SPY vs MTUM: which ETF won each year?

Yearly returns side by side, one winner per year — dividends included, priced as you'd actually buy them.

SPY tracks the S&P 500 IndexMTUM tracks the MSCI USA Momentum SR Variant Index

What did the last 10 years do to $10,000?

You invest $10,000 at the start of the window and touch nothing — dividends reinvested, the running year not counted.

SPY turned it into
$39,466
+14.72% per year on average · 20162025
MTUM turned it into
$38,506
+14.43% per year on average · 20162025
Difference
+$960
SPY made more of the same money

SPY vs MTUM, year by year

Calendar-year total returns (dividends included) side by side, and who took the crown each year. A dash means the fund did not exist yet.

Years compared
14
where both funds were trading
SPY won
6
years
MTUM won
8
years
YearSPYMTUMWinner
2026 (so far)+10.09%+37.24%MTUM
2025+17.72%+22.15%MTUM
2024+24.89%+32.89%MTUM
2023+26.18%+9.15%SPY
2022-18.18%-18.27%SPY
2021+28.73%+13.36%SPY
2020+18.33%+29.86%MTUM
2019+31.22%+27.25%SPY
2018-4.57%-1.67%MTUM
2017+21.71%+37.50%MTUM
2016+12.00%+5.00%SPY
2015+1.23%+8.91%MTUM
2014+13.46%+14.62%MTUM
2013+32.31%+19.21%SPY
2012+15.99%
2011+1.89%
2010+15.06%
2009+26.35%
2008-36.80%
2007+5.15%
2006+15.85%
2005+4.83%
2004+10.70%
2003+28.18%
2002-21.58%
2001-11.76%
2000-9.74%
1999+20.39%
1998+28.69%
1997+33.47%
1996+22.50%
1995+38.05%
1994+0.40%
1993+8.71%

SPY vs MTUM in plain words

SPY tracks the S&P 500 Index while MTUM follows the MSCI USA Momentum SR Variant Index, so they own different slices of the market and their years can look very different. SPY charges 0.0945% a year in running costs and MTUM charges 0.15% — SPY is the cheaper fund to hold.

Both funds distribute: dividends land in your account as cash instead of being reinvested automatically. Across the 14 calendar years both funds were trading, SPY finished the year ahead 6 times and MTUM 8 times. $10,000 invested at the start of 2016 was worth $39,466 in SPY versus $38,506 in MTUM by the end of 2025, dividends reinvested.

Fund facts: SPY vs MTUM

FactSPYMTUM
FundSPDR S&P 500 ETF TrustiShares MSCI USA Momentum Factor ETF
TracksS&P 500 IndexMSCI USA Momentum SR Variant Index
Yearly cost (TER)0.0945%0.15%
DividendsDistributing — dividends paid outDistributing — dividends paid out
Launched22 Jan 199316 Apr 2013

Frequently asked

Is SPY or MTUM better?

Across the 14 calendar years both funds were trading, SPY finished the year ahead 6 times and MTUM 8 times. $10,000 invested at the start of 2016 was worth $39,466 in SPY versus $38,506 in MTUM by the end of 2025, dividends reinvested. Past returns don't promise future ones — but this is what actually happened.

What is the difference between SPY and MTUM?

SPY tracks the S&P 500 Index while MTUM follows the MSCI USA Momentum SR Variant Index, so they own different slices of the market and their years can look very different. SPY charges 0.0945% a year in running costs and MTUM charges 0.15% — SPY is the cheaper fund to hold. Both funds distribute: dividends land in your account as cash instead of being reinvested automatically.

What would $10,000 in SPY have become?

$10,000 invested in SPY at the start of 2016 grew to $39,466 by the end of 2025, with dividends reinvested — an average of 14.7% per year.

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