Latest Market Data
| Metric | Current value |
|---|
| Regular market price (USD) | $776.34 |
| Market-price date | 2026-08-14 (US Eastern Time) |
| 52-week range (USD) | $629.28 – $779.37 |
| 1-year adjusted-close return | +21.99% |
| Annualised daily volatility (1 year) | 12.87% |
Source: Yahoo Finance, retrieved 15 August 2026. The regular market price is an exchange-market price and is not the ETF NAV. The rolling one-year return uses the first and last adjusted close in the retrieved daily series. Annualised volatility is the sample standard deviation of daily log returns multiplied by √252.
SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY)
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) tracks the S&P 500 Index and is one of the most actively traded ETFs in the world. SPY is often used by institutions and active investors for broad U.S. large-cap exposure, liquidity, hedging, and tactical allocation.
Key Facts
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Ticker | SPY |
| Issuer | State Street Global Advisors / SPDR |
| Inception Date | January 22, 1993 |
| Expense Ratio | 0.0945% |
| Benchmark | S&P 500 Index |
| Asset Class | U.S. Large-Cap Equity |
| Dividend Frequency | Quarterly |
| Structure | Unit Investment Trust |
| Primary Use Case | Highly liquid S&P 500 exposure and trading vehicle |
Latest Price Data
Data fetched via scripts/fetch_spy_etf.py on 2026-07-06; latest market row from Yahoo Finance is 2026-07-02.
| Field | Value |
|---|
| Last Adjusted Close | $744.78 |
| 52-Week High | $757.62 |
| 52-Week Low | $613.54 |
| YTD Return | +9.60% |
| 30-Day Avg Volume | ~57.7M shares/day |
| Data As Of | 2026-07-02 |
| Exchange Timezone | America/New_York |
Historical Annual Returns
| Year | Return (%) |
|---|
| 2026 | +9.80% |
| 2025 | +17.72% |
| 2024 | +24.89% |
| 2023 | +26.18% |
| 2022 | -18.18% |
| 2021 | +28.73% |
| 2020 | +18.33% |
| 2019 | +31.22% |
| 2018 | -4.57% |
| 2017 | +21.71% |
| 2016 | +12.00% |
| 2015 | +1.23% |
| 2014 | +13.46% |
| 2013 | +32.31% |
| 2012 | +15.99% |
Trailing Period Returns (CAGR)
| Period | Annualised Return |
|---|
| 1 Year | +21.38% |
| 3 Year | +20.34% |
| 5 Year | +12.94% |
| 10 Year | +15.43% |
| Since Inception (1993) | +10.81% |
Risk Metrics
| Metric | Value |
|---|
| Beta (vs. S&P 500) | ~1.00 |
| Expected Return (5-Year, Annualised) | +14.99% |
| Standard Deviation (5-Year, Annualised) | ~17.1% |
| Sharpe Ratio (5-Year, rf=4.5%) | ~0.61 |
| Max Drawdown (available history) | -55.2% (Mar 2009) |
| Correlation to VOO | Very high; both track the S&P 500 Index |
Price History (Recent 12 Months)
| Month | Adjusted Close (USD) | Monthly Return |
|---|
| Aug 2025 | $637.98 | +2.05% |
| Sep 2025 | $660.71 | +3.56% |
| Oct 2025 | $676.46 | +2.38% |
| Nov 2025 | $677.77 | +0.20% |
| Dec 2025 | $678.32 | +0.08% |
| Jan 2026 | $688.31 | +1.47% |
| Feb 2026 | $682.36 | -0.86% |
| Mar 2026 | $648.67 | -4.94% |
| Apr 2026 | $716.81 | +10.51% |
| May 2026 | $754.54 | +5.26% |
| Jun 2026 | $746.77 | -1.03% |
| Jul 2026 | $744.78 | -0.27% |
Investment Thesis
Strengths
- Exceptional liquidity: SPY typically trades with very tight spreads and deep options markets.
- Transparent exposure: Investors get direct S&P 500 exposure across U.S. mega-cap and large-cap companies.
- Long operating history: SPY has traded since 1993, providing a long live-performance record through multiple market cycles.
- Useful trading instrument: The fund is widely used for tactical asset allocation, hedging, and portfolio rebalancing.
Risks
- Market concentration: Returns are dominated by U.S. large-cap equities and the largest index constituents.
- No downside protection: SPY remains fully exposed to equity bear markets.
- Higher cost than some peers: SPY’s expense ratio is higher than VOO and IVV, which may matter for long holding periods.
- Valuation sensitivity: Elevated S&P 500 valuations can reduce future expected returns.
Comparison vs. VOO
| Feature | SPY | VOO |
|---|
| Sponsor | State Street SPDR | Vanguard |
| Inception | 1993 | 2010 |
| Expense Ratio | 0.0945% | 0.03% |
| Structure | Unit Investment Trust | Open-End ETF |
| Best Fit | Trading, options, tactical liquidity | Long-term low-cost core holding |
| Benchmark | S&P 500 Index | S&P 500 Index |
Portfolio Role
SPY can serve as a liquid U.S. equity sleeve in a diversified portfolio. Long-term buy-and-hold investors may prefer lower-cost S&P 500 ETFs, while traders may prefer SPY because of its market depth and options ecosystem.
Data sourced from Yahoo Finance’s chart endpoint via scripts/fetch_spy_etf.py. Re-run the script to update price data, historical returns, and risk metrics.