ESPO vs HERO: which is really different?

ESPO and HERO hold 60% of their weight in the same names. VanEck Video Gaming and eSports ETF and Global X Video Games & Esports ETF.

6.4%
ESPO in the S&P 500
0.0%
HERO in the S&P 500
−19.4%
ESPO total return, 1 year
−19.5%
HERO total return, 1 year
ESPO · 1 year to Sep 30, 202694% of its weight is outside the S&P 500
94% of its weight is outside the S&P 5006% of ESPO's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 94% is outside the index6%94%inof its weight outside the S&P 500active share 100% · top ten 60% of the fund · 25 holdings filed Sep 30, 2026 · Nasdaq-100: 6% in94% of its weight is outside the S&P 5006% of ESPO's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 94% is outside the index6%94%6% of its weight in S&P 500 companiesof its weight outside the S&P 500active share 100% · top ten 60% of the fund

6% of ESPO's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 94% is outside the index

HERO · 1 year to Sep 30, 2026100% of its weight is outside the S&P 500
100% of its weight is outside the S&P 5000% of HERO's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 100% is outside the index0%100%0% of its weight in S&P 500 companiesof its weight outside the S&P 500active share 100% · top ten 57% of the fund · 44 holdings filed Sep 30, 2026 · Nasdaq-100: 0% in100% of its weight is outside the S&P 5000% of HERO's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 100% is outside the index0%100%0% of its weight in S&P 500 companiesof its weight outside the S&P 500active share 100% · top ten 57% of the fund

0% of HERO's weight is in S&P 500 companies and 100% is outside the index

ETFIQ Off-Index Score · HERO scores higherHow much of it is not the index it is sold as an alternative to?
0.1, the lowest in this set92.0, the highest

A percentile among the 375 thematic ETFs with a holdings filing. It is a position in a set, not a rating, and neither end of it is a recommendation. All thematic ETFs ranked by it → How it is computed →

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, ESPO and HERO hold 60% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026.

half

60% in common

Positions both hold, largest shared weight first
Holding ESPO HERO
Nintendo Co Ltd 7.40% 6.68%
Netease Inc 7.36% 5.49%
Take-Two Interactive Software Inc 6.42% 5.21%
Roblox Corp 5.74% 4.86%
Cd Projekt Red Sa 4.77% 4.82%
Capcom Co Ltd 4.45% 5.85%
Unity Software Inc 4.36% 6.28%
Krafton Inc 4.17% 3.96%
Nexon Co Ltd 3.55% 5.28%
Kingsoft Corp Ltd 2.64% 3.56%
Square Enix Holdings Co Ltd 2.45% 5.25%
China Ruyi Holdings Ltd 2.04% 2.81%
Only in ESPO
Tencent Holdings Ltd 7.46%
Gamestop Corp 5.61%
International Games System Co Ltd 5.02%
Aristocrat Leisure Ltd 4.96%
Bandai Namco Holdings Inc 4.91%
Konami Holdings Corp 4.56%
Micro-Star International Co Ltd 3.96%
Ncsoft Corp 1.61%
Only in HERO
KONAMI GROUP CORPORATION 6.96%
INTERNATIONAL GAMES SYSTEM C 5.20%
BILIBILI INC-SPONSORED ADR 3.71%
NC CORP 3.54%
SEGA SAMMY HOLDINGS INC 3.31%
MODERN TIMES GROUP-B SHS 1.45%
DENA CO LTD 0.95%
OTHER PAYABLE & RECEIVABLES 0.92%

Weight overlap is an ETFIQ calculation: for every security both funds hold, the smaller of the two weights, summed.

60% of the two portfolios are the same securities at the same weight.

Performance, window by window

Total returnvs the S&P 500vs the Nasdaq-100
WindowESPOHEROESPOHEROESPOHERO
3 months+5.7%+6.9%+3.2 pts+4.4 pts+3.6 pts+4.8 pts
6 months+6.1%+3.0%−10.8 pts−14.0 pts−20.7 pts−23.9 pts
1 year−19.4%−19.5%−35.1 pts−35.2 pts−43.2 pts−43.3 pts
3 years+92.2%+49.4%+7.2 pts−35.6 pts−17.8 pts−60.6 pts
Since launch
ESPO Oct 2018 · HERO Oct 2019
+238.3%+89.1%+31.6 pts−88.9 pts−101.0 pts−202.6 pts

ESPO and HERO over each window. Every figure is an ETFIQ calculation with distributions reinvested. Source: ETFIQ. Open the live comparison on ETFIQ →

On the same fields

ESPO
VanEck Video Gaming and eSports ETF · Holds 25 stocks in gaming, esports and betting, 6% of its weight in S&P 500 companies
HERO
Global X Video Games & Esports ETF · Holds 44 stocks in gaming, esports and betting, 0% of its weight in S&P 500 companies
Issuer VanEck Global X
Theme Gaming, esports and betting Gaming, esports and betting
In the S&P 500 6.4% 0.0%
Active share vs the S&P 500 99.9% 100.0%
In the Nasdaq-100 6.4% 0.0%
Holdings 25 44
Top ten, share of the fund 59.7% 57.1%
Expense ratio 0.55% 0.50%
Fee for the differing part 0.55% 0.50%
Total return, 1 year −19.4% −19.5%
vs the S&P 500 −35.1 pts −35.2 pts
vs the Nasdaq-100 −43.2 pts −43.3 pts
Below its high −20.1% −23.8%
Net assets $247m $62m

ESPO and HERO on the same fields, as of Sep 30, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

ESPO in plain words

By weight, 6% of ESPO's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 100%. The top ten holdings are 60% of the fund across 25 positions, as published by its issuer for Sep 30, 2026. Over the year to Sep 30, 2026 the fund returned −19.4% with distributions reinvested against +15.7% for the S&P 500, so a holder was behind by 35.1 pts. It sits 20.1% below its all-time high of Sep 17, 2025.

HERO in plain words

By weight, 0% of HERO's portfolio is stocks that are also in the S&P 500; its active share against the S&P 500 is 100%. The top ten holdings are 57% of the fund across 44 positions, as published by its issuer for Sep 30, 2026. Over the year to Sep 30, 2026 the fund returned −19.5% with distributions reinvested against +15.7% for the S&P 500, so a holder was behind by 35.2 pts. It sits 23.8% below its all-time high of Feb 12, 2021.

Questions people ask

Do ESPO and HERO hold the same stocks?
By their latest filings, 60% of their books are the same securities at the same weight, which is close to holding one of them twice. Overlap is the sum of the smaller weight of every security they share.
Which is more different from the S&P 500, ESPO or HERO?
ESPO has 6% of its weight in S&P 500 names and HERO has 0%, so HERO differs more from the index.
Which is cheaper, ESPO or HERO?
ESPO charges 0.55% a year and HERO charges 0.50%, so HERO is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Cite this page

ETFIQ, ESPO against HERO, data as of Sep 30, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/themes/espo-vs-hero

Open data

Free to use with attribution. Every figure is calculated from a named public source; the method is at etfiq.com/methodology.