Is VOO or Spy a better investment?
VOO earns a top rating of Gold, while SPY earns the next best rating of Silver. Almahasneh says the reason is fees. VOO charges 0.03%, while SPY charges 0.09%. With all else equal, the fund with the lower fee is more aligned with investors' best interests.
Both are very low cost compared to the average ETF in the US market. Both are great options, well diversified, are run by amazing teams. However, fees do matter, and you get what you don't pay for in the financial industry. So, that is the reason why we give VOO a Gold rating, while SPY a Silver rating.
Vanguard S&P 500 ETF holds a Zacks ETF Rank of 2 (Buy), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. Because of this, VOO is a great option for investors seeking exposure to the Style Box - Large Cap Blend segment of the market.
SPY, VOO and IVV are among the most popular S&P 500 ETFs. These three S&P 500 ETFs are quite similar, but may sometimes diverge in terms of costs or daily returns.
Warren Buffett has long recommended the S&P 500 index fund and ETF, and through his holding company Berkshire Hathaway, he also owns two of these types of investments: the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO) and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEMKT: SPY).
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway portfolio owns only two ETFs. One of the two is the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO). Buffett even instructed in his will that 90% of the cash his family inherits be invested in a low-cost S&P 500 fund -- and he recommended Vanguard's.
VOO and SPY distribute dividends to shareholders based on the income they receive from the stocks in their portfolios. As their portfolios comprise the same underlying stocks, both ETFs generally offer similar dividend yields.
SPY has a 0.09% expense ratio, which is higher than VOO's 0.03% expense ratio.
Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO)
For example, a young investor looking for long-term growth may pick a low-cost U.S. equity ETF like VOO, which tracks the S&P 500 index. Historically, this index has delivered excellent performance, but has also been quite volatile, so a high risk tolerance is essential.
S&P 500 Index Versus Nasdaq 100 Performance
Nasdaq 100 has outperformed S&P by a wide margin. The average 10-year return of Nasdaq 100 over these 15 years was around 9%, while that of S&P 500 was about 5%.
Should I invest in Vanguard S&P 500 ETF now?
The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO -0.28%) is a top choice for most index fund investors. Even Warren Buffett recommends it above any other investment. There's a good reason for that. Its low expense ratio and tight index tracking make it a top choice for anyone looking to match the returns of the S&P 500.
While the two ETFs follow the same strategy, they earn different ratings. VOO earns a top rating of Gold, while SPY earns the next best rating of Silver. Almahasneh says the reason is fees. VOO charges 0.03%, while SPY charges 0.09%.
Buffett's favorite ETF
There are only two ETFs in Berkshire Hathaway's (NYSE: BRK. A) (NYSE: BRK.B) portfolio: the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEMKT: SPY) and the Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF (NYSEMKT: VOO).
SPY - Performance Comparison. The year-to-date returns for both stocks are quite close, with VOO having a 9.44% return and SPY slightly lower at 9.41%. Both investments have delivered pretty close results over the past 10 years, with VOO having a 13.09% annualized return and SPY not far behind at 13.01%.
VTI is a total U.S. market fund and holds more than 3,500 stocks. VTI is better diversified and benefits from small and mid-cap stocks that grow into large caps. VOO is less diversified, tracking the performance of the S&P 500 Index. VOO excludes small and mid-cap stocks.
In the past year, SPY returned a total of 27.38%, which is slightly lower than VOO's 27.49% return. Over the past 10 years, SPY has had annualized average returns of 12.67% , compared to 12.73% for VOO. These numbers are adjusted for stock splits and include dividends.
SPY's analyst rating consensus is a Moderate Buy. This is based on the ratings of 504 Wall Streets Analysts.
Both VOO and SPY are index funds based on the S&P 500. Stock holdings and sector allocations are nearly identical. Performance is also nearly identical, but the VOO has slightly outperformed the SPY over the long term. Both funds are easily available at popular investment brokers and through robo-advisors.
Experts agree that for most personal investors, a portfolio comprising 5 to 10 ETFs is perfect in terms of diversification.
VOO has low fees, a low expense ratio, and no minimum investment. This makes it more accessible for newer investors who may not have an extra $3,000 to drop into VFIAX. As of March 2023, VOO has $774.8 billion in total assets and $274.3 billion in net assets with 507 total holdings.
What fund is best for beginner investors?
For young investors with a long-term, buy-and-hold investment strategy, mutual funds can be a smart place to put their money. They have been around for many years and have stood the test of time as investments. They offer immediate diversification, professional management, and passive or actively managed fund choices.
The largest Aggressive ETF is the iShares Core Aggressive Allocation ETF AOA with $1.86B in assets. In the last trailing year, the best-performing Aggressive ETF was AOA at 17.32%. The most recent ETF launched in the Aggressive space was the iShares ESG Aware Aggressive Allocation ETF EAOA on 06/12/20.
But experts say it also deserves a word of caution: Past performance is not indicative of future returns. And while the S&P 500 was a clear winner in 2023 — finishing the year up 26%, including dividends — it may not be the strategy that comes out ahead at the close of 2024.
The S&P 500 is considered a better reflection of the market's performance across all sectors compared to the Nasdaq Composite and the Dow. The downside to having more sectors included in the index is that the S&P 500 tends to be more volatile than the Dow.
Because it is frequently re-weighted based on the market cap of its holdings, the composition of the S&P 500 can change by quite a bit in a short period of time. It can also become a victim of its own success, as the performance of the tech sector now has a huge role in the performance of the index.
