Performance
Total return to 23 Oct 2026, distributions reinvested, before franking. ASX figures are to 30 Sept 2026 and gross of franking, so they run higher for franked Australian funds.
What it costs to hold
Management fee plus trading costs, compared with similar funds.
A typical fund among United States equity funds would cost $191 (0.38% a year), so SPY is $140 cheaper.
Spread is the average gap between buying and selling prices on the ASX. Fees are shown on a flat balance, not compounded on growth. Excludes tax and any adviser or platform fees.
Calendar-year returns
Where the money is
Look-through exposure as at 2 Sept 2026 · 515 securities · top 10 = 39.4%
Country
Monthly returns
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | −3.7 | −2.3 | −3.4 | 7.2 | 5.8 | 2.6 | −1.7 | 0.9 | −0.1 | 1.8 | 6.8YTD | ||
| 2025 | 3.0 | −3.3 | −6.4 | −2.1 | 6.5 | 3.2 | 5.1 | 0.2 | 1.5 | 4.1 | −0.1 | −1.5 | 9.7 |
| 2024 | 6.7 | 4.5 | 3.4 | −2.6 | 0.8 | 5.4 | 1.7 | −2.1 | 0.4 | 6.8 | 4.9 | 2.9 | 37.3 |
| 2023 | 0.8 | 4.0 | 2.0 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 3.0 | 3.2 | 2.0 | −4.5 | −1.6 | 5.0 | 2.2 | 25.1 |
| 2022 | −3.6 | −5.8 | 3.3 | −2.9 | −2.9 | −5.2 | 6.6 | −0.3 | −3.6 | 8.3 | −2.3 | −4.0 | −12.7 |
| 2021 | 0.8 | −0.0 | 6.8 | 3.8 | 0.8 | 5.0 | 3.9 | 4.5 | −1.7 | −0.3 | 7.7 | 0.9 | 36.9 |
| 2020 | 6.4 | −8.0 | −5.5 | 6.8 | 1.0 | −2.2 | 1.9 | 5.8 | −2.5 | −0.2 | 5.6 | −0.8 | 7.1 |
| 2019 | 4.5 | 5.8 | 2.1 | 4.7 | −3.7 | 4.3 | 4.9 | −0.2 | 1.2 | −0.1 | 5.8 | −0.5 | 32.3 |
| 2018 | 2.0 | 0.6 | −3.4 | 4.2 | 1.8 | 2.9 | 3.2 | 5.1 | 1.2 | −6.0 | −1.2 | −5.0 | 4.7 |
| 2017 | −2.4 | 2.6 | 0.5 | 3.0 | 1.9 | −2.6 | −1.6 | 0.8 | 3.0 | 4.5 | 3.7 | −0.1 | 13.7 |
| 2016 | −2.3 | −0.2 | −1.8 | 1.2 | 7.2 | −3.5 | 3.5 | 0.5 | −2.4 | −0.7 | 5.7 | 5.1 | 12.3 |
| 2015 | 2.2 | 4.7 | 0.6 | −3.3 | 4.9 | −2.1 | 7.6 | −4.1 | −2.1 | 9.2 | −2.4 | −2.0 | 12.7 |
| 2014 | 7.2 | 5.2 | 12.8 |
Total return each month in %, distributions reinvested, before franking. The latest month runs to the last price date. The first year starts from listing.
Top holdings
Most similar funds
Overlap is the share of the portfolio held in common, look-through. Correlation is of daily returns. High overlap means close substitutes.
SPY questions answered
Written from the latest data on this page. General information only, not financial advice.
How diversified is SPDR S&P 500 ETF?
SPDR S&P 500 ETF holds 515 securities, and its ten largest positions make up 39.4% of the fund, close to the 37.6% typical of United States equity funds. That makes it moderately diversified.
Its country exposure is almost entirely United States (95.1%), based on holdings as at 2 Sept 2026.
Which ETFs does SPY double up with most?
SPY shares the most holdings with Global X S&P 500 Covered Call ETF (UYLD) (99% overlap), Betashares Geared US Equities Currency Hedged Complex ETF (GGUS) (96% overlap) and Vanguard S&P 500 US Shares Index ETF (V500) (95% overlap). Overlap is the share of the portfolio the two funds hold in common, looking through to the underlying securities.
At 99%, owning both SPY and UYLD would mostly double up on the same investments rather than spread your money further. Of these, V500 has the lowest fee, at 0.07% a year against 0.09% for SPY.
How is SPDR S&P 500 ETF managed – active or passive?
SPDR S&P 500 ETF is passively managed: it follows an index and holds what that index holds, rather than relying on a manager's stock picks.
Among United States equity funds, active funds charge a median 0.43% a year and index funds 0.32%.
What will I pay in fees for SPY?
SPY charges a management fee of 0.09% a year, about $9.45 for every $10,000 invested. That is cheaper than 95% of the 471 ASX ETFs we track, where the median fee is 0.44%. Among United States equity funds, the median is 0.35%.
Lower-cost funds with a similar focus include iShares S&P 500 ETF (IVV) at 0.04%, Vanguard US Total Market Shares Index ETF (VTS) at 0.03% and Vanguard All-World ex US Shares Index ETF (VEU) at 0.04%.
The fee is taken from the fund's assets and is already reflected in its returns. You'll also pay brokerage when you buy or sell, and the bid-ask spread, which has averaged 0.03% for SPY.
Does SPDR S&P 500 ETF follow a theme?
No. SPDR S&P 500 ETF is a broad equity fund: it aims to cover a wide slice of its market (United States) rather than one theme or sector.
What is under the hood of SPY?
As at 2 Sept 2026, SPY's ten largest holdings are Nvidia Corp (8.2%), Apple Inc (7.2%), Microsoft Corp (5.6%), Amazon.com Inc (3.8%), Alphabet Inc Cl A (3.0%), Broadcom Inc (2.6%), Alphabet Inc Cl C (2.4%), Meta Platforms Inc Class A (2.0%), Micron Technology Inc (1.6%) and Tesla Inc (1.5%). Together they make up 38.0% of the fund.
It follows an index. Most broad share indices weight companies by market size, so the largest companies take the biggest share; the exact rules for SPY's index are in the issuer's PDS. Its top 10 weighting of 39.4% compares with 37.6% for similar funds.
How well has SPDR S&P 500 ETF performed?
Based on its category, SPDR S&P 500 ETF aims to grow your capital in line with the index it tracks.
To 23 Oct 2026, with distributions reinvested, it returned 6.5% over 1 year (median 7.0%; ranked 16 of 27), 18.9% a year over 3 years (median 16.2% a year; ranked 6 of 18) and 13.7% a year over 5 years (median 11.3% a year; ranked 4 of 11). The medians and rankings compare it with United States equity funds. Since listing in 2014 it has returned 16.1% a year.
Tracking difference is the gap between a fund's return and its index's return. We don't hold index returns, so we can't measure it for SPY; the issuer reports it in the monthly fact sheet. As a guide, a well-run index fund trails its index by about its fee, here 0.09% a year, and a much bigger gap is a warning sign.
Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.