Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
SPY vs VDE: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, SPY returned +13.6% to VDE's +58.8%; 4% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets: $814.8bn on Oct 27, 2026 for SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, and $10.4bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Energy ETF.
Pair scorecard
Both cost 0.09% a year; their one-year returns differ by 45.2 points; SPY is far larger, $809.2bn against $10.4bn.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| Measure | SPY | VDE |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +13.6% | +58.8% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | S&P 500 Index | MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Energy 25/50 |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.09% | 0.09% |
| Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026 | $809.2bn | $10.4bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 4% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 38.1% | 67.1% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Oct 8, 2004 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,150 weekly returnsEach against its own benchmark: SPY against VOO, Sep 17, 2010 to Oct 23, 2026; VDE against FENY, Nov 1, 2013 to Oct 23, 2026.
SPY returned more: +911.9% to +538.7%. SPY swung less: 17.4% to 28.1%. SPY fell less at its worst: −54.6% to −72.2%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | SPY | VDE | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +911.9% | +538.7% | SPY | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +11.0% | +8.7% | SPY | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +575.5% | +269.6% | SPY | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 17.4% | 28.1% | SPY | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 12.3% | 20.1% | SPY | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −54.6% | −72.2% | SPY | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 99.8% | 100.8% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 100.0% | 100.1% | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. | |
| Beta | 1.00 | 1.01 | Not an edge | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 1.00 | 1.00 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.58 | 0.38 | SPY | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.83 | 0.53 | SPY | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | 0.133 | 0.088 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | 0.20 | 0.12 | SPY | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | VOO | FENY | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | −0.1% a year | +0.1% a year | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | −0.51 | 0.48 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | −0.3% to +0.1% | −0.4% to +0.6% | Includes zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. |
| Information ratio | −0.15 | 0.19 | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 0.4% | 0.9% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,150 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, SPY and VDE hold 4% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.
half
4% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
SPY and VDE on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
SPY and VDE do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. SPY follows S&P 500 Index and VDE follows MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Energy 25/50.
- Holdings in common. 4% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026 and Sep 30, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 SPY returned +13.6% and VDE +58.8% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 45.2 points.
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%.
VDE
VDE tracks an index of Energy. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +58.8% with distributions reinvested, against +59.0% for its benchmark, the MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Energy 25/50. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 81% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 113 positions, with the top ten at 67.1%.
Questions people ask
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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 VDE, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/spy-vs-vde
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[SPY against VDE (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/spy-vs-vde)
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