SPY vs SPYI: Performance, Holdings, Fees & Risk
SPY and SPYI are ETFs, but they can differ materially in exposure, yield, fees and risk. SPY is State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF, while SPYI is Neos S&P 500(R) High Income ETF. SPY has the lower expense ratio. Current AlgovestIQ evidence has SPY ahead on AIQ Score, 59 versus 49.
What is the main difference between SPY and SPYI?
SPY and SPYI hold essentially the same portfolio: 98% of their weight is in the same securities.
| Metric | SPY | SPYI |
|---|---|---|
| Fund | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.09% | 0.68% |
| Holdings | 505 | 508 |
| Top-10 concentration | 38.2% | 38% |
| Distribution yieldTrailing 12 months | 1% | 12.01% |
| Average volume | 45,782,293 | 2,696,728 |
| Performance | ||
| 1Y return | +13.6% | +0.2% |
| YTD return | +11.4% | +0.2% |
| Risk | ||
| Annualized volatility | 12.8% | 11.1% |
| Max drawdown (1Y) | -9.1% | -10.1% |
| Beta | 1.00 | 0.81 |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.77 | -0.19 |
| Sortino ratio | 1.18 | -0.26 |
| AlgovestIQ | ||
| AIQ Score | 59/100 | 49/100 |
| AIQ Edge Score | 7/10 | 4/10 |
| Momentum | 32/100 | 25/100 |
| Risk Resilience | 87/100 | 80/100 |
AlgovestIQ AIQ Comparison
State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF vs Neos S&P 500(R) High Income ETF
SPY leads
SPY leads by 10 AIQ points, primarily on Quality and Momentum.
Competitive: 3 of 4 evidence groups support SPY, and its current signal state is conflicted.
State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF
Neos S&P 500(R) High Income ETF
The Algovestiq AIQ Score currently favors SPY over SPYI, 59 versus 49 as of Oct 24, 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. 3 of 4 covered evidence groups favor SPY today, and the comparison is rated Competitive on stability: the leader is throwing conflicting signals. SPY lead: Stable — the AIQ differential has held near 10 points over 30 sessions.
Compare State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF and Neos S&P 500(R) High Income ETF across performance, expense ratio, dividend yield, drawdown, volatility and the Algovestiq AIQ Score.
SPY vs SPYI: 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 | SPYI | Fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lower costExpense ratio | 0.09% | 0.68% | SPY |
| Broader diversificationNumber of holdings | 505 | 508 | Similar |
| Lower concentrationWeight of the 10 largest holdings | 38.2% | 38% | Similar |
| Higher incomeTrailing 12-month distribution yield | 1% | 12.01% | SPYI |
| Smaller drawdownsMax drawdown, 1 year | -9.1% | -10.1% | Similar |
| Lower volatilityAnnualized volatility, 1 year | 12.8% | 11.1% | SPYI |
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 SPYI 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 62SPY +22
- Momentum32 vs 25SPY +7
- Risk Resilience87 vs 80SPY +7
- Value41 vs 41Even
3 of 4 evidence groups favor SPY. SPY’s edge is concentrated in quality and momentum.
What changed since the last close
Latest scored session 2026-10-23, compared against the prior scored session 2026-10-22.
Largest factor move: Momentum -9
New signals
- EMA Ribbon Compression — neutral, trend, medium horizon
Largest factor move: Momentum -14
New signals
- Keltner Channel Breakdown — bearish, volatility, short horizon
SPY's lead widened by 1 AIQ point in the latest session.
Deeper signal detail for each name lives on its own signals page — SPY and SPYI 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 | SPYI | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Expense ratio | 0.09% | 0.68% | Lower is better — it compounds against you every year you hold. |
| Holdings | 505 | 508 | More holdings means broader diversification, not better returns. |
| Average volume | 45,782,293 | 2,696,728 | Liquidity — matters most if you trade size. |
| Annualized volatility | 12.8% | 11.1% | Lower is a steadier ride for the same exposure. |
| Max drawdown (1Y) | -9.1% | -10.1% | The worst peak-to-trough loss over the past year. |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.77 | -0.19 | Return per unit of risk. Higher is better. |
| Beta | 1.00 | 0.81 | 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 SPYI share 98.21% of their weighted exposure across 502 common holdings.
2 holdings are unique to SPY, and 5 holdings are unique to SPYI. Owning both adds little diversification — they are largely the same exposure in different wrappers.
