VOO vs SPHQ: which ETF won each year?

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

VOO tracks the S&P 500 IndexSPHQ tracks the S&P 500 Quality 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.

VOO turned it into
$39,747
+14.80% per year on average · 2016–2025
SPHQ turned it into
$37,666
+14.18% per year on average · 2016–2025
Difference
+$2,081
VOO made more of the same money

VOO vs SPHQ, 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
17
where both funds were trading
VOO won
7
years
SPHQ won
10
years
YearVOOSPHQWinner
2026 (so far)+12.73%+12.92%SPHQ
2025+17.82%+13.25%VOO
2024+24.98%+25.44%SPHQ
2023+26.32%+24.83%VOO
2022-18.17%-15.76%SPHQ
2021+28.79%+27.59%VOO
2020+18.32%+16.93%VOO
2019+31.37%+33.63%SPHQ
2018-4.50%-7.09%VOO
2017+21.77%+19.10%VOO
2016+12.17%+14.30%SPHQ
2015+1.33%+1.64%SPHQ
2014+12.93%+16.08%SPHQ
2013+32.39%+32.73%SPHQ
2012+15.99%+14.32%VOO
2011+1.90%+6.28%SPHQ
2010+14.78%+20.50%SPHQ
2009—+12.59%—
2008—-46.35%—
2007—+16.77%—
2006—+4.58%—
2005—-2.05%—

VOO vs SPHQ in plain words

VOO tracks the S&P 500 Index while SPHQ follows the S&P 500 Quality Index, so they own different slices of the market and their years can look very different. VOO charges 0.03% a year in running costs and SPHQ charges 0.15% — VOO is the cheaper fund to hold.

Both funds distribute: dividends land in your account as cash instead of being reinvested automatically. Across the 17 calendar years both funds were trading, VOO finished the year ahead 7 times and SPHQ 10 times. $10,000 invested at the start of 2016 was worth $39,747 in VOO versus $37,666 in SPHQ by the end of 2025, dividends reinvested.

Fund facts: VOO vs SPHQ

FactVOOSPHQ
FundVanguard S&P 500 ETFInvesco S&P 500 Quality ETF
TracksS&P 500 IndexS&P 500 Quality Index
Yearly cost (TER)0.03%0.15%
DividendsDistributing — dividends paid outDistributing — dividends paid out
Launched7 Sept 20106 Dec 2005
$10,000 investedWhat $10,000 in VOO becameWhat $10,000 in SPHQ became

How bumpy the ride was: VOO vs SPHQ

These head-to-head figures use only the 4,043 trading days both funds were listed: 9 Sept 2010 to 6 Oct 2026, roughly 16.0 years.

VOO swung more than SPHQ: annualised volatility of 17.0% for VOO against 16.4% for SPHQ, with VOO moving 1% or more on 23.4% of trading days and SPHQ on 22.2%. Both had their worst day on 16 Mar 2020: VOO closed -11.74% and SPHQ -10.30%.

VOO had the deeper drawdown: it fell -33.99% from its peak on 19 Feb 2020 to a low on 23 Mar 2020, then closed back above the old peak on 10 Aug 2020, 4 months after the low; SPHQ fell -31.59% from its peak on 12 Feb 2020 to a low on 23 Mar 2020, then closed back above the old peak on 4 Aug 2020, 4 months after the low.

Day to day the two move almost in lockstep: the correlation of their daily returns is 0.96, and they closed in opposite directions on 10.7% of the 4,042 days measured. The widest single-day gap came on 26 Aug 2015, when VOO moved +3.97% and SPHQ +0.91%.

MeasureVOOSPHQ
Annualised volatility17.0%16.4%
Worst day-11.74% on 16 Mar 2020-10.30% on 16 Mar 2020
Best day+9.54% on 24 Mar 2020+10.30% on 24 Mar 2020
Days moving 1% or more23.4% of days22.2% of days
Deepest drawdown-33.99%-31.59%
Peak to trough19 Feb 2020 → 23 Mar 202012 Feb 2020 → 23 Mar 2020
Back above the old peak10 Aug 2020 · 4 months4 Aug 2020 · 4 months

Years VOO and SPHQ parted ways

In 1 of the 16 completed calendar years both funds were trading, the two returns ended more than 5 points apart. The widest split was 2010: VOO returned +14.78% and SPHQ +20.50%, a gap of 5.7 points. They rose together in 14 years and fell together in 2 years.

YearVOOSPHQGap (VOO − SPHQ)
2010+14.78%+20.50%-5.7 pts

How often VOO beat SPHQ over any 12 months

Across the 181 rolling 12-month windows since September 2010, measured month-end to month-end, VOO finished ahead in 44.8% of them (81) and SPHQ in 55.2% (100).

12-month windows
181
month-end to month-end, overlapping
VOO ahead
44.8%
81 of 181 windows
SPHQ ahead
55.2%
100 of 181 windows

$200 a month into each, 2011–2025

Putting $200 into each fund at the start of every month from January 2011 to December 2025 (180 payments, $36,000 in total) would have grown to $118,662 in VOO and $114,746 in SPHQ, leaving VOO $3,917 ahead.

OutcomeVOOSPHQ
Paid in$36,000$36,000
Value at the end of 2025$118,662$114,746
Gain on the money paid in+$82,662+$78,746
Gain in %+229.62%+218.74%

Each payment rides the return of the month it lands in, dividends reinvested. Only calendar years with all twelve months of data for both funds count, so the plan may start later than the shared history.

Frequently asked

Is VOO or SPHQ better?

Across the 17 calendar years both funds were trading, VOO finished the year ahead 7 times and SPHQ 10 times. $10,000 invested at the start of 2016 was worth $39,747 in VOO versus $37,666 in SPHQ 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 VOO and SPHQ?

VOO tracks the S&P 500 Index while SPHQ follows the S&P 500 Quality Index, so they own different slices of the market and their years can look very different. VOO charges 0.03% a year in running costs and SPHQ charges 0.15% — VOO is the cheaper fund to hold. Both funds distribute: dividends land in your account as cash instead of being reinvested automatically.

Which is more volatile, VOO or SPHQ?

VOO swung more than SPHQ: annualised volatility of 17.0% for VOO against 16.4% for SPHQ, with VOO moving 1% or more on 23.4% of trading days and SPHQ on 22.2%. Both had their worst day on 16 Mar 2020: VOO closed -11.74% and SPHQ -10.30%.

Which had the deeper drawdown, VOO or SPHQ?

VOO had the deeper drawdown: it fell -33.99% from its peak on 19 Feb 2020 to a low on 23 Mar 2020, then closed back above the old peak on 10 Aug 2020, 4 months after the low; SPHQ fell -31.59% from its peak on 12 Feb 2020 to a low on 23 Mar 2020, then closed back above the old peak on 4 Aug 2020, 4 months after the low.

How often did VOO beat SPHQ over a 12-month period?

Across the 181 rolling 12-month windows since September 2010, measured month-end to month-end, VOO finished ahead in 44.8% of them (81) and SPHQ in 55.2% (100).

What would $10,000 in VOO have become?

$10,000 invested in VOO at the start of 2016 grew to $39,747 by the end of 2025, with dividends reinvested — an average of 14.8% per year.

Related comparisons

More head-to-heads featuring VOO or SPHQ.

Source: Yahoo Finance daily adjusted closes for the US primary listings, dividends reinvested. Prices through · refreshed 7 Oct 2026, 08:49 UTC. How every number is calculated.