SPY vs SMH: Performance, Holdings, Fees & Risk
SPY and SMH are ETFs, but they can differ materially in exposure, yield, fees and risk. SPY is State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF, while SMH is VanEck Semiconductor ETF. SPY is broader by holdings count, with 505 positions versus 27 for SMH. SMH is more concentrated at the top, based on top-10 holdings weight. Current AlgovestIQ evidence has SPY ahead on AIQ Score, 66 versus 39.
What is the main difference between SPY and SMH?
SMH puts 100% of its assets in Technology, while SPY spreads across 11 sectors with none above 38%.
| Metric | SPY | SMH |
|---|---|---|
| Fund | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.09% | 0.35% |
| Holdings | 505 | 27 |
| Top-10 concentration | 38.2% | 71.6% |
| Distribution yieldTrailing 12 months | 0.99% | 0.2% |
| Average volume | 46,698,705 | 9,343,290 |
| Performance | ||
| 1Y return | +16.4% | +59.9% |
| YTD return | +12.8% | +51.7% |
| 5Y annualized returnTotal return, distributions reinvested | +12.7% | +33.4% |
| Risk | ||
| Annualized volatility | 12.8% | 39.7% |
| Max drawdown (1Y) | -9.1% | -24.6% |
| Max drawdown (5Y)Total return, distributions reinvested | -24.5% | -45.3% |
| Beta | 1.00 | 2.38 |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.91 | 1.28 |
| Sortino ratio | 1.39 | 1.88 |
| AlgovestIQ | ||
| AIQ Score | 66/100 | 39/100 |
| AIQ Edge Score | 9/10 | 2/10 |
| Momentum | 63/100 | 15/100 |
| Risk Resilience | 88/100 | 29/100 |
AlgovestIQ AIQ Comparison
State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF vs VanEck Semiconductor ETF
SPY leads
SPY leads by 27 AIQ points, primarily on Risk Resilience and Momentum, and the lead has widened from 10 points over 30 sessions.
Stable: 4 of 4 evidence groups support SPY, its lead is widening, and its current signal state is conflicted.
State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF
VanEck Semiconductor ETF
The Algovestiq AIQ Score currently favors SPY over SMH, 66 versus 39 as of Oct 21, 2026. SPY's advantage is driven primarily by stronger risk resilience and momentum. 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 Stable on stability: the lead has swung materially session to session. SPY lead: Strengthening — the AIQ differential moved from 10 to 27 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 VanEck Semiconductor ETF across performance, expense ratio, dividend yield, drawdown, volatility and the Algovestiq AIQ Score.
SPY vs SMH: 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 | SMH | Fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lower costExpense ratio | 0.09% | 0.35% | SPY |
| Broader diversificationNumber of holdings | 505 | 27 | SPY |
| Lower concentrationWeight of the 10 largest holdings | 38.2% | 71.6% | SPY |
| Higher incomeTrailing 12-month distribution yield | 0.99% | 0.2% | SPY |
| Smaller drawdownsMax drawdown, 5 years | -24.5% | -45.3% | SPY |
| Lower volatilityAnnualized volatility, 1 year | 12.8% | 39.7% | SPY |
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 SMH 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.
- Risk Resilience88 vs 29SPY +59
- Momentum63 vs 15SPY +48
- Quality84 vs 71SPY +13
- Value41 vs 31SPY +10
4 of 4 evidence groups favor SPY. SPY’s edge is concentrated in risk resilience and momentum.
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: Value -1, not enough on its own to move the overall score.
No signal started or stopped since the prior session; its 4 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 SMH 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 | SMH | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expense ratio | 0.09% | 0.35% | Lower is better — it compounds against you every year you hold. |
| Holdings | 505 | 27 | More holdings means broader diversification, not better returns. |
| Average volume | 46,698,705 | 9,343,290 | Liquidity — matters most if you trade size. |
| Annualized volatility | 12.8% | 39.7% | Lower is a steadier ride for the same exposure. |
| Max drawdown (1Y) | -9.1% | -24.6% | The worst peak-to-trough loss over the past year. |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.91 | 1.28 | Return per unit of risk. Higher is better. |
| Beta | 1.00 | 2.38 | 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 SMH share 17.71% of their weighted exposure across 20 common holdings.
484 holdings are unique to SPY, and 5 holdings are unique to SMH. Owning both is genuinely additive — most of the capital sits in different securities.
SMH is the more concentrated of the two: its ten largest positions are 71.61% of the fund, against 38.17% for SPY (27 holdings vs 505). Concentration cuts both ways — it is what drives outperformance when the top names work, and what makes the drawdown deeper when they do not.
Largest shared positions
| Holding | SPY | SMH | Shared |
|---|---|---|---|
| NVDANvidia Corp | 8.08% | 22.43% | 8.08% |
| AVGOBroadcom Inc | 2.61% | 5.9% | 2.61% |
| MUMicron Technology Inc | 1.69% | 5.64% | 1.69% |
| AMDAdvanced Micro Devices Inc | 1.25% | 5.73% | 1.25% |
| INTCIntel Corp | 0.76% | 4.34% | 0.76% |
| LRCXLam Research Corp | 0.57% | 4.29% | 0.57% |
| AMATApplied Materials Inc | 0.55% | 4.23% | 0.55% |
| TXNTexas Instruments Inc | 0.36% | 4.25% | 0.36% |
Shared weight is the lower of the two positions — the portion of capital both funds genuinely have in the same security.
