# How State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 Growth ETF (SPYG) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: BetterThanSPY research, https://betterthanspy.com/research/spyg
> Data as of October 22, 2026. Total returns include reinvested dividends. Past performance does not predict future results; nothing here is investment advice.

Built by QuantCommons' quantitative engine, this page is about relative opportunity, not data on SPYG alone. It places SPYG (State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 Growth ETF) against 20+ popular alternatives, its neighboring categories and the entire market of over 10,000 U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs, and surfaces what has done better on consistent outperformance, return for the risk taken, behavior in real market crashes and diversification. The result is a clearer view of where SPYG stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: SPYG's full trading record, from October 2000 through September 2026. The crash tests reach back to 2000 using older funds and the S&P 500. All returns include reinvested dividends. Data as of October 22, 2026.

## Key findings

- **What you're buying:** SPYG is a technology bet first: 54% of assets, versus 38% in the S&P 500. A correlation of 0.99 with VUG (Vanguard Morningstar Growth ETF) over 5 years: effectively the same bet as the larger fund.
- **Right now:** After a 22.1% loss from February 2025 to April 2025, SPYG has bounced 20.6% off the low. That said, over the past 6 months, SPYG rose 6.5% against 8.0% for the S&P 500 and 7.8% for the Nasdaq 100.
- **Fund or market?:** SPYG rose 1.0% over the past 3 months, in line with the US large-cap growth ETF IWF (iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF), which fell 0.6%. The S&P 500 rose 2.5%.
- **Long term:** SPYG turned $10,000 into $50,300 over the past decade, against $41,600 in the S&P 500. On the flip side, the past 5 years only matched the S&P 500 (82.4% against 80.3%), after a much stronger decade (403% against 316%).
- **In a crash:** The 2022 bear market took 31.3% off SPYG, against 24.5% for the S&P 500. That was more than SPMO (Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF, 22.7%) but less than QQQ (Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1, 33.4%). SPYG fell further than the S&P 500 in two of the last three sell-offs, including the 2022 bear market (31.3% against 24.5%).
- **Diversification:** Against the S&P 500, SPYG has a correlation of 0.95 over 5 years, more closely than 91% of ETFs with at least $100 million in assets. Next to an index fund it is more of the same, not a cushion. When the S&P 500 had a down month, SPYG usually fell with it (18 of 22 months).
- **Better options**
  - **Popular alternatives:** SPY (State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF) matched SPYG's return over the past 5 years (12.5% a year against 12.8%) with 21% less volatility.
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** VLUE (iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF, US large-cap value) and AVLV (Avantis U.S. Large Cap Value ETF, US large-cap value) earned more than SPYG with less volatility over the past 5 years. VLUE returned 16.2% a year at 18.4% volatility, against 12.8% a year at 21.6%.
  - **Versus the S&P 500:** The S&P 500 matched SPYG's return over the past 5 years (12.5% a year against 12.8%) with 21% less volatility.

## How much would $10,000 in SPYG have grown?

This chart tracks a hypothetical $10,000 investment in SPYG over the past 23 years, with dividends reinvested, alongside the same amount in the S&P 500, investments that ended ahead of SPYG over the same span and SPYG's popular alternatives, among those that traded for the entire period.

- $10,000 invested in SPYG at the end of September 2003 would have grown to $151,577 by September 2026, more than the $116,093 it would have become in SPY, an S&P 500 fund.
- Five of the seven other investments on the chart ended ahead of SPYG, and XLK finished highest, at $287,876.

## SPYG at a glance

This section summarizes the key facts about the fund, its returns over periods from one to ten years and the risk it has carried, with dividends reinvested throughout.

- SPYG's deepest decline since it began trading in 2000 was 67.6%, from October 2000 to March 2009. It took about five years from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 25 full calendar years, SPYG's best was 2009, when it returned 37.0%, and its worst was 2008, when it lost 37.4%. It lost money in five of those years.
- SPYG is 6.1% below its all-time high.

