 percentage points a year. That is about $41 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

SPY vs STEN SPY vs TENJ SPY vs TENM DMAX vs SPY TEND vs VOO SPYM vs TEND IVV vs TEND MAXJ vs SPY

Where to next

iShares Core S&P 500 ETF →SPY on its own →TEND on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →SPY dividend history →SPY holdings →TEND dividend history →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

SPY filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

State Street website ↗

TEND filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

iShares page for TEND ↗

Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, SPY against TEND, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/spy-vs-tend

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Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.