# SPY ETF: fees, returns, drawdowns and holdings

> What SPY holds, its 0.0945% yearly fee, returns by year, its worst drop, and which Tactfolio strategies hold it. Updated daily.

State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) run by SPDR (State Street). This fund owns the 500 or so large US companies in the S&P 500. It charges 0.0945% a year. From January 1993 to October 2026 it returned about 10.8% a year, and its worst drop was −55.2%.

Written by [the Tactfolio research team](https://tactfolio.com/about/editorial-policy). Fund facts checked October 16, 2026. Prices through October 16, 2026.

## Key points

- Expense ratio: 0.0945% a year (about $9.45 on $10,000).
- Started trading on January 22, 1993.
- Worst drop since 1993: −55.2%.
- 47 Tactfolio classic strategies hold it.

## What does SPY hold?

This fund owns the 500 or so large US companies in the S&P 500. Started in 1993, it was the first ETF listed in the US. Its value goes up and down with big US stocks.

It tracks the S&P 500 Index. It had 504 holdings as of October 15, 2026, according to SPDR (State Street).

| Fact | SPY |
| --- | --- |
| Full name | State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust |
| Issuer | SPDR (State Street) |
| Expense ratio | 0.0945% a year |
| Started trading | January 22, 1993 |
| Tracks | S&P 500 Index |
| Type | US stocks, ETF |
| Holdings | 504 holdings as of October 15, 2026 |
| Facts checked | October 16, 2026 on the [SPDR (State Street) fund page](https://www.ssga.com/us/en/intermediary/etfs/state-street-spdr-sp-500-etf-trust-spy) |

## What is the SPY expense ratio?

SPY charges 0.0945% a year. An expense ratio is the yearly fee a fund takes to run itself. On $10,000, a 0.0945% fee comes to about $9.45 a year.

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

## How has SPY done since 1993?

From January 1993 to October 2026, SPY returned about 10.8% a year. Say you put in $10,000 at the start. It would have been worth about $317,313 at the end, with every dividend reinvested.

| Measure | SPY |
| --- | --- |
| Total return | 3,073% |
| Return per year (CAGR) | 10.8% |
| Worst drop from a high | −55.2% |
| Volatility (how much it swings) | 18.5% |
| Last 12 months | 16.8% |
| Last 3 years, per year | 22.0% |
| Last 5 years, per year | 12.8% |
| Last 10 years, per year | 15.4% |

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.

## SPY returns by year

| Year | SPY return |
| --- | --- |
| 2026 (part of the year) | 12.8% |
| 2025 | 17.7% |
| 2024 | 24.9% |
| 2023 | 26.2% |
| 2022 | −18.2% |
| 2021 | 28.7% |
| 2020 | 18.3% |
| 2019 | 31.2% |
| 2018 | −4.6% |
| 2017 | 21.7% |
| 2016 | 12.0% |
| 2015 | 1.2% |
| 2014 | 13.5% |
| 2013 | 32.3% |
| 2012 | 16.0% |
| 2011 | 1.9% |
| 2010 | 15.1% |
| 2009 | 26.4% |
| 2008 | −36.8% |
| 2007 | 5.1% |
| 2006 | 15.8% |
| 2005 | 4.8% |
| 2004 | 10.7% |
| 2003 | 28.2% |
| 2002 | −21.6% |
| 2001 | −11.8% |
| 2000 | −9.7% |
| 1999 | 20.4% |
| 1998 | 28.7% |
| 1997 | 33.5% |
| 1996 | 22.5% |
| 1995 | 38.0% |
| 1994 | 0.4% |
| 1993 (part of the year) | 8.7% |

## What was SPY's worst drop?

A drawdown is how far a fund falls from its last high point. SPY's worst fall was −55.2%, from October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009. It got back to that high on August 16, 2012.

The chart shows how far below its last high the fund was on each day. Big drops are normal for some funds. They matter because selling during a drop locks in the loss.

## Which Tactfolio strategies hold SPY?

47 classic strategies hold SPY at least some of the time. Each is a set of written rules you can open, test and copy.