- Type: ETF, Broad Market (Asset Management)
- Trading since: October 2, 2000
- Assets: $57B
- Expense ratio: 0.04%
- Volatility (5 years): 21.6%; Sharpe ratio: 0.67
- Worst decline ever: −67.6%, from October 2, 2000 to March 9, 2009; back at its high by December 23, 2013

| Period | SPYG total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | −4.4% |
| 3 months | +1.0% |
| 6 months | +6.5% |
| year to date | +11.7% |
| 1 year | +14.4% |
| 3 years | +106% |
| 5 years | +82.4% |
| 10 years | +403% |

## SPYG against the whole market

Where SPYG ranks among every stock and fund, and what across the market has done better.

### How does SPYG rank among all ETFs?

This section ranks SPYG on return, volatility, risk-adjusted return and worst decline against every ETF worth at least $100 million with enough history.

- SPYG's 10-year return ranks in the top 4% of the 958 ETFs with at least $100 million in assets with 10 years of history.
- SPYG is among the more volatile ETFs: its price swings rank in the bottom 21% of the 1,563 ETFs with at least $100 million in assets, where the top is the calmest.

| Measure | SPYG | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +14.4% | 917 of 2,488 (top 37%) |
| 3-year return | +106% | 161 of 1,950 (top 9%) |
| 5-year return | +82.4% | 223 of 1,563 (top 15%) |
| 10-year return | +403% | 36 of 958 (top 4%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 21.6% | 1,232 of 1,563 (top 79%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.67 | 591 of 1,563 (top 38%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −32.7% | 243 of 951 (top 26%) |

### What has beaten SPYG on both return and risk?

Each dot is an investment, placed by how much it earned a year over the past 5 years (higher is better) and how much its price swung, its volatility (further left is calmer).

- 11 stocks and 44 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than SPYG over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is 2% of the 3,641 screened. Few investments beat it on both counts.
- Among those with at least half SPYG's swings, LVHI has the best return for its risk: 16.9% a year at 11.1% volatility, 49% less than SPYG's 21.6%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.48 against 0.67 for SPYG. DXJ earned the most, 26.6% a year, while still swinging less than SPYG (19.1% against 21.6%).
- None of SPYG's popular alternatives made it, but PVAL (US large-cap value) did: 15.9% a year at 15.1% volatility, 30% less than SPYG's 21.6%.

### Is there a better investment than SPYG?

The table below lists investments that beat SPYG over the past 5 years on at least one of these measures: a higher annual return with lower volatility, a higher annual return at similar volatility, a similar return with lower volatility, a higher Sharpe ratio with a smaller worst decline, a higher total return in most periods from 3 months to 10 years, or smaller losses in recent market crashes, and, for funds, the same exposure at a lower expense ratio.

- Among SPYG's popular alternatives, SPY matched SPYG's return over the past 5 years (12.5% a year against 12.8%) with 21% less volatility.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, VLUE (US large-cap value) and AVLV (US large-cap value) earned more than SPYG with less volatility over the past 5 years. VLUE returned 16.2% a year at 18.4% volatility, against 12.8% a year at 21.6%.
- The S&P 500 matched SPYG's return over the past 5 years (12.5% a year against 12.8%) with 21% less volatility.

