SPY vs SHY: Performance, Holdings, Fees & Risk
SPY and SHY are ETFs, but they can differ materially in exposure, yield, fees and risk. SPY is State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF, while SHY is iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF. SPY is broader by holdings count, with 505 positions versus 92 for SHY. SPY is more concentrated at the top, based on top-10 holdings weight. Current AlgovestIQ evidence has SPY ahead on AIQ Score, 66 versus 54.
What is the main difference between SPY and SHY?
SHY puts 100% of its assets in Treasuries, while SPY spreads across 11 sectors with none above 38%.
| Metric | SPY | SHY |
|---|---|---|
| Fund | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.09% | 0.15% |
| Holdings | 505 | 92 |
| Top-10 concentration | 38.2% | 15.9% |
| Distribution yieldTrailing 12 months | 0.99% | 3.62% |
| Average volume | 46,698,705 | 3,950,340 |
| Performance | ||
| 1Y return | +16.4% | -2.2% |
| YTD return | +12.8% | -1.8% |
| 5Y annualized returnTotal return, distributions reinvested | +12.7% | +1.9% |
| Risk | ||
| Annualized volatility | 12.8% | 1.8% |
| Max drawdown (1Y) | -9.1% | -2.6% |
| Max drawdown (5Y)Total return, distributions reinvested | -24.5% | -5.4% |
| Beta | 1.00 | 0.03 |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.91 | -3.48 |
| Sortino ratio | 1.39 | -3.89 |
| AlgovestIQ | ||
| AIQ Score | 66/100 | 54/100 |
| AIQ Edge Score | 9/10 | 5/10 |
| Momentum | 63/100 | 49/100 |
| Risk Resilience | 88/100 | 72/100 |
AlgovestIQ AIQ Comparison
State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF vs iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF
SPY leads
SPY leads by 12 AIQ points, primarily on Quality and Risk Resilience, but the lead has narrowed from 18 points over 30 sessions.
Competitive: 4 of 4 evidence groups support SPY, its lead is narrowing, and its current signal state is conflicted.
State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF
iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF
The Algovestiq AIQ Score currently favors SPY over SHY, 66 versus 54 as of Oct 21, 2026. SPY's advantage is driven primarily by stronger quality and risk resilience. SPY also shows the stronger technical structure relative to its 50-day moving average. 4 of 4 covered evidence groups favor SPY today, and the comparison is rated Competitive on stability: the leader's advantage has been narrowing. SPY lead: Weakening — the AIQ differential moved from 18 to 12 points over 30 sessions. SPY leads on all four AIQ factor dimensions. Value is itself one of those four, so a sweep is not explained by valuation alone — it deserves additional scrutiny for unmodeled catalysts, expectations or event risk.
Compare State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF and iShares 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF across performance, expense ratio, dividend yield, drawdown, volatility and the Algovestiq AIQ Score.
SPY vs SHY: which fits what
Each row is settled by a single measure. Where the gap is too small to matter it reads Similar, and no row decides the comparison as a whole.
| If you want | SPY | SHY | Fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lower costExpense ratio | 0.09% | 0.15% | SPY |
| Broader diversificationNumber of holdings | 505 | 92 | SPY |
| Lower concentrationWeight of the 10 largest holdings | 38.2% | 15.9% | SHY |
| Higher incomeTrailing 12-month distribution yield | 0.99% | 3.62% | SHY |
| Smaller drawdownsMax drawdown, 5 years | -24.5% | -5.4% | SHY |
| Lower volatilityAnnualized volatility, 1 year | 12.8% | 1.8% | SHY |
Similar means the gap is within 0.01 percentage points of expense ratio, 25% more holdings, 3 points of top-10 weight, 0.2 points of yield, 2 points of drawdown or 1 point of volatility. Past drawdowns and volatility describe the funds’ history, not their future.
Performance over time
Total return with distributions reinvested, from daily closes for both ETFs.
Total return comparison
Growth of $10,000, distributions reinvested
Split-adjusted closes; each distribution is reinvested at the close on its ex-dividend date. Taxes and trading costs are not modeled.
Compare SPY and SHY against another ticker
Open a multi-ticker workspace without changing this focused pair page.
AIQ Factor Divergence
Where the two separate, on the four dimensions behind the AIQ Score. Bars read outward from a shared zero: further from the centre is a wider gap.
- Quality84 vs 67SPY +17
- Risk Resilience88 vs 72SPY +16
- Momentum63 vs 49SPY +14
- Value41 vs 36SPY +5
4 of 4 evidence groups favor SPY. SPY’s edge is concentrated in quality and risk resilience.
What changed since the last close
Latest scored session 2026-10-20, compared against the prior scored session 2026-10-19.
Largest factor move: Momentum +16
New signals
- Uptrend Structure Active — bullish, trend, long horizon
Largest factor move: Momentum -2, not enough on its own to move the overall score.
