SPY vs TSPY: Performance, Holdings, Fees & Risk
SPY and TSPY are ETFs, but they can differ materially in exposure, yield, fees and risk. SPY is State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF, while TSPY is TappAlpha SPY Growth & Daily Income ETF. SPY is broader by holdings count, with 505 positions versus 4 for TSPY. SPY has the lower expense ratio. Current AlgovestIQ evidence has SPY ahead on AIQ Score, 66 versus 48.
What is the main difference between SPY and TSPY?
SPY holds 505 positions to TSPY's 4, and 0% of their weight is in the same securities.
| Metric | SPY | TSPY |
|---|---|---|
| Fund | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.09% | 0.71% |
| Holdings | 505 | 4 |
| Distribution yieldTrailing 12 months | 0.99% | 14.08% |
| Average volume | 46,698,705 | 245,465 |
| Performance | ||
| 1Y return | +16.4% | +1.4% |
| YTD return | +12.8% | -0.7% |
| Risk | ||
| Annualized volatility | 12.8% | 12.9% |
| Max drawdown (1Y) | -9.1% | -12.9% |
| Beta | 1.00 | 0.93 |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.91 | -0.18 |
| Sortino ratio | 1.39 | -0.26 |
| AlgovestIQ | ||
| AIQ Score | 66/100 | 48/100 |
| AIQ Edge Score | 9/10 | 3/10 |
| Momentum | 63/100 | 48/100 |
| Risk Resilience | 88/100 | 86/100 |
AlgovestIQ AIQ Comparison
State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF vs TappAlpha SPY Growth & Daily Income ETF
SPY leads
SPY leads by 18 AIQ points, primarily on Quality and Momentum.
Competitive: 2 of 4 evidence groups support SPY, and its current signal state is conflicted.
State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF
TappAlpha SPY Growth & Daily Income ETF
The Algovestiq AIQ Score currently favors SPY over TSPY, 66 versus 48 as of Oct 21, 2026. SPY's advantage is driven primarily by stronger quality and momentum. SPY also shows the stronger technical structure relative to its 50-day moving average. 2 of 4 covered evidence groups favor SPY today, and the comparison is rated Competitive on stability: only 2 of 4 covered evidence groups agree. SPY lead: Stable — the AIQ differential has held near 18 points over 30 sessions.
Compare State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF and TappAlpha SPY Growth & Daily Income ETF across performance, expense ratio, dividend yield, drawdown, volatility and the Algovestiq AIQ Score.
SPY vs TSPY: 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 | TSPY | Fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lower costExpense ratio | 0.09% | 0.71% | SPY |
| Broader diversificationNumber of holdings | 505 | 4 | SPY |
| Higher incomeTrailing 12-month distribution yield | 0.99% | 14.08% | TSPY |
| Smaller drawdownsMax drawdown, 1 year | -9.1% | -12.9% | SPY |
| Lower volatilityAnnualized volatility, 1 year | 12.8% | 12.9% | Similar |
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 TSPY 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 40SPY +44
- Momentum63 vs 48SPY +15
- Value41 vs 38Even
- Risk Resilience88 vs 86Even
2 of 4 evidence groups favor SPY. SPY’s edge is concentrated in quality 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: Momentum +3, not enough on its own to move the overall score.
No signal started or stopped since the prior session; its 3 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 TSPY 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 | TSPY | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expense ratio | 0.09% | 0.71% | Lower is better — it compounds against you every year you hold. |
| Holdings | 505 | 4 | More holdings means broader diversification, not better returns. |
| Average volume | 46,698,705 | 245,465 | Liquidity — matters most if you trade size. |
| Annualized volatility | 12.8% | 12.9% | Lower is a steadier ride for the same exposure. |
| Max drawdown (1Y) | -9.1% | -12.9% | The worst peak-to-trough loss over the past year. |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.91 | -0.18 | Return per unit of risk. Higher is better. |
| Beta | 1.00 | 0.93 | Sensitivity to the broad market. Neither direction is better — it depends on the role in your portfolio. |
How much of the same holdings they own
SPY and TSPY share 0% of their weighted exposure across 0 common holdings.
504 holdings are unique to SPY, and 2 holdings are unique to TSPY. Owning both is genuinely additive — most of the capital sits in different securities.