The 15 strongest of 55 investments that beat SPYG over the past 5 years, out of 3,641 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million.

| Investment | Group | Annual return (5 years) | Volatility | Sharpe | Worst decline (10 years) | 10Y return | Correlation with SPYG | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SPYG: State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 Growth ETF (this page) |  | +12.8% | 21.6% | 0.67 | −32.7% | +403% |  |  |
| [RY](https://betterthanspy.com/research/ry): Royal Bank of Canada | Banks | +17.5% | 18.2% | 0.98 | −40.0% | +361% | 0.47 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | Japan Equity | +26.6% | 19.1% | 1.34 | −39.1% | +415% | 0.46 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [TD](https://betterthanspy.com/research/td): The Toronto-Dominion Bank | Banks | +16.5% | 20.0% | 0.87 | −42.0% | +319% | 0.44 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [RSG](https://betterthanspy.com/research/rsg): Republic Services, Inc. | Waste Management | +14.1% | 18.6% | 0.80 | −34.0% | +461% | 0.26 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| [GLD](https://betterthanspy.com/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | Gold | +17.1% | 19.0% | 0.93 | −26.4% | +206% | 0.08 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| DFIV: Dimensional - International Value ETF | International Large-Cap Value | +14.8% | 16.4% | 0.93 | −25.4% | — | 0.47 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| VLUE: iShares MSCI USA Value Factor ETF | US Large-Cap Value | +16.2% | 18.4% | 0.91 | −39.5% | +286% | 0.72 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| DIVB: iShares Core Dividend ETF | High Dividend Yield | +14.6% | 15.5% | 0.96 | −36.9% | — | 0.70 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| DBJP: Xtrackers MSCI Japan Hedged Equity ETF | Japan Equity | +20.9% | 19.3% | 1.09 | −31.3% | +339% | 0.60 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| AVLV: Avantis U.S. Large Cap Value ETF | US Large-Cap Value | +13.9% | 16.9% | 0.86 | −19.5% | — | 0.74 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [MPLX](https://betterthanspy.com/research/mplx): MPLX Lp | Oil & Gas Midstream | +24.0% | 18.8% | 1.25 | −75.2% | +337% | 0.29 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| NXTG: First Trust Indxx NextG ETF | Technology Equity | +16.1% | 19.1% | 0.88 | −33.6% | +323% | 0.80 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| FFLC: Fidelity Fundamental Large Cap Core ETF | Active Core Equity | +15.5% | 16.8% | 0.94 | −19.7% | — | 0.83 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| [KO](https://betterthanspy.com/research/ko): The Coca-Cola Company | Nonalcoholic Beverages | +15.2% | 16.8% | 0.93 | −37.0% | +205% | 0.14 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | International Dividend Equity | +16.9% | 11.1% | 1.48 | −32.4% | +194% | 0.34 | Higher return, lower volatility |

## SPYG against its popular alternatives

The investments people most often weigh against SPYG, compared period by period and year by year.

### How do SPYG's risk and return compare with its alternatives?

This map plots each investment's annual return over the past 5 years against its volatility, the size of its typical price swings.

- Only SPMO was both more rewarding and calmer than SPYG over the past 5 years, earning a higher annual return with lower volatility.
- Nine of the 17 popular alternatives earned less than SPYG over the past 5 years while swinging more, the weaker corner of the map.
- Over the past 5 years, SPYG returned 12.8% a year, more than the S&P 500's 12.5%, with higher volatility (21.6% against 17.2%).

### Has SPYG consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

This section compares SPYG with the investments people most often weigh against it, checking each one over eight periods from one month to ten years.

