ETF Versus

SPY vs SPYI

State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust vs Neos S&P 500(R) High Income ETF

Last updated: 2026-04-08

SPY

State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is an exchange-traded fund that provides exposure to large-cap U.S. equities across growth and value styles. It charges a low expense ratio of 0.09%. The fund offers a moderate dividend yield of 1.09%. Launched in 1993, the fund has a 33-year track record.

AUM: $653.3B ER: 0.09% Yield: 1.09% Since: Jan 22, 1993

Neos S&P 500(R) High Income ETF (SPYI) is an exchange-traded fund that provides exposure to us covered call securities. It charges a high expense ratio of 0.68%. The fund offers a high dividend yield of 12.14%. Launched in 2022, the fund has a 4-year track record.

AUM: $8.3B ER: 0.68% Yield: 12.14% Since: Aug 30, 2022

Quick Verdict

SPY is significantly cheaper at 0.09% vs 0.68% expense ratio, saving you approximately $1,142 per $10,000 invested over 10 years. Over the past year, SPY has significantly outperformed with a 36.0% return vs 18.5%. Income investors may prefer SPYI for its higher yield (12.1% vs 1.1%).

Key Metrics

Metric SPY SPYI
Expense Ratio 0.09% 0.68%
Dividend Yield 1.1% 12.1%
Fund Family N/A N/A
Category US Large Cap Blend US Covered Call

Performance Chart

Indexed to 100 at start (5-year comparison)

85 103 121 139 157 175 2021-04 2022-07 2023-10 2025-01 2026-04
SPY +65.3%
SPYI +3.5%

Performance Comparison

Period SPY SPYI Difference
1 Month -0.44% -1.46% +1.02%
3 Months -2.07% -3.96% +1.89%
6 Months +3.41% -1.18% +4.59%
YTD -1.16% -3.32% +2.16%
1 Year +36.01% +18.46% +17.55%
3 Years +64.86% +6.45% +58.41%
5 Years +64.10% +3.50% +60.60%

Fee Impact Over Time

Estimated fee cost difference assuming 8% annual returns

Investment Period SPY Fees SPYI Fees You Save
$10,000 10 years $179 $1,321 $1,142
$10,000 20 years $771 $5,531 $4,760
$10,000 30 years $2,486 $17,370 $14,884
$50,000 10 years $896 $6,607 $5,711
$50,000 30 years $12,428 $86,849 $74,421
$100,000 30 years $24,855 $173,697 $148,842

Risk Metrics

Based on 5 years of daily returns

Metric SPY SPYI
Annualized Volatility 17.1% 13.7%
Max Drawdown -25.4% -18.5%
Sharpe Ratio 0.41 -0.19

Dividend Comparison

Metric SPY SPYI
Annual Dividend (per share) $7.38 $6.17
Dividend Yield 1.09% 12.14%
Distribution Frequency Quarterly Monthly

Top Holdings

9 of top 9 holdings overlap (100% overlap in top holdings)

SPY Top Holdings

NameWeight
NVIDIA CorporationNVDA7.62%
Apple Inc.AAPL6.71%
Microsoft CorporationMSFT4.89%
Amazon.com, Inc.AMZN3.67%
Broadcom Inc.AVGO2.63%
Alphabet Inc.GOOG2.46%
Meta Platforms, Inc.META2.21%
Tesla, Inc.TSLA1.75%
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.BRK.B1.54%

SPYI Top Holdings

NameWeight
NVIDIA CorporationNVDA7.63%
Apple Inc.AAPL6.72%
Microsoft CorporationMSFT4.92%
Amazon.com, Inc.AMZN3.63%
Broadcom Inc.AVGO2.63%
Alphabet Inc.GOOG2.44%
Meta Platforms, Inc.META2.22%
Tesla, Inc.TSLA1.79%
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.BRK.B1.56%

Which One Should You Choose?

Choose SPY if...

you want the lowest fees and plan to buy and hold long-term. Over decades, the expense ratio difference compounds significantly.

Choose SPY if...

recent performance momentum matters to your strategy. Note that past performance doesn't guarantee future results.

Choose SPYI if...

you prioritize dividend income and want higher regular distributions from your portfolio.

Related Comparisons