No signal started or stopped since the prior session; its 6 active signals are unchanged.
SPY's lead widened by 4 AIQ points in the latest session.
Deeper signal detail for each name lives on its own signals page — SPY and SHY both carry a full feed there.
Fund facts, side by side
Two funds tracking overlapping universes are separated by cost and risk far more than by holdings. Those lead here.
| Measure | SPY | SHY | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expense ratio | 0.09% | 0.15% | Lower is better — it compounds against you every year you hold. |
| Holdings | 505 | 92 | More holdings means broader diversification, not better returns. |
| Average volume | 46,698,705 | 3,950,340 | Liquidity — matters most if you trade size. |
| Annualized volatility | 12.8% | 1.8% | Lower is a steadier ride for the same exposure. |
| Max drawdown (1Y) | -9.1% | -2.6% | The worst peak-to-trough loss over the past year. |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.91 | -3.48 | Return per unit of risk. Higher is better. |
| Beta | 1.00 | 0.03 | Sensitivity to the broad market. Neither direction is better — it depends on the role in your portfolio. |
Where the exposure actually sits
Sector exposure for each fund, ordered by the size of the difference.
How much of the same holdings they own
SPY and SHY share 0% of their weighted exposure across 0 common holdings.
504 holdings are unique to SPY, and 90 holdings are unique to SHY. Owning both is genuinely additive — most of the capital sits in different securities.
SPY is the more concentrated of the two: its ten largest positions are 38.17% of the fund, against 15.91% for SHY (505 holdings vs 92). Concentration cuts both ways — it is what drives outperformance when the top names work, and what makes the drawdown deeper when they do not.
What SPY adds that SHY doesn’t
| Holding | SPY | SHY |
|---|---|---|
| NVDANVIDIA CORP | 8.08% | Not held |
| AAPLAPPLE INC | 7.33% | Not held |
| MSFTMICROSOFT CORP | 5.59% | Not held |
| AMZNAMAZON.COM INC | 3.77% | Not held |
| GOOGLALPHABET INC CL A | 2.98% | Not held |
| AVGOBROADCOM INC | 2.61% | Not held |
What SHY adds that SPY doesn’t
| Holding | SHY | SPY |
|---|---|---|
| TREASURY NOTE 1.25% 04/30/2028 | 1.98% | Not held |
| TREASURY NOTE 3.63% 08/31/2029 | 1.82% | Not held |
| TREASURY NOTE 3.50% 01/31/2028 | 1.72% | Not held |
| TREASURY NOTE 1.25% 06/30/2028 | 1.61% | Not held |
| TREASURY NOTE 4.63% 04/30/2029 | 1.54% | Not held |
| TREASURY NOTE 4.50% 05/31/2029 | 1.51% | Not held |
Each list is a fund’s largest positions by weight that the other fund does not hold, or holds at less than half the weight.
AIQ Agreement Matrix
4 of 4 covered evidence groups favor SPY. A wide gap backed by one group is a weaker case than a narrow gap backed by five.
| Evidence group | Favors | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| AIQ Score | SPY | 66 vs 54 |
| Fundamentals | Not covered | Not covered |
| Valuation | SPY | Value 41 vs 36 |
| Technicals | SPY | Price vs 50-day 0.6% vs -0.3%; vs 200-day 5.9% vs -1.1% |
| Risk Resilience | SPY | Risk Resilience 88 vs 72 |
| Analyst expectations | Not covered | Not covered |
✓ agrees with the overall verdict · ✕ points the other way. Groups marked “not covered” lack data on one or both of SPY and SHY and are excluded from the count.
AIQ Decision Stability
The two are close enough that your objective, not the score, should decide.
- The AIQ gap is wide at 12 points. (supports the conclusion holding)
- 4 of 4 covered evidence groups point the same way. (supports the conclusion holding)
- The leader's advantage has been narrowing. (argues the conclusion is provisional)
- The leader is throwing conflicting signals. (argues the conclusion is provisional)
Stability combines the score gap, how broadly the evidence agrees, how steady the lead has been across daily snapshots, the current signal state on both names, and analyst dispersion on SPY.
How the comparison changed
120 daily snapshots · Jun 21 – Oct 20SPY lead: Weakening — the AIQ differential moved from 18 to 12 points over 30 sessions.
- Today
- SPY +12
- 66 vs 54
- 7 sessions ago
- SPY +13
- 66 vs 53
- 30 sessions ago
- SPY +18
- 66 vs 48
- 90 sessions ago
- SPY +14
- 70 vs 56
The lead changed hands 2 times in this window, most recently on Jul 31 when SPY moved ahead of SHY.
AIQ Signal Divergence
Only the signals that bear on the head-to-head. A conflicted name is carrying bullish and bearish rules at the same time — the technical evidence is not pointing one way.
