Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
SPY vs VHT: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, SPY returned +13.6% to VHT's +25.0%; 10% 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 $19.1bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Health Care ETF.
Pair scorecard
Both cost 0.09% a year; their one-year returns differ by 11.4 points; SPY is far larger, $809.2bn against $19.1bn.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| Measure | SPY | VHT |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +13.6% | +25.0% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | S&P 500 Index | MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Health Care 25/50 |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.09% | 0.09% |
| Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026 | $809.2bn | $19.1bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 10% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 38.1% | 51.8% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Feb 6, 2004 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,185 weekly returnsEach against its own benchmark: SPY against VOO, Sep 17, 2010 to Oct 23, 2026; VHT against FHLC, Nov 1, 2013 to Oct 23, 2026.
SPY returned more: +906.1% to +797.6%. VHT swung slightly less: 16.4% to 17.2%. VHT fell less at its worst: −38.1% to −54.6%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | SPY | VHT | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +906.1% | +797.6% | SPY | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +10.7% | +10.1% | SPY (slight) | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +564.0% | +552.3% | SPY (slight) | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 17.2% | 16.4% | VHT (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 12.2% | 11.6% | VHT (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −54.6% | −38.1% | VHT | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 99.8% | 100.7% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 100.0% | 100.2% | 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 | 0.57 | 0.56 | Tie | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.81 | 0.79 | Tie | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | 0.133 | 0.103 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | 0.20 | 0.27 | VHT | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | VOO | FHLC | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | −0.1% a year | 0.0% a year | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | −0.51 | 0.17 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | −0.3% to +0.1% | −0.4% to +0.5% | Includes zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. |
| Information ratio | −0.15 | 0.15 | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 0.4% | 0.8% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,185 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, SPY and VHT hold 10% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.
half
10% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
SPY and VHT on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
SPY and VHT do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. SPY follows S&P 500 Index and VHT follows MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Health Care 25/50.
- Holdings in common. 10% 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 VHT +25.0% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 11.4 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%.
VHT
VHT tracks an index of Health Care. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +25.0% with distributions reinvested, against +25.4% for its benchmark, the MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Health Care 25/50. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 86% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 414 positions, with the top ten at 51.8%.
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 VHT, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/spy-vs-vht
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