Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
SPYI vs VYM: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, SPYI returned +13.6% to VYM's +18.0%, and VYM charges 0.04% to SPYI's 0.68%.
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Net assets: $12.7bn on Oct 27, 2026 for NEOS S&P 500 High Income ETF, and $78.9bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF.
Pair scorecard
VYM costs 0.64 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 4.4 points.
| Measure | SPYI | VYM |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +13.6% | +18.0% |
| Price change, 1 year | rose 0.8% | rose 15.2% |
| Latest payout, annualized | 11.4% | |
| Return of capital, issuer estimate | 99% of the Oct 23, 2026 payment | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Benchmark: S&P 500, measured through SPY | FTSE High Dividend Yield Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.68% | 0.04% |
| Net assets, SPYI as of Oct 27, 2026 and VYM as of Sep 30, 2026 | $12.7bn | $78.9bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 34% | |
| In the S&P 500, by weight | 90% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 26.2% | |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 28, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Sep 9, 2022 to Oct 23, 2026 · 215 weekly returnsSPYI returned slightly more: +74.4% to +71.1%. SPYI swung slightly less: 11.8% to 12.9%. VYM fell less at its worst: −12.1% to −14.8%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | SPYI | VYM | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +74.4% | +71.1% | SPYI (slight) | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +14.4% | +13.9% | SPYI (slight) | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +5.4% | +51.6% | VYM | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 11.8% | 12.9% | SPYI (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 8.1% | 8.9% | SPYI (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −14.8% | −12.1% | VYM | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.81 | 0.72 | SPYI | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 1.19 | 1.05 | SPYI | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.97 | 1.14 | VYM | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 215 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, SPYI and VYM hold 34% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 28, 2026.
half
34% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
SPYI and VYM 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.
SPYI and VYM do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. SPYI is measured against S&P 500 through SPY and VYM follows FTSE High Dividend Yield Index.
- Holdings in common. 34% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 28, 2026 and Sep 30, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 SPYI returned +13.6% and VYM +18.0% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 4.4 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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SPYI
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, SPYI paid 11.9% of its starting value in cash distributions while its price rose 0.8%. With every distribution reinvested, the fund returned +13.6%. S&P 500 (SPY) returned +13.6% over the same days, so a holder was about even. At its price on Oct 28, 2026 the latest distribution annualizes to 11.4%, paid monthly. NEOS estimates that 99% of the distribution paid Oct 23, 2026 was a return of capital (its 19a-1 notice). That is a tax label, not a measure of erosion.
VYM
VYM tracks an index of US high dividend. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +18.0% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.04% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 90% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 595 positions, with the top ten at 26.2%.
Questions people ask
- Are SPYI and VYM in the same category?
- SPYI is an option-income ETF and VYM is a stock ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
- Which returned more over the last year, SPYI or VYM?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SPYI returned +13.6% and VYM +18.0%.
- Which is cheaper, SPYI or VYM?
- VYM is cheaper, by 0.64 percentage points a year. That is about $64 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.
How this is computed
Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.
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ETFIQ, SPYI against VYM, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/spyi-vs-vym
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