4 bullish / 1 bearish / 1 neutral, conflicted
Only SPY
- Golden Cross Active — bullish, trend, long horizon (5.84%)
- EMA Ribbon Expansion Bullish — bullish, trend, medium horizon
- Uptrend Structure Active — bullish, trend, long horizon
- MACD Bearish Crossover — bearish, momentum, short horizon
2 bullish / 3 bearish / 1 neutral, conflicted
Only SHY
- Death Cross Active — bearish, trend, long horizon (0.81%)
- 52-Week Low Proximity — bearish, risk, long horizon (0.4%)
- Downtrend Structure Active — bearish, trend, long horizon
- MACD Bullish Crossover — bullish, momentum, short horizon
Both carry 2 more signals that do not separate them: ATR Contraction - Coiling, 52-Week High Proximity.
SPY leads the comparison while carrying a conflicted signal state, which is one reason the stability rating is not higher.
Price vs model alignment
Whether the latest session's price move confirms what the model did over the same session, or contradicts it.
Price and the AIQ Score both moved up over the latest session (price +0.53%, AIQ +4 points).
Neither the price nor the AIQ Score moved enough in the latest session to confirm or contradict the other (price -0.01%, AIQ 0 points).
What would flip this result
A state, not a forecast. These are the specific, observable changes that would reverse the verdict — not a price prediction.
- 1SHY closes the Quality gap — currently 17 points behind, the largest single contributor to SPY's edge.
- 2SHY's Death Cross Active resolves — a bearish trend rule currently active against it.
- 3SPY's conflicting signal state resolves bearish — it currently carries 4 bullish and 1 bearish rules at once.
- 4The narrowing continues — the lead has already given back 6 points over 30 sessions, and a further 12-point move would eliminate SPY's advantage entirely.
The full evidence
Every number behind the verdict. The leader is called above each group so you are not left to solve it from the table.
Performance
SPY leads 4 of 6 windows| Metric | SPY | SHY |
|---|---|---|
| 1 week (5 sessions) | -1.2% | 0.1% |
| 1 month (20 sessions) | -0.6% | 0% |
| 3 months (63 sessions) | 2.9% | -0.6% |
| 6 months (126 sessions) | 9.2% | -1.4% |
| Year to date | 12.8% | -1.8% |
| 1 year (252 sessions) | 16.4% | -2.2% |
Technicals
SPY has the stronger structure| Metric | SPY | SHY |
|---|---|---|
| RSI (14) | 56.2 | 58.1 |
| ADX (14) | 12.5 | 26.8 |
| Price vs 50-day | 0.6% | -0.3% |
| Price vs 200-day | 5.9% | -1.1% |
| Volatility (1M, annualized) | 9% | 1.5% |
Risk
SPY is the more resilient| Metric | SPY | SHY |
|---|---|---|
| Beta | 1 | 0.03 |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.91 | -3.48 |
| Sortino ratio | 1.39 | -3.89 |
| Max drawdown | -9.1% | -2.6% |
| Current drawdown | -1.3% | -2.3% |
| Annualized volatility | 12.8% | 1.8% |
| Value at risk (95%) | -1.4% | -0.3% |
Straight answers
Short answers to the questions fund investors ask about this pair, from the figures above.
What is the difference between SPY and SHY?
SHY puts 100% of its assets in Treasuries, while SPY spreads across 11 sectors with none above 38%.
How much do SPY and SHY overlap?
SPY and SHY share 0% of their weighted exposure across 0 common holdings. 504 holdings are unique to SPY, and 90 holdings are unique to SHY. Owning both is genuinely additive — most of the capital sits in different securities.
Which ETF is more diversified, SPY or SHY?
SPY holds more positions: 505 versus 92 for SHY.
Which has the lower expense ratio?
SPY has the lower expense ratio, 0.09% a year against 0.15% for SHY.
Which ETF has the higher distribution yield?
SHY, with a trailing 12-month distribution yield of 3.62% against 0.99% for SPY.
Which ETF has been more volatile?
SPY has been more volatile over the past year, at 12.8% annualized against 1.8% for SHY.
Which ETF has had the smaller drawdown?
SHY fell less from peak to trough over the past five years: -5.4% against -24.5% for SPY.
Compare SPY and SHY with others
Continue your research
This page answers which of the two. These answer the questions on either side of it.
How this comparison is scored
The Algovestiq AIQ Score composites four factors — Quality, Value, Momentum and Risk, each carrying a fixed weight. Sentiment is reported separately as SentimentPulse and is not folded into the composite. Scores refresh every trading day, and this page regenerates from the latest snapshot rather than being written once.
The verdict names a leader, states how broadly six independent evidence groups agree, and rates how durable that conclusion is given the score gap, its recent trajectory and the current signal state on both names.
How to use side-by-side comparison →This comparison is informational and educational, not investment advice. AIQ scores update daily; re-check after earnings, guidance or macro data that materially changes either name’s factor profile.