SPY vs SPMO: 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 IndexSPMO tracks the S&P 500 Momentum 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
SPMO turned it into
$51,975
+17.92% per year on average · 20162025
Difference
−$12,509
SPMO made more of the same money

SPY vs SPMO, 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
12
where both funds were trading
SPY won
4
years
SPMO won
8
years
YearSPYSPMOWinner
2026 (so far)+10.09%+35.98%SPMO
2025+17.72%+26.58%SPMO
2024+24.89%+45.82%SPMO
2023+26.18%+17.56%SPY
2022-18.18%-10.45%SPMO
2021+28.73%+22.51%SPY
2020+18.33%+27.80%SPMO
2019+31.22%+25.93%SPY
2018-4.57%-0.92%SPMO
2017+21.71%+27.76%SPMO
2016+12.00%+7.18%SPY
2015+1.23%+2.78%SPMO
2014+13.46%
2013+32.31%
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 SPMO in plain words

SPY tracks the S&P 500 Index while SPMO follows the S&P 500 Momentum 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 SPMO charges 0.13% — SPY is the cheaper fund to hold.

Both funds distribute: dividends land in your account as cash instead of being reinvested automatically. Across the 12 calendar years both funds were trading, SPY finished the year ahead 4 times and SPMO 8 times. $10,000 invested at the start of 2016 was worth $39,466 in SPY versus $51,975 in SPMO by the end of 2025, dividends reinvested.

Fund facts: SPY vs SPMO

FactSPYSPMO
FundSPDR S&P 500 ETF TrustInvesco S&P 500 Momentum ETF
TracksS&P 500 IndexS&P 500 Momentum Index
Yearly cost (TER)0.0945%0.13%
DividendsDistributing — dividends paid outDistributing — dividends paid out
Launched22 Jan 19939 Oct 2015

Frequently asked

Is SPY or SPMO better?

Across the 12 calendar years both funds were trading, SPY finished the year ahead 4 times and SPMO 8 times. $10,000 invested at the start of 2016 was worth $39,466 in SPY versus $51,975 in SPMO 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 SPMO?

SPY tracks the S&P 500 Index while SPMO follows the S&P 500 Momentum 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 SPMO charges 0.13% — 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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