- Three of the 23 popular alternatives, XLK, SPMO and QQQ, outperformed SPYG in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- SPMO and PWB earned more for the risk they took than SPYG (a higher Sharpe ratio) and fell less in their worst decline of the past 10 years.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of SPYG | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SPYG: State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 Growth ETF (this page) | +14.4% | +106% | +82.4% | +403% |  |  | 0.67 |
| [XLK](https://betterthanspy.com/research/xlk): State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF | +28.4% | +126% | +139% | +741% | 3/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | consistent | 0.80 |
| SPMO: Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF | +17.2% | +149% | +130% | +485% | 3/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term | consistent | 0.91 |
| [QQQ](https://betterthanspy.com/research/qqq): Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 | +16.9% | +101% | +94.0% | +531% | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.69 |
| PWB: Invesco Large Cap Growth ETF | +18.5% | +123% | +92.9% | +389% | 2/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term |  | 0.70 |
| [QQQM](https://betterthanspy.com/research/qqqm): Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF | +17.0% | +102% | +94.7% | — | 3/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.70 |
| [SCHG](https://betterthanspy.com/research/schg): Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF | +9.4% | +95.1% | +82.4% | +438% | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.65 |
| MGK: Vanguard Morningstar Mega Cap Growth ETF | +10.5% | +98.9% | +84.7% | +448% | 1/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.65 |
| IWY: iShares Russell Top 200 Growth ETF | +3.4% | +85.8% | +79.9% | +448% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.65 |
| [SPY](https://betterthanspy.com/research/spy): State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF | +15.6% | +88.4% | +80.3% | +316% | 5/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.78 |
| [SPYV](https://betterthanspy.com/research/spyv): State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 Value ETF | +17.2% | +69.0% | +72.9% | +219% | 5/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.85 |
| [RSP](https://betterthanspy.com/research/rsp): Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF | +16.8% | +68.3% | +49.6% | +214% | 5/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.58 |
| [VUG](https://betterthanspy.com/research/vug): Vanguard Morningstar Growth ETF | +9.2% | +96.1% | +75.4% | +407% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.61 |
| RPG: Invesco S&P 500 Pure Growth ETF | +12.6% | +81.2% | +33.7% | +235% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.36 |
| VOT: Vanguard Morningstar Mid-Cap Growth ETF | +0.5% | +57.8% | +17.6% | +198% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.26 |
| [VONG](https://betterthanspy.com/research/vong): Vanguard Russell 1000 Growth ETF | +2.9% | +84.2% | +71.1% | +407% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.60 |
| [IWF](https://betterthanspy.com/research/iwf): iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF | +2.9% | +83.6% | +70.3% | +402% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.60 |
| VOOG: Vanguard S&P 500 Growth ETF | +14.3% | +106% | +82.0% | +401% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.67 |
| [IVW](https://betterthanspy.com/research/ivw): iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF | +14.3% | +105% | +81.3% | +398% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.66 |
| IUSG: iShares Core S&P U.S. Growth ETF | +14.5% | +103% | +79.5% | +390% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.66 |
| FTC: First Trust Large Cap Growth AlphaDEX Fund | +8.0% | +83.7% | +47.9% | +264% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.48 |
| CGGR: Capital Group Growth ETF | +4.7% | +92.9% | — | — | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | — |
| FBCG: Fidelity Blue Chip Growth ETF | +12.9% | +108% | +75.6% | — | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.56 |
| TCHP: T. Rowe Price Blue Chip Growth ETF | +0.8% | +80.8% | +47.6% | — | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.45 |

### How did SPYG do year by year?

This table shows each investment's total return in every full calendar year since 2001, along with where SPYG ranked among its popular alternatives each year.

- SPYG finished ahead of the S&P 500 in 13 of its 25 full calendar years, and ahead of it in each of the last three.
- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, SPYG finished in the top quarter in six of 22 years and in the bottom quarter in two. In 2025, it ranked 4 of 19.
- Among its popular alternatives, XLK came out ahead of SPYG most often, in 15 of the 25 years both traded.

| Year | SPYG | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +22.1% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +36.0% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +30.0% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −29.4% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +32.0% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | +33.4% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +30.8% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | −0.1% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +27.3% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +6.9% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How SPYG has fallen, how it held up in crashes beside the S&P 500 and its popular alternatives, and what moves independently of it.

### What were SPYG's worst declines?

A drawdown is the decline from a peak to the lowest point before a new high.

