SPY vs VO: 17% overlap

SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust and Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF share 16.7% of their portfolios by weight — computed as Σ min(wA, wB) over every holding both funds own.

Hold both, 50/50
1.8Effective Funds

You would hold two tickers and get the diversification of 1.8. Two funds that shared nothing would score 2.0; two identical funds score 1.0.

Overlap
16.7%
SPY expense ratio
0.09%
VO expense ratio
0.03%

Top shared holdings

SPY and VO hold 248 of the same securities. The ten contributing most to the overlap figure:

Holdingin SPYin VOΔ
STX0.3%1.0%0.7%
WDC0.3%1.1%0.8%
VRT0.2%1.2%1.0%
HWM0.2%1.0%0.9%
NEM0.2%0.5%0.3%
PWR0.2%1.0%0.9%
FTNT0.1%0.5%0.3%
WMB0.1%0.4%0.3%
CMI0.1%1.0%0.8%
MPC0.1%0.7%0.6%

Where SPY and VO differ

Sector weights as a share of each fund, ordered by the size of the gap rather than the size of the sector — two funds that overlap heavily still usually diverge somewhere.

SectorSPYVOΔ
Information Technology37.5%16.1%+21.4pp
Industrials8.9%19.6%10.7pp
Communication Services9.3%2.8%+6.5pp
Utilities2.3%8.4%6.1pp
Energy3.4%7.3%3.9pp
Real Estate1.9%5.1%3.2pp
Materials1.8%4.3%2.5pp
Financials12.4%14.0%1.7pp

Δ is SPY minus VO, in percentage points. Sector data is not published by every issuer, so “Unclassified” is a real category rather than a gap in the table.

What each fund holds alone

Only in SPY
256 positions

83.3% of SPY by weight, held in no part of VO.

Only in VO
35 positions

9.0% of VO by weight, held in no part of SPY.

A large count with a small weight is the usual shape: the positions one fund adds are typically its smallest ones.

Concentration and cost

SPYVO
Top 10 holdings36.9%9.5%
Positions held505283
Cost per $10,000 held, per year$9$3

Cost is the expense ratio applied to $10,000; it excludes any brokerage commission, bid-ask spread or tax consequence. Figures are facts about the funds, not a suggestion about which to hold.

Frequently asked

How much do SPY and VO overlap?

SPY and VO overlap 16.7% by portfolio weight — moderate overlap. They share 248 holdings. The figure comes from current issuer holdings files (SPY as of 2026-07-23, VO as of 2026-06-30).

How is the overlap between SPY and VO calculated?

As the sum of the smaller weight in each fund, over every holding both funds own: Σ min(wA, wB). If SPY holds a stock at 6% and VO holds the same stock at 4%, 4% counts as shared. The result is bounded between 0% and 100%, and it is computed after looking through any fund-of-funds to the underlying holdings.

Is it redundant to hold both SPY and VO?

That depends on your goals — we state facts, not advice. At 16.7% overlap, each fund still contributes meaningfully distinct exposure.

What does SPY own that VO doesn't?

SPY holds 505 positions and VO holds 283; 256 of SPY's positions don't appear in VO at all, and they are 83.3% of SPY by weight.

You probably hold more than two funds

This page compares SPY and VO. Paste your whole portfolio — brokerage, 401(k), IRA — and see the overlap across every fund at once, plus what you actually own underneath them and your own Effective Funds number. Free, no account, nothing stored.

X-ray my portfolio — free →

Watch SPY vs VO

We re-read both funds’ published holdings every weeknight. Leave an address and we'll tell you when what's inside actually changes.

Not sending yet — email alerts are built but switched off, and you'll be among the first when they turn on. No spam, one-click unsubscribe.

Related comparisons

Sources: issuer holdings files, SPY as of 2026-07-23, VO as of 2026-06-30. Weights are fractions of each fund. Diagnostics, not advice.