SPY Undercuts QQQ on 0.09% Fees as QQQ Delivers 26.8% 1-Year Return
Updated
Updated · Yahoo Finance · Aug 15
SPY Undercuts QQQ on 0.09% Fees as QQQ Delivers 26.8% 1-Year Return
2 articles · Updated · Yahoo Finance · Aug 15
Summary
SPY charges 0.09% versus QQQ’s 0.18% and yields 1.0% versus 0.4%, making the State Street fund the cheaper, more income-oriented option.
QQQ returned 26.8% over the past year against SPY’s 22.0%, but it carried higher volatility with a 1.23 beta and a 35.1% five-year max drawdown versus SPY’s 24.5%.
Portfolio construction drives that trade-off: SPY holds 504 stocks with 37% in technology, while QQQ owns 103 stocks and is far more concentrated with 59% in technology.
Assets and history reinforce their benchmark roles—SPY manages $812.7 billion and launched in 1993, while QQQ has $492.4 billion in assets and launched in 1999.
The comparison points to strategy rather than a single winner: SPY suits broad S&P 500 exposure, while QQQ targets Nasdaq-100 growth.