- [Hybrid Asset Allocation (HAA)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/hybrid-asset-allocation.md), by Wouter Keller and JW Keuning, 2023
- [HAA Simple: Hybrid Asset Allocation with one asset](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/hybrid-asset-allocation-simple.md), by Wouter Keller and JW Keuning, 2023
- [Bold Asset Allocation (BAA)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/bold-asset-allocation.md), by Wouter Keller, 2022
- [Vigilant Asset Allocation (VAA)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/vigilant-asset-allocation.md), by Wouter Keller and JW Keuning, 2017
- [Defensive Asset Allocation (DAA)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/defensive-asset-allocation.md), by Wouter Keller and JW Keuning, 2018
- [Protective Asset Allocation (PAA)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/protective-asset-allocation.md), by Wouter Keller and JW Keuning, 2016
- [Adaptive Asset Allocation (AAA)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/adaptive-asset-allocation.md), by Adam Butler, Michael Philbrick, Rodrigo Gordillo, and David Varadi, 2012
- [Faber’s 10-month moving average timing model](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/faber-10-month-moving-average.md), by Mebane Faber, 2007
- [Dual Momentum: Antonacci’s Global Equities Momentum (GEM)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/dual-momentum.md), by Gary Antonacci, 2014
- [Composite Dual Momentum](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/composite-dual-momentum.md), by Gary Antonacci, 2012
- [Global Tactical Asset Allocation (GTAA 5)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/global-tactical-asset-allocation.md), by Mebane Faber, 2007
- [Vigilant Asset Allocation G12 (VAA-G12)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/vigilant-asset-allocation-g12.md), by Wouter Keller and JW Keuning, 2017
- [Bold Asset Allocation G4 (BAA aggressive)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/bold-asset-allocation-g4.md), by Wouter Keller, 2022
- [Ivy Portfolio rotation (Faber’s relative strength model)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/ivy-portfolio-rotation.md), by Mebane Faber and Eric Richardson, 2009
- [Faber sector rotation (the three strongest US sectors)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/faber-sector-rotation.md), by Mebane Faber, 2010
- [Trinity Portfolio (Meb Faber)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/trinity-portfolio.md), by Mebane Faber, 2016
- [12-Month High Switch (Meb Faber)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/12-month-high-switch.md), by Mebane Faber, 2020
- [US Cross-Asset Momentum (stock and Treasury timing)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/cross-asset-momentum.md), by Aleksi Pitkäjärvi, Matti Suominen, and Lauri Vaittinen, 2016
- [US Risk Parity Trend-Following (The Trend is Our Friend)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/us-risk-parity-trend-following.md), by Andrew Clare, James Seaton, Peter N. Smith, and Stephen Thomas, 2016
- [Defense First (Carlson’s defensive tactical model)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/defense-first.md), by Thomas D. Carlson, 2025
- [HAA 60/40 (NLX Finance’s Hybrid Asset Allocation variant)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/haa-60-40.md), by Nicolas Lequeux (NLX Finance), 2024
- [Paired Switching (quarterly SPY and TLT rotation)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/paired-switching.md), by Akhilesh Maewal and Joel R. Bock, 2011
- [Quint Switching Filtered (Lewis Glenn’s QSF)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/quint-switching-filtered.md), by Lewis A. Glenn, 2018
- [Trending Fast and Slow (volatility-switched momentum)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/trending-fast-and-slow.md), by Eddie Cheng, Nazar Kostyuchyk, Wai Lee, Pai Liu, and Chenfei Ma, 2022
- [Accelerating Dual Momentum (ADM)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/accelerating-dual-momentum.md), by Engineered Portfolio (Steve Hanly), 2018
- [Robust Asset Allocation Balanced (Alpha Architect RAA)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/robust-asset-allocation-balanced.md), by Wesley Gray (Alpha Architect), 2014
- [Robust Asset Allocation Aggressive (Alpha Architect RAA)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/robust-asset-allocation-aggressive.md), by Wesley Gray (Alpha Architect), 2014
- [Tactical Permanent Portfolio (GestaltU / ReSolve)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/tactical-permanent-portfolio.md), by Adam Butler, Michael Philbrick, and Rodrigo Gordillo, 2012
- [Diversified Dual Momentum (Newfound Research)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/diversified-dual-momentum.md), by Corey Hoffstein (Newfound Research), 2019
- [Three-Way Model (Ned Davis Research)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/three-way-model.md), by Ned Davis Research, 2015
- [Kipnis Defensive Adaptive Asset Allocation (KDA)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/kipnis-defensive-asset-allocation.md), by Ilya Kipnis, 2019
- [Ivy Portfolio (Faber and Richardson, buy and hold)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/ivy-portfolio.md), by Mebane Faber and Eric Richardson, 2009
- [60/40 Portfolio (classic stocks and bonds)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/60-40-portfolio.md), by Traditional balanced funds
- [Leverage Rotation Strategy (UPRO above the 200-day average)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/leverage-rotation-strategy.md), by Michael Gayed and Charles Bilello, 2016
- [Leverage Rotation Strategy 2x (LRS with SSO)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/leverage-rotation-strategy-2x.md), by Michael Gayed and Charles Bilello, 2016
- [200-Day Moving Average Strategy (S&P 500)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/200-day-moving-average.md), by Jeremy Siegel, 1994, Michael Gayed and Charles Bilello, 2016
- [Golden Cross Strategy (50-day and 200-day moving averages)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/golden-cross.md), by Technical analysis tradition
- [Beta Rotation Strategy (utilities vs. the market)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/beta-rotation-strategy.md), by Charles Bilello and Michael Gayed, 2014
- [Tactical Risk Rotation (TRRS)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/tactical-risk-rotation.md), by Michael Gayed and Charles Bilello, 2014
- [Volatility-Managed Portfolio (Moreira and Muir)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/volatility-managed-portfolio.md), by Alan Moreira and Tyler Muir, 2017
- [Growth-Trend Timing (Philosophical Economics’ GTT)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/growth-trend-timing.md), by Jesse Livermore (Philosophical Economics), 2016
- [Growth-Trend Timing with unemployment (GTT-UE)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/growth-trend-timing-unemployment.md), by Jesse Livermore (Philosophical Economics), 2016
- [Growth-Trend Timing with job growth](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/growth-trend-timing-jobs.md), by Jesse Livermore (Philosophical Economics), 2016
- [Growth-Trend Timing with housing starts and income](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/growth-trend-timing-housing.md), by Jesse Livermore (Philosophical Economics), 2016
- [Lethargic Asset Allocation (Keller’s LAA)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/lethargic-asset-allocation.md), by Wouter J. Keller, 2019
- [TrendYCMacro (Quantpedia’s market timing strategy)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/trend-yc-macro.md), by Ladislav Ďurian and Radovan Vojtko (Quantpedia), 2023
- [Inflation Compass (Varadi’s growth and inflation model)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/inflation-compass.md), by David Varadi, 2026

