Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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SPY vs TSLY: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, SPY returned +13.6% to TSLY's −7.7%, and SPY charges 0.09% to TSLY's 1.07%.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $814.8bn for SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust and $685m for YieldMax TSLA Option Income Strategy ETF.

At a glance
+13.6%
SPY total return, 1 year
−7.7%
TSLY total return, 1 year
0.09%
SPY expense ratio
1.07%
TSLY expense ratio

Pair scorecard

SPY costs 0.98 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 21.3 points; SPY is far larger, $814.8bn against $685m.

SPY vs TSLY: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureSPYTSLY
Return
Total return, 1 year+13.6%−7.7%
Price change, 1 yearrose 12.4%fell 46.6%
Latest payout, annualized43.1%
Return of capital, issuer estimate100% of the Oct 30, 2026 payment
Against its benchmark
What it tracksS&P 500 IndexBenchmark: Tesla (TSLA)
Against its benchmark, same daysahead by 4.5 pts
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.09%1.07%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026$814.8bn$685m
Holdings
Holdings in common0%
In the S&P 500, by weight100%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund38.1%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026 and Oct 28, 2026. Method

Risk and return

Dec 2, 2022 to Oct 23, 2026 · 203 weekly returns
SPY TSLY
Return
Total return edge SPY +96.7% +30.2%
Annualized edge SPY +18.9% +7.0%
Price return edge SPY +86.8% −90.1%
Risk
Volatility edge SPY 14.0% 42.3%
Max drawdown edge SPY −16.9% −42.6%
Downside capture 100.0% 95.4%
Beta 1.00 0.72
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe edge SPY 0.98 0.26
Sortino edge SPY 1.50 0.37
Treynor 0.133 0.156
Calmar edge SPY 1.12 0.16
Against the benchmark
Alpha −0.1% a year −8.4% a year
Alpha t-stat −0.51 −1.30
Information ratio −0.15 −0.79
Tracking error 0.4% 20.2%

Each against its own benchmark: SPY against VOO, Sep 17, 2010 to Oct 23, 2026; TSLY against TSLA, Dec 2, 2022 to Oct 23, 2026.

Reading

SPY returned more: +96.7% to +30.2%. SPY swung less: 14.0% to 42.3%. SPY fell less at its worst: −16.9% to −42.6%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured
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Risk and return: SPY vs TSLY: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureSPYTSLYEdgeHow it is measured
Return
Total return+96.7%+30.2%SPYPrice change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized+18.9%+7.0%SPYTotal return as a yearly rate.
Price return+86.8%−90.1%SPYPrice change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility14.0%42.3%SPYSpread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation9.2%30.5%SPYLike volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown−16.9%−42.6%SPYDeepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture99.8%45.3%Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture100.0%95.4%Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta1.000.72Not an edgeHow far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared1.000.91Not an edgeShare of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe0.980.26SPYReturn above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino1.500.37SPYReturn above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor0.1330.156Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar1.120.16SPYAnnualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
BenchmarkVOOTSLAThe ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha−0.1% a year−8.4% a yearNot significantYearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat−0.51−1.30Not an edgeHow sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range−0.3% to +0.1%−21.2% to +4.4%Includes zeroThe 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio−0.15−0.79Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error0.4%20.2%Not an edgeHow far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 203 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

0%

By the books each fund has filed, SPY and TSLY hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026 and Oct 28, 2026.

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first SPY TSLY
Only in one fund ↓
Only in SPY
NVIDIA CORP 7.92%
APPLE INC 7.61%
MICROSOFT CORP 5.93%
AMAZON.COM INC 3.73%
ALPHABET INC CL A 2.83%
BROADCOM INC 2.45%
ALPHABET INC CL C 2.26%
META PLATFORMS INC CLASS A 2.06%
Only in TSLY
United States Treasury Note/Bond 2.375% 05/15/2027 24.07%
United States Treasury Note/Bond 3.375% 09/15/2027 18.67%
TSLA 11/20/2026 370.01 C 10.31%
TSLA US 10/30/26 C395 1.38%
TSLA US 10/30/26 C390 0.95%
TSLA US 10/30/26 C392.5 0.64%
TSLA US 10/30/26 C387.5 0.56%
TSLA US 10/30/26 C420 0.02%
Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

SPY SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust TSLY YieldMax TSLA Option Income Strategy ETF
Where it sits Stock ETF Income ETF
What it is Tracks the S&P 500 synthetic covered call, vs TSLA
Total return, 1 year +13.6% −7.7%
Its benchmark over the same days +13.7% (VOO) −12.2% (TSLA)
Gap to its benchmark −0.1 pts vs VOO +4.5 pts vs TSLA
Cash paid, 1 year not an income fund 39.0%
Expense ratio 0.09% 1.07%
Holdings 504 not read by ETFIQ
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $814.8bn $685m

SPY and TSLY on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ. Cash paid: distributions over the window, as a share of the starting price.

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-F95E8ACB71

SPY and TSLY do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?

  1. What each follows. SPY follows S&P 500 Index and TSLY is measured against Tesla (TSLA).
  2. Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026 and Oct 28, 2026).
  3. One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 SPY returned +13.6% and TSLY −7.7% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 21.3 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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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%.

TSLY

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, TSLY paid 39.0% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price fell 46.6%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned −7.7%. Tesla (TSLA) returned −12.2% over the same days, so a holder was ahead by 4.5 pts. At its price on Oct 28, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 43.1%, paid weekly. YieldMax estimates that 100% of the distribution paid Oct 30, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice). That is a tax label, not a measure of erosion.

Questions people ask

Are SPY and TSLY in the same category?
SPY is a stock ETF and TSLY is an option-income 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 TSLY?
In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SPY returned +13.6% and TSLY −7.7%.
Which is cheaper, SPY or TSLY?
SPY is cheaper, by 0.98 percentage points a year. That is about $98 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Other comparisons
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ETFIQ, SPY against TSLY, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/spy-vs-tsly

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