SPY is the more concentrated of the two: its ten largest positions are 38.17% of the fund, against 37.98% for SPYI (505 holdings vs 508). 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 | SPYI | Shared |
|---|---|---|---|
| NVDANVIDIA CORP | 8.08% | 8.02% | 8.02% |
| AAPLAPPLE INC | 7.33% | 7.27% | 7.27% |
| MSFTMICROSOFT CORP | 5.59% | 5.57% | 5.57% |
| AMZNAmazon.com Inc | 3.77% | 3.81% | 3.77% |
| GOOGLALPHABET INC CL A | 2.98% | 2.96% | 2.96% |
| AVGOBROADCOM INC | 2.61% | 2.6% | 2.6% |
| GOOGAlphabet Inc | 2.39% | 2.41% | 2.39% |
| METAMETA PLATFORMS INC CLASS A | 2.16% | 2.14% | 2.14% |
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 SPYI doesn’t
| Holding | SPY | SPYI |
|---|---|---|
| 2682320DFALCON TOPCO INC | 0.09% | Not held |
What SPYI adds that SPY doesn’t
| Holding | SPYI | SPY |
|---|---|---|
| SPX 261016C07790000SPX US 10/16/26 C7790 | 0.26% | Not held |
| SPX 261016C07870000SPX US 10/16/26 C7870 | 0.15% | Not held |
| OKEONEOK Inc | 0.09% | 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 SPYI: five-year payout growth
SPY grew its split-adjusted payout at 5.05% a year over 2020-2025. SPYI began paying distributions in 2022, so it has no 2020-2025 growth rate to compare.
| Dividend metric | SPY | SPYI |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 annual payout | $7.281 | $6.146 |
| 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
3 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 | 59 vs 49 |
| Fundamentals | Not covered | Not covered |
| Valuation | Even | Value 41 vs 41 |
| Technicals | SPY | Price vs 50-day -1% vs -1.7%; vs 200-day 4.6% vs -0.1% |
| Risk Resilience | SPY | Risk Resilience 87 vs 80 |
| 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 SPYI 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 moderate at 10 points.
- 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
48 daily snapshots · Sep 6 – Oct 23SPY lead: Stable — the AIQ differential has held near 10 points over 30 sessions.
- Today
- SPY +10
- 59 vs 49
- 7 sessions ago
- SPY +7
- 66 vs 59
- 30 sessions ago
- SPY +9
- 67 vs 58
- 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.
2 bullish / 1 bearish / 2 neutral, conflicted
Only SPY
- EMA Ribbon Compression — neutral, trend, medium horizon
3 bullish / 2 bearish / 2 neutral, conflicted
Only SPYI
- Bollinger Band Squeeze — neutral, volatility, short horizon
- BB Lower Band Breach — bullish, volatility, short horizon
- Keltner Channel Breakdown — bearish, volatility, short horizon
Both carry 4 more signals that do not separate them: Golden Cross Active, ATR Contraction - Coiling, 52-Week High Proximity, 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 down over the latest session (price -0.52%, AIQ -2 points).
Price and the AIQ Score both moved down over the latest session (price -0.44%, AIQ -3 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.
- 1SPYI closes the Quality gap — currently 22 points behind, the largest single contributor to SPY's edge.
- 2SPYI's Bollinger Band Squeeze turns directional — it is neutral today and would confirm a change in trend.
- 3SPY's conflicting signal state resolves bearish — it currently carries 2 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 6 of 6 windows| Metric | SPY | SPYI |
|---|---|---|
| 1 week (5 sessions) | -0.4% | -1.3% |
| 1 month (20 sessions) | -1.5% | -1.9% |
| 3 months (63 sessions) | 2.8% | 0.6% |
| 6 months (126 sessions) | 6.4% | 0.8% |
| Year to date | 11.4% | 0.2% |
| 1 year (252 sessions) | 13.6% | 0.2% |
Technicals
SPY has the stronger structure| Metric | SPY | SPYI |
|---|---|---|
| RSI (14) | 36.9 | 30.5 |
| ADX (14) | 14.7 | 19.8 |
| Price vs 50-day | -1% | -1.7% |
| Price vs 200-day | 4.6% | -0.1% |
| Volatility (1M, annualized) | 9.8% | 7.7% |
Risk
SPY is the more resilient| Metric | SPY | SPYI |
|---|---|---|
| Beta | 1 | 0.81 |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.77 | -0.19 |
| Sortino ratio | 1.18 | -0.26 |
| Max drawdown | -9.1% | -10.1% |
| Current drawdown | -2.5% | -3.3% |
| Annualized volatility | 12.8% | 11.1% |
| Value at risk (95%) | -1.4% | -1.3% |
Straight answers
Short answers to the questions fund investors ask about this pair, from the figures above.
What is the difference between SPY and SPYI?
SPY and SPYI hold essentially the same portfolio: 98% of their weight is in the same securities.
How much do SPY and SPYI overlap?
SPY and SPYI share 98.21% of their weighted exposure across 502 common holdings. 2 holdings are unique to SPY, and 5 holdings are unique to SPYI. Owning both adds little diversification — they are largely the same exposure in different wrappers.
Which ETF is more diversified, SPY or SPYI?
They hold a similar number of positions: 505 for SPY and 508 for SPYI.
Which has the lower expense ratio?
SPY has the lower expense ratio, 0.09% a year against 0.68% for SPYI.
Which ETF has the higher distribution yield?
SPYI, with a trailing 12-month distribution yield of 12.01% against 1% for SPY.
Which ETF has been more volatile?
SPY has been more volatile over the past year, at 12.8% annualized against 11.1% for SPYI.
Which ETF has had the smaller drawdown?
Their worst peak-to-trough falls over the past year are similar: -9.1% for SPY and -10.1% for SPYI.
Compare SPY and SPYI 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.