- In four of SPYG's five worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- The slowest recovery came after SPYG fell 67.6% from October 2000 to March 2009; it did not regain that peak until December 2013, five years later.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −67.6% | October 2, 2000 | March 9, 2009 | December 23, 2013 | −45.3% | dot-com bust |
| −32.7% | December 27, 2021 | October 14, 2022 | March 1, 2024 | −24.2% | 2022 bear market |
| −31.3% | February 19, 2020 | March 23, 2020 | June 10, 2020 | −33.7% | Covid crash |
| −22.1% | February 19, 2025 | April 8, 2025 | June 24, 2025 | −18.8% |  |
| −20.6% | October 1, 2018 | December 24, 2018 | April 23, 2019 | −19.2% | late-2018 sell-off |

### How did SPYG do in stock market crashes?

This section measures how far SPYG, the S&P 500 and each alternative fell from peak to trough during every major market crash since 2000.

- None of its popular alternatives fell less than SPYG in most of the crashes they both traded through.
- SPYG began trading after the dot-com bust, but two of its popular alternatives lived through it. The mildest fall among them was XLK's 82.0%, against 47.5% for the S&P 500.
- SPYG fell further than the S&P 500 in four of the nine crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the 2022 bear market, when SPYG fell 31.3% and the S&P 500 fell 24.5%.

| Crash | Dates | SPYG fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | not trading | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −51.3% | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | −2.6% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −16.3% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −13.4% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −6.4% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −20.6% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −31.3% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −31.3% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −3.0% | −3.4% |

### How closely does SPYG move with the S&P 500?

Upside capture measures how much of the S&P 500's gains an investment kept in the months the market rose, and downside capture how much of its losses it took in the months the market fell.

- SPMO took just 76% of the S&P 500's losses, against 102% for SPYG, while still keeping 102% of its gains.
- Over the past 10 years, SPYG captured 109% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 102% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 1.08. It amplified the market's moves in both directions.
- Five of the 15 popular alternatives had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than SPYG's 1.07, led by SPMO, XLK and QQQ.

Measured over the past 10 years of monthly returns against SPY.

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| SPYG: State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 Growth ETF (this page) | 109% | 102% | 1.08 |
| [XLK](https://betterthanspy.com/research/xlk): State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF | 128% | 100% | 1.19 |
| SPMO: Invesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF | 102% | 76.0% | 0.99 |
| [QQQ](https://betterthanspy.com/research/qqq): Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1 | 118% | 102% | 1.13 |
| PWB: Invesco Large Cap Growth ETF | 106% | 95.0% | 1.07 |
| [SCHG](https://betterthanspy.com/research/schg): Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth ETF | 114% | 107% | 1.12 |
| MGK: Vanguard Morningstar Mega Cap Growth ETF | 115% | 107% | 1.14 |
| IWY: iShares Russell Top 200 Growth ETF | 113% | 102% | 1.09 |
| [SPYV](https://betterthanspy.com/research/spyv): State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 Value ETF | 88.0% | 99.0% | 0.91 |
| [RSP](https://betterthanspy.com/research/rsp): Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF | 92.0% | 107% | 1.01 |
| [VUG](https://betterthanspy.com/research/vug): Vanguard Morningstar Growth ETF | 113% | 108% | 1.13 |
| RPG: Invesco S&P 500 Pure Growth ETF | 100% | 108% | 1.15 |
| VOT: Vanguard Morningstar Mid-Cap Growth ETF | 95.0% | 113% | 1.12 |
| [VONG](https://betterthanspy.com/research/vong): Vanguard Russell 1000 Growth ETF | 111% | 104% | 1.10 |
| VOOG: Vanguard S&P 500 Growth ETF | 109% | 103% | 1.08 |
| FTC: First Trust Large Cap Growth AlphaDEX Fund | 98.0% | 103% | 1.08 |

### What diversifies SPYG?

Correlation measures how closely two investments move together, on a scale from 1 (in lockstep) through 0 (unrelated) to -1 (in opposite directions).

