State Street SPDR S&P MidCap 400 ETF Trust (MDY)

ETF · US stocks · SPDR (State Street)

$659.87−0.94%close of Oct 16, 2026

State Street SPDR S&P MidCap 400 ETF Trust (MDY) is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) run by SPDR (State Street). This fund owns the 400 medium-sized US companies in the S&P MidCap 400 index. It charges 0.23% a year. From May 1995 to October 2026 it returned about 11.0% a year, and its worst drop was −55.3%.

Written by the Tactfolio research team. Fund facts checked October 17, 2026. Prices through October 16, 2026.

Yearly fee
0.23%
about $23 on $10,000
1-year return
13.5%
to Oct 16, 2026
Return per year
11.0%
since May 1995
Worst drop
−55.3%
since 1995
Below its high
−7.7%
now
Volatility
21.4%
yearly swings
Issuer
SPDR (State Street)
Tracks
S&P MidCap 400 Index
Started trading
May 4, 1995
Type
US stocks, ETF
Holdings
400 holdings as of October 15, 2026
Expense ratio
0.23% a year

How has MDY done since 1995?#

$10k$20k$50k$100k$200k19962000200420082012201620202024
MDYS&P 500 (SPY)Growth of $10,000, log scale, with dividends reinvested. Past results do not tell you what happens next.

From May 1995 to October 2026, MDY returned about 11.0% a year. The S&P 500 returned about 10.8% a year over the same dates. Say you put in $10,000 at the start. It would have been worth about $265,693 at the end, with every dividend reinvested.

PeriodMDYS&P 500 (SPY)
1 month−0.7%1.5%
3 months−4.5%1.9%
6 months1.6%9.3%
Year to date10.2%12.8%
1 year13.5%16.8%
3 years per year14.7%22.0%
5 years per year7.0%12.8%
10 years per year10.4%15.4%
Since 1995 per year11.0%10.8%

Periods longer than a year show the return per year (CAGR). Prices through October 16, 2026. Figures use daily closing prices adjusted for splits, with dividends reinvested. They do not include taxes or the cost of buying and selling. Past results do not tell you what will happen next.

MDY returns by month and year#

MDY rose in 235 of its 378 months (62%). Its best month was April 2009, at 14.8%. Its worst was October 2008, at −21.6%.

Return each month, in percent
YearTotalJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
202610.2%4.04.0−5.37.72.53.6−2.40.1−4.20.5
20257.2%3.7−4.2−5.5−2.45.43.61.63.40.4−0.52.10.0
202413.6%−1.75.95.6−6.04.5−1.75.8−0.11.1−0.78.9−7.2
202316.1%9.3−1.9−3.2−0.8−3.29.24.1−3.0−5.3−5.38.48.6
2022−13.3%−7.31.11.3−7.10.8−9.610.9−3.2−9.210.56.0−5.5
202124.2%1.46.84.94.30.2−1.40.32.0−4.05.9−3.05.2
202013.5%−2.6−9.4−20.214.17.21.34.73.5−3.32.214.36.5
201925.8%10.34.3−0.64.0−8.17.80.9−4.13.11.12.92.8
2018−11.3%2.8−4.41.0−0.44.10.41.73.2−1.1−9.63.2−11.3
201715.9%1.72.6−0.40.8−0.51.50.9−1.53.92.23.70.2
201620.5%−5.51.28.51.22.30.54.20.5−0.6−2.77.92.2
2015−2.5%−1.15.01.3−1.51.7−1.30.1−5.7−3.25.61.3−4.2
20149.4%−2.24.90.3−1.51.64.2−4.45.1−4.53.51.80.8
201333.1%7.10.84.80.62.3−2.36.7−3.95.43.61.23.2
201217.8%6.64.51.9−0.3−6.41.90.03.51.7−0.92.32.3
2011−2.1%1.94.52.62.6−0.9−2.5−3.5−7.2−10.513.6−0.2−0.6
201026.3%−3.25.17.24.2−7.0−6.66.8−5.011.33.43.06.6
200937.6%−6.7−9.48.314.82.90.98.34.45.7−4.54.26.1
2008−36.4%−6.0−1.1−1.97.95.4−7.1−1.81.4−10.8−21.5−9.54.4
20077.2%3.51.11.32.85.1−2.2−4.71.12.62.6−4.9−0.8
200610.0%5.3−0.32.61.4−4.3−0.5−2.71.20.74.13.1−0.5
200512.5%−2.43.6−1.4−3.75.72.65.1−1.00.6−3.05.70.6
200415.9%2.22.40.4−3.62.52.0−4.60.02.51.76.13.8
200335.3%−2.6−2.60.47.58.60.93.64.5−1.47.73.61.4
2002−14.5%0.0−0.26.9−0.2−1.6−7.5−9.50.2−8.34.56.2−4.3
2001−0.9%2.5−6.2−6.810.62.4−0.1−1.8−3.1−12.44.47.25.0
200017.3%−2.27.86.9−3.1−0.81.41.410.8−1.3−3.3−7.27.2
199915.5%−2.5−4.92.57.90.55.2−2.3−3.4−2.74.95.35.2
199817.2%−1.47.84.91.5−5.01.5−4.3−20.012.57.93.611.5
199731.1%4.6−1.1−4.12.48.43.29.60.25.4−3.81.62.1
199615.5%1.73.20.83.30.8−2.0−6.15.44.50.55.9−2.6
199516.9%1.54.64.92.02.4−3.24.2−0.4

Each month runs from the last close of the month before. The first month counts from the first close.