## How does SPY compare with similar ETFs?

Side-by-side pages measure both funds over the same dates:

- [SPY vs VOO](https://tactfolio.com/etf-comparisons/spy-vs-voo.md): two S&P 500 funds with different fees and structures.
- [QQQ vs SPY](https://tactfolio.com/etf-comparisons/qqq-vs-spy.md): the Nasdaq-100 against the S&P 500, from the two oldest big index ETFs.

Funds that can stand in for SPY:

- [SPYM](https://tactfolio.com/etf/spym.md): State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF, 0.02% a year
- [IVV](https://tactfolio.com/etf/ivv.md): iShares Core S&P 500 ETF, 0.03% a year
- [VOO](https://tactfolio.com/etf/voo.md): Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, 0.03% a year
- [ITOT](https://tactfolio.com/etf/itot.md): iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF, 0.03% a year

See [all 8 SPY alternatives](https://tactfolio.com/alternatives/spy.md), compared on the same dates as SPY.

## Test SPY 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](https://tactfolio.com/builder), add SPY, 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 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.

Fund facts come from SPDR (State Street). We checked them on October 16, 2026. Read [what a backtest simulates](https://tactfolio.com/docs/backtests.md) and [how to read drawdown and CAGR](https://tactfolio.com/docs/concepts/reading-a-backtest.md) for more on these measures.

## Research and test it

- [S&P 500 index funds](https://tactfolio.com/learn/sp500-index-funds): Compare the biggest S&P 500 index funds, ETFs and mutual funds, by yearly fee, see how much fees cost over 30 years, and learn how to buy one.
- [S&P 500 index](https://tactfolio.com/learn/sp500-index): The S&P 500 tracks about 500 large US companies. Learn how stocks get in, how the index is weighted, how to invest in it, and how far it has fallen before.
- [What is an ETF](https://tactfolio.com/learn/what-is-an-etf): An ETF is a fund that trades like a stock. Learn how ETFs work, what they cost, the main types, and the risks, with SEC sources.
- [ETF screener](https://tactfolio.com/screener.md): A free ETF screener for 162 US-listed funds. Filter by type, issuer and fee, sort by returns or worst drop, and compare funds side by side.
- [ETF expense ratio](https://tactfolio.com/learn/etf-expense-ratio): What an ETF expense ratio is, how the fund charges it, and how 0.03% vs 1% adds up over 10 and 30 years, with real fund examples.
- [Backtest a portfolio](https://tactfolio.com/trading-tools/backtest-portfolio): Backtest a portfolio of US stocks and ETFs. Enter tickers and shares, pick when to rebalance, and get the results with a link to share.

## Common questions

### What is the expense ratio of SPY?

SPY charges 0.0945% a year, according to SPDR (State Street) as of October 16, 2026. That is about $9.45 a year for every $10,000 you hold.

### When did SPY start trading?

SPY started trading on January 22, 1993. It is run by SPDR (State Street).

### What does SPY track?

SPY tracks the S&P 500 Index. This fund owns the 500 or so large US companies in the S&P 500.

### How much has SPY returned per year?

From January 1993 to October 2026, SPY returned about 10.8% a year with dividends reinvested. Its worst drop was −55.2%. Past returns do not tell you what it will do next.

### Which strategies use SPY?

47 of Tactfolio's classic strategies hold SPY, including Hybrid Asset Allocation (HAA), HAA Simple: Hybrid Asset Allocation with one asset, Bold Asset Allocation (BAA).

## Sources

- [SPDR (State Street): State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust fund page](https://www.ssga.com/us/en/intermediary/etfs/state-street-spdr-sp-500-etf-trust-spy)

> Not financial advice. Tactfolio is a research and automation tool. It is not a broker or a financial adviser. This page is for education only. Backtests are hypothetical. They show how rules would have done on past prices, not how they will do. All investing involves risk, including losing the money you put in.