What SPY adds that TSPY doesn’t
| Holding | SPY | TSPY |
|---|---|---|
| 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 TSPY adds that SPY doesn’t
| Holding | TSPY | SPY |
|---|---|---|
| VOOVanguard S&P 500 ETF | 99.88% | 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 TSPY: five-year payout growth
SPY grew its split-adjusted payout at 5.05% a year over 2020-2025. TSPY began paying distributions in 2024, so it has no 2020-2025 growth rate to compare.
| Dividend metric | SPY | TSPY |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 annual payout | $7.281 | $3.492 |
| Peer rank | #95 of 138 | not ranked |
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
2 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 48 |
| Fundamentals | Not covered | Not covered |
| Valuation | Even | Value 41 vs 38 |
| Technicals | SPY | Price vs 50-day 0.6% vs 0%; vs 200-day 5.9% vs 0.6% |
| Risk Resilience | Even | Risk Resilience 88 vs 86 |
| 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 TSPY 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 18 points. (supports the conclusion holding)
- Only 2 of 4 covered evidence groups agree. (argues the conclusion is provisional)
- The lead has been steady session to session. (supports the conclusion holding)
- 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
45 daily snapshots · Sep 6 – Oct 20SPY lead: Stable — the AIQ differential has held near 18 points over 30 sessions.
- Today
- SPY +18
- 66 vs 48
- 7 sessions ago
- SPY +19
- 66 vs 47
- 30 sessions ago
- SPY +17
- 66 vs 49
- 90 sessions ago
- Not covered
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
- 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
1 bullish / 1 bearish / 1 neutral, conflicted
No signal that the other name lacks.
Both carry 3 more signals that do not separate them: Golden Cross Active, ATR Contraction - Coiling, 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 +0.63%, 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.
- 1TSPY closes the Quality gap — currently 44 points behind, the largest single contributor to SPY's edge.
- 2TSPY's MACD Bearish Crossover resolves — a bearish momentum 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
SPY leads 5 of 6 windows| Metric | SPY | TSPY |
|---|---|---|
| 1 week (5 sessions) | -1.2% | -1.1% |
| 1 month (20 sessions) | -0.6% | -1.5% |
| 3 months (63 sessions) | 2.9% | -0.3% |
| 6 months (126 sessions) | 9.2% | 2.2% |
| Year to date | 12.8% | -0.7% |
| 1 year (252 sessions) | 16.4% | 1.4% |
Technicals
SPY has the stronger structure| Metric | SPY | TSPY |
|---|---|---|
| RSI (14) | 56.2 | 49.1 |
| ADX (14) | 12.5 | 13.6 |
| Price vs 50-day | 0.6% | 0% |
| Price vs 200-day | 5.9% | 0.6% |
| Volatility (1M, annualized) | 9% | 9.3% |
Risk
Split| Metric | SPY | TSPY |
|---|---|---|
| Beta | 1 | 0.93 |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.91 | -0.18 |
| Sortino ratio | 1.39 | -0.26 |
| Max drawdown | -9.1% | -12.9% |
| Current drawdown | -1.3% | -3.6% |
| Annualized volatility | 12.8% | 12.9% |
| Value at risk (95%) | -1.4% | -1.4% |
Straight answers
Short answers to the questions fund investors ask about this pair, from the figures above.
What is the difference between SPY and TSPY?
SPY holds 505 positions to TSPY's 4, and 0% of their weight is in the same securities.
How much do SPY and TSPY overlap?
SPY and TSPY share 0% of their weighted exposure across 0 common holdings. 504 holdings are unique to SPY, and 2 holdings are unique to TSPY. Owning both is genuinely additive — most of the capital sits in different securities.
Which ETF is more diversified, SPY or TSPY?
SPY holds more positions: 505 versus 4 for TSPY.
Which has the lower expense ratio?
SPY has the lower expense ratio, 0.09% a year against 0.71% for TSPY.
Which ETF has the higher distribution yield?
TSPY, with a trailing 12-month distribution yield of 14.08% against 0.99% for SPY.
Which ETF has been more volatile?
Their volatility over the past year is similar: 12.8% annualized for SPY and 12.9% for TSPY.
Which ETF has had the smaller drawdown?
SPY fell less from peak to trough over the past year: -9.1% against -12.9% for TSPY.
Compare SPY and TSPY 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.