What SPY adds that SMH doesn’t
| Holding | SPY | SMH |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| GOOGALPHABET INC CL C | 2.39% | Not held |
| METAMETA PLATFORMS INC CLASS A | 2.16% | Not held |
What SMH adds that SPY doesn’t
| Holding | SMH | SPY |
|---|---|---|
| NVDANvidia Corp | 22.43% | 8.08% |
| TSMTaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co L | 9.77% | Not held |
| AVGOBroadcom Inc | 5.9% | 2.61% |
| AMDAdvanced Micro Devices Inc | 5.73% | 1.25% |
| MUMicron Technology Inc | 5.64% | 1.69% |
| ASMLAsml Holding Nv | 5.01% | 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.
SPY vs SMH: five-year payout growth
SMH grew its split-adjusted payout faster over 2020-2025 — 8.02% a year against SPY's 5.05%. SPY never reduced its annual distribution in the window; SMH did in 1 year. SMH: The 2020 payout was 64.6% below 2019, so the growth rate measures a recovery from a weak starting year. SMH: The payout jumped 52.6% in 2022, a single step rather than steady compounding - often an index or mandate change.
| Dividend metric | SPY | SMH |
|---|---|---|
| 5Y payout CAGR | 5.05% | 8.02% |
| 2020 annual payout | $5.691 | $0.751 |
| 2025 annual payout | $7.281 | $1.105 |
| Calendar-year declines | 0 | 1 |
| Peer rank | #95 of 138 | #69 of 138 |
Split-adjusted annual distributions, 2020–2025. Research as of Sep 19, 2026. Yield and expense ratio above are current values, not part of this window.
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 39 |
| Fundamentals | Not covered | Not covered |
| Valuation | SPY | Value 41 vs 31 |
| Technicals | SPY | Price vs 50-day 0.6% vs -3.7%; vs 200-day 5.9% vs 6.5% |
| Risk Resilience | SPY | Risk Resilience 88 vs 29 |
| 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 SMH and are excluded from the count.
AIQ Decision Stability
The conclusion rests on a wide gap and broad agreement. It is unlikely to turn on a single session.
- The AIQ gap is wide at 27 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 widening. (supports the conclusion holding)
- The lead has swung materially session to session. (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: Strengthening — the AIQ differential moved from 10 to 27 points over 30 sessions.
- Today
- SPY +27
- 66 vs 39
- 7 sessions ago
- SPY +28
- 66 vs 38
- 30 sessions ago
- SPY +10
- 66 vs 56
- 90 sessions ago
- SPY +14
- 70 vs 56
The lead has not changed hands in this window.
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
- ATR Contraction - Coiling — neutral, volatility, short horizon (0.92%)
- EMA Ribbon Expansion Bullish — bullish, trend, medium horizon
- 52-Week High Proximity — bullish, risk, long horizon (1.2%)
- Uptrend Structure Active — bullish, trend, long horizon
2 bullish / 2 bearish, conflicted
Only SMH
- Keltner Channel Breakdown — bearish, volatility, short horizon
- RSI Oversold - Potential Bounce — bullish, momentum, short horizon
Both carry 2 more signals that do not separate them: Golden Cross Active, MACD Bearish Crossover.
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 +1.89%, 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.
- 1SMH closes the Risk Resilience gap — currently 59 points behind, the largest single contributor to SPY's edge.
- 2SMH's Keltner Channel Breakdown resolves — a bearish volatility rule currently active against it.
- 3SPY's conflicting signal state resolves bearish — it currently carries 4 bullish and 1 bearish rules at once.
- 4A regime shift changes factor weighting — Quality and Value carry the heaviest weights in the composite, so a rotation toward either would move the result most.
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
Split across windows| Metric | SPY | SMH |
|---|---|---|
| 1 week (5 sessions) | -1.2% | -7.1% |
| 1 month (20 sessions) | -0.6% | -10.1% |
| 3 months (63 sessions) | 2.9% | -6.9% |
| 6 months (126 sessions) | 9.2% | 17.6% |
| Year to date | 12.8% | 51.7% |
| 1 year (252 sessions) | 16.4% | 59.9% |
Technicals
SPY has the stronger structure| Metric | SPY | SMH |
|---|---|---|
| RSI (14) | 56.2 | 27.7 |
| ADX (14) | 12.5 | 22.4 |
| Price vs 50-day | 0.6% | -3.7% |
| Price vs 200-day | 5.9% | 6.5% |
| Volatility (1M, annualized) | 9% | 26.2% |
Risk
SPY is the more resilient| Metric | SPY | SMH |
|---|---|---|
| Beta | 1 | 2.38 |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.91 | 1.28 |
| Sortino ratio | 1.39 | 1.88 |
| Max drawdown | -9.1% | -24.6% |
| Current drawdown | -1.3% | -18.3% |
| Annualized volatility | 12.8% | 39.7% |
| Value at risk (95%) | -1.4% | -4% |
Straight answers
Short answers to the questions fund investors ask about this pair, from the figures above.
What is the difference between SPY and SMH?
SMH puts 100% of its assets in Technology, while SPY spreads across 11 sectors with none above 38%.
How much do SPY and SMH overlap?
SPY and SMH share 17.71% of their weighted exposure across 20 common holdings. 484 holdings are unique to SPY, and 5 holdings are unique to SMH. Owning both is genuinely additive — most of the capital sits in different securities.
Which ETF is more diversified, SPY or SMH?
SPY holds more positions: 505 versus 27 for SMH.
Which has the lower expense ratio?
SPY has the lower expense ratio, 0.09% a year against 0.35% for SMH.
Which ETF has the higher distribution yield?
SPY, with a trailing 12-month distribution yield of 0.99% against 0.2% for SMH.
Which ETF has been more volatile?
SMH has been more volatile over the past year, at 39.7% annualized against 12.8% for SPY.
Which ETF has had the smaller drawdown?
SPY fell less from peak to trough over the past five years: -24.5% against -45.3% for SMH.
Compare SPY and SMH 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.