Data as of Nov 4, 2026.
SPY vs THEQ: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, SPY returned +14.8% to THEQ's +9.1%, and SPY charges 0.09% to THEQ's 0.46%.
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Net assets on Nov 3, 2026: $804.8bn for SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust and $38m for T. Rowe Price Hedged Equity ETF.
Pair scorecard
SPY costs 0.37 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 5.7 points; SPY is far larger, $804.8bn against $38m.
| Measure | SPY | THEQ |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +14.8% | +9.1% |
| Total return, 52 weeks | +9.0% | |
| Against its benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | S&P 500 Index | not published |
| Treasury bills, 52 weeks | +3.7% | |
| Against cash | 5.3 points ahead | |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.09% | 0.46% |
| Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 | $804.8bn | $38m |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | not published | |
| In the S&P 500, by weight | 100% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 37.3% | |
| Risk | ||
| Correlation with the S&P 500’s weekly returns | +0.99 | |
| Beta to the S&P 500 | +0.69: about 0.69% for each 1% | |
| Its average week when the S&P 500 fell | fell 0.77% | |
| Down-week capture | 72.3% | |
| Weeks the S&P 500 fell | 26 of 52, by 1.07% on average | |
Side by side
SPY and THEQ on the fields both publish, as of Nov 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
SPY
SPY tracks the S&P 500. Over the year to Nov 4, 2026 it returned +14.8% with distributions reinvested, against +14.8% 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 Nov 3, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 504 positions, with the top ten at 37.3%.
THEQ
THEQ is a hedged equity fund. ETFIQ measures what every alternatives fund is sold on: whether it moves differently from the stock market. Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, its weekly returns had a correlation of +0.99 with the S&P 500’s and a beta of +0.69, so for each 1% the index moved it moved about 0.69% the same way. The S&P 500 fell in 26 of those 52 weeks, by 1.07% on average. In the same weeks THEQ fell 0.77% on average, a down-week capture of 72.3%. Over the same 52 weeks THEQ returned +9.0% and a Treasury bill fund +3.7%, so it finished 5.3 percentage points ahead of cash.
Questions people ask
- Are SPY and THEQ in the same category?
- SPY is a stock ETF and THEQ is an alternatives 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 THEQ?
- In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SPY returned +14.8% and THEQ +9.1%.
- Which is cheaper, SPY or THEQ?
- SPY is cheaper, by 0.37 percentage points a year. That is about $37 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
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ETFIQ, SPY against THEQ, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/spy-vs-theq
ETFIQ. (Nov 4, 2026). SPY against THEQ. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/spy-vs-theq
[SPY against THEQ (ETFIQ, Nov 4, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/spy-vs-theq)
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