- Moving a fifth of the money in SPYG into GLD would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 17% over the past 5 years and raised its annual return (+14.9% for SPYG alone, +16.1% for the mix).
- Among large ETFs, LVHI, DXJ and EMLP have moved largely independently of SPYG over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.46 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.
- Among large stocks, CAH, MCK and MPC have moved largely independently of SPYG over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.18 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.

| Investment | Correlation with SPYG | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in SPYG's 5 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | 0.34 | +119% | 11.1% | 1.48 | 1 of 5 |
| DXJ: WisdomTree Japan Hedged Equity Fund | 0.46 | +225% | 19.1% | 1.34 | 1 of 5 |
| EMLP: First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund | 0.43 | +103% | 14.5% | 1.06 | 1 of 5 |
| EWP: iShares MSCI Spain ETF | 0.38 | +141% | 20.3% | 0.97 | 0 of 5 |
| [XLE](https://betterthanspy.com/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 0.10 | +178% | 25.5% | 0.94 | 1 of 5 |
| [GLD](https://betterthanspy.com/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.08 | +120% | 19.0% | 0.93 | 1 of 5 |
| AMLP: Alerian MLP ETF | 0.29 | +114% | 18.9% | 0.90 | 1 of 5 |
| EFV: iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF | 0.46 | +89.4% | 15.9% | 0.89 | 0 of 5 |

## Common questions

### What was SPYG's worst drawdown?

SPYG's deepest decline since it began trading in 2000 was 67.6%, from October 2000 to March 2009. It took about five years from the low to climb back to its old high.

### What were SPYG's best and worst years?

Over 25 full calendar years, SPYG's best year was 2009, when it returned 37.0%. Its worst was 2008, with a return of -37.4%.

### Is there a better investment than SPYG?

Among SPYG's popular alternatives, SPY matched SPYG's return over the past 5 years (12.5% a year against 12.8%) with 21% less volatility. Looking beyond its popular alternatives, VLUE (US large-cap value) and AVLV (US large-cap value) earned more than SPYG with less volatility over the past 5 years. VLUE returned 16.2% a year at 18.4% volatility, against 12.8% a year at 21.6%.

### Is SPYG more volatile than the S&P 500?

Yes. SPYG's volatility over the past 5 years was 21.6%, 1.3 times the S&P 500's 17.2%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, SPYG's return lands within 21.6% of its average, either way. The higher it is, the rougher the ride and the harder it is to hold through a slump.

### What is SPYG's Sharpe ratio?

SPYG's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.67, against 0.78 for the S&P 500, so SPYG earned less for each unit of risk than an index fund did. The Sharpe ratio is the return earned above cash for each unit of volatility: two investments with the same return are not equal if one got there with far bigger swings.

### How correlated is SPYG with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, SPYG's monthly returns had a correlation of 0.95 with the S&P 500. Correlation runs from 1 (moving in lockstep) through 0 (unrelated) to −1 (moving in opposite directions). They move almost in lockstep, so holding both adds little diversification. In the table, the correlation column measures each option against SPYG instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a SPYG holding.

### What are the best alternatives to SPYG?

Of the 23 popular alternatives we compared, three outperformed SPYG in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: XLK, SPMO and QQQ.

### Did SPYG outperform the S&P 500?

SPYG finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in 13 of 25 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +22.1%, against +17.7% for the index.

### How did SPYG do in stock market crashes?

SPYG fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in three of the nine major crashes it has traded through, and further in four. The clearest case was the 2022 bear market, when SPYG fell 31.3% and the S&P 500 fell 24.5%.

### What diversifies SPYG?

These had a low correlation with SPYG over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, LVHI (correlation 0.34), DXJ (correlation 0.46) and EMLP (correlation 0.43); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.18), MCK (correlation 0.06) and MPC (correlation 0.14). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

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## Explore further

- Full page with charts: https://betterthanspy.com/research/spyg
- All research pages: https://betterthanspy.com/llms.txt
- Compare the entire market against SPYG live: https://betterthanspy.com/?b=SPYG