How risky is MDY compared with the S&P 500?#

Measured from October 2021 to October 2026, on the days both traded.

  • Beta 1.01. When the S&P 500 moved 1% in a day, MDY tended to move about 1.01%.
  • Correlation 0.88. MDY mostly moved with the S&P 500.
  • Up and down months. In months the S&P 500 rose, MDY rose 89% as much on average. In months it fell, MDY fell 111% as much.
MeasureMDYS&P 500 (SPY)
Return per year6.9%12.8%
Volatility19.6%17.1%
Worst drop−24.0%−24.5%
Sharpe ratio0.440.79
Sortino ratio0.641.15
Calmar ratio0.290.52

Volatility is how much the price swings in a year. The Sharpe ratio is return per unit of volatility, the Sortino ratio counts only the falls, and the Calmar ratio is the return per year over the worst drop. Higher ratios mean more return for the risk taken.

Is MDY above its 200-day average?#

MDY closed 0.2% below its 200-day average on October 16, 2026. A rule that holds MDY only above that average would be out of it today.

vs 200-day average
−0.2%
below it
50-day vs 200-day
+2.9%
trend rising
vs 52-week high
−7.7%
high of $715.19

A moving average is the average close over the last so many days. Trend rules such as the 10-month moving average strategy hold a fund only while it is above one. You can build that rule for MDY and backtest it in a minute.

What was MDY’s worst drop?#

0%−10%−20%−30%−40%−50%19962000200420082012201620202024
Drawdown: how far MDY was below its last high on each day.

A drawdown is how far a fund falls from its last high point. MDY’s worst fall was −55.3%, from July 13, 2007 to March 9, 2009. It got back to that high on December 6, 2010. On October 16, 2026 it was 7.7% below its highest close.

DropFrom the highTo the bottomBack to the high
−55.3%Jul 13, 2007Mar 9, 200920 monthsDec 6, 201021 months
−42.2%Feb 20, 2020Mar 23, 202032 daysNov 9, 20208 months
−32.0%Apr 16, 2002Oct 9, 20026 monthsOct 13, 200312 months
−27.7%Apr 22, 1998Oct 8, 19986 monthsDec 31, 19983 months
−26.2%Apr 29, 2011Oct 3, 20115 monthsMar 26, 20126 months

Big drops are normal for some funds. They matter because selling during a drop locks in the loss.

What does MDY hold?#

This fund owns the 400 medium-sized US companies in the S&P MidCap 400 index. It started in 1995 and is one of the oldest ETFs. Its yearly fee is higher than some newer funds that follow the same index.

It tracks the S&P MidCap 400 Index. It had 400 holdings as of October 15, 2026, according to SPDR (State Street).

What is the MDY expense ratio?#

MDY charges 0.23% a year. An expense ratio is the yearly fee a fund takes to run itself. On $10,000, a 0.23% fee comes to about $23 a year. Of the 162 ETFs on Tactfolio, 31% charge more.

You never get a bill for it. The fund takes the fee out of its own value a little each day.

Which Tactfolio strategies hold MDY?#

No classic strategy holds MDY yet. You can add it to your own rules in the builder and see how they would have done.

How does MDY compare with similar ETFs?#

Funds that can stand in for MDY:

  • IJH: iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF, 0.05% a year
  • SCHM: Schwab U.S. Mid-Cap ETF, 0.03% a year
  • VO: Vanguard Morningstar Mid-Cap ETF, 0.03% a year
  • IWR: iShares Russell Mid-Cap ETF, 0.18% a year

See all 8 MDY alternatives, compared on the same dates as MDY.

Test MDY in your own rules#

Tactfolio is a platform where you build rules-based investing strategies, backtest them on decades of real prices, share them, and run them automatically in your own Alpaca account. Open the builder, add MDY, and see how a rule such as “hold it only above its 200-day average” would have done. Strategies run on daily prices and hold US stocks and ETFs only.

The details#

Prices come from Tactfolio’s stored daily prices for MDY and SPY. Each close is adjusted for splits, and dividends are reinvested on the day the fund pays them out. CAGR is the steady yearly return that turns the starting value into the ending value. Volatility is the yearly standard deviation of daily returns. Beta and correlation compare daily returns with the S&P 500 over the same dates.

Fund facts come from SPDR (State Street). We checked them on October 17, 2026. Read what a backtest simulates and how to read drawdown and CAGR for more on these measures.

Common questions#

What is the expense ratio of MDY?#

MDY charges 0.23% a year, according to SPDR (State Street) as of October 17, 2026. That is about $23 a year for every $10,000 you hold.

When did MDY start trading?#

MDY started trading on May 4, 1995. It is run by SPDR (State Street).

What does MDY track?#

MDY tracks the S&P MidCap 400 Index. This fund owns the 400 medium-sized US companies in the S&P MidCap 400 index.

How much has MDY returned per year?#

From May 1995 to October 2026, MDY returned about 11.0% a year with dividends reinvested. Its worst drop was −55.3%. Past returns do not tell you what it will do next.

Is MDY above its 200-day moving average?#

On October 16, 2026, MDY closed 0.2% below its 200-day moving average. This page updates after each US market close.

Which strategies use MDY?#

None of Tactfolio’s classic strategies hold MDY yet. You can test it in your own rules in the builder.

Sources#