VUAA vs SPYL: which ETF won each year?

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

Every figure here is in euros — what you'd actually pocket buying on Xetra. Fund fact sheets usually headline returns in US dollars, which can look very different: in 2025 a world tracker rose about 23% in dollars but only about 9% in euros, because the euro gained roughly 13% against the dollar. Here's the full story, year by year.

VUAA tracks the S&P 500 IndexSPYL tracks the S&P 500 Index

What did the last 2 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. Both funds are measured over the same 2 full years (2024–2025) — the longest stretch both were trading.

VUAA turned it into
€13,937
+18.05% per year on average · 2024–2025
SPYL turned it into
€13,856
+17.71% per year on average · 2024–2025
Difference
+€81
VUAA made more of the same money

VUAA vs SPYL, 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
4
where both funds were trading
VUAA won
2
years
SPYL won
1
years
YearVUAASPYLWinner
2026 (so far)+16.46%+16.47%Tie
2025+4.28%+4.71%SPYL
2024+33.65%+32.33%VUAA
2023+22.10%+8.23%VUAA
2022-14.58%——
2021+42.09%——

VUAA vs SPYL in plain words

VUAA and SPYL both track the S&P 500 Index, so their returns are nearly identical — the real differences are costs and fund structure. VUAA charges 0.07% a year in running costs and SPYL charges 0.03% — SPYL is the cheaper fund to hold.

Both are accumulating funds: dividends are reinvested inside the fund and show up as a higher share price, never as a payout. Across the 4 calendar years both funds were trading, VUAA finished the year ahead 2 times and SPYL 1 times. €10,000 invested at the start of 2024 was worth €13,937 in VUAA versus €13,856 in SPYL by the end of 2025, dividends reinvested.

VUAA also trades in USD on the London Stock Exchange, where VUAG is its GBP line, ISIN IE00BFMXXD54 — VUSA is its distributing sibling. This page follows the EUR line.

SPYL also trades in USD on the London Stock Exchange, where SPXL is its GBP line, ISIN IE000XZSV718 — this page follows its EUR line on Xetra.

Fund facts: VUAA vs SPYL

FactVUAASPYL
FundVanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF (Acc)SPDR S&P 500 UCITS ETF (Acc)
TracksS&P 500 IndexS&P 500 Index
Yearly cost (TER)0.07%0.03%
DividendsAccumulating — dividends reinvestedAccumulating — dividends reinvested
Launched14 May 201931 Oct 2023
ISINIE00BFMXXD54IE000XZSV718
WKNA2PFN2A3EUC1
€10,000 investedWhat €10,000 in VUAA becameWhat €10,000 in SPYL became

How bumpy the ride was: VUAA vs SPYL

These head-to-head figures use only the 694 trading days both funds were listed: 2 Nov 2023 to 7 Oct 2026, roughly 2.8 years.

VUAA and SPYL swung about equally: annualised volatility of 14.6% for VUAA against 14.7% for SPYL, with VUAA moving 1% or more on 18.2% of trading days and SPYL on 18.8%. Both had their worst day on 3 Apr 2025: VUAA closed -5.45% and SPYL -5.54%.

Both funds suffered a drawdown of about the same depth: VUAA fell -23.28% from its peak on 19 Feb 2025 to a low on 9 Apr 2025, then closed back above the old peak on 27 Oct 2025, 6 months after the low; SPYL fell -23.27% from its peak on 19 Feb 2025 to a low on 9 Apr 2025, then closed back above the old peak on 27 Oct 2025, 6 months after the low.

Day to day the two move almost in lockstep: the correlation of their daily returns is 1.00, and they closed in opposite directions on 2.3% of the 693 days measured. The widest single-day gap came on 3 Nov 2023, when VUAA moved +0.50% and SPYL +1.40%.

MeasureVUAASPYL
Annualised volatility14.6%14.7%
Worst day-5.45% on 3 Apr 2025-5.54% on 3 Apr 2025
Best day+4.10% on 6 Nov 2024+4.12% on 6 Nov 2024
Days moving 1% or more18.2% of days18.8% of days
Deepest drawdown-23.28%-23.27%
Peak to trough19 Feb 2025 → 9 Apr 202519 Feb 2025 → 9 Apr 2025
Back above the old peak27 Oct 2025 · 6 months27 Oct 2025 · 6 months

Years VUAA and SPYL parted ways

In 1 of the 3 completed calendar years both funds were trading, the two returns ended more than 5 points apart. The widest split was 2023: VUAA returned +22.10% and SPYL +8.23%, a gap of 13.9 points. They rose together in 3 years.

YearVUAASPYLGap (VUAA − SPYL)
2023+22.10%+8.23%+13.9 pts

How often VUAA beat SPYL over any 12 months

Across the 16 rolling 12-month windows since November 2023, measured month-end to month-end, VUAA finished ahead in 37.5% of them (6) and SPYL in 62.5% (10).

12-month windows
16
month-end to month-end, overlapping
VUAA ahead
37.5%
6 of 16 windows
SPYL ahead
62.5%
10 of 16 windows

€200 a month into each, 2025–2025

Putting €200 into each fund at the start of every month from January 2025 to December 2025 (12 payments, €2,400 in total) would have grown to €2,576 in VUAA and €2,576 in SPYL, leaving VUAA €1 ahead.

OutcomeVUAASPYL
Paid in€2,400€2,400
Value at the end of 2025€2,576€2,576
Gain on the money paid in+€176+€176
Gain in %+7.33%+7.31%

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 VUAA or SPYL better?

Across the 4 calendar years both funds were trading, VUAA finished the year ahead 2 times and SPYL 1 times. €10,000 invested at the start of 2024 was worth €13,937 in VUAA versus €13,856 in SPYL 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 VUAA and SPYL?

VUAA and SPYL both track the S&P 500 Index, so their returns are nearly identical — the real differences are costs and fund structure. VUAA charges 0.07% a year in running costs and SPYL charges 0.03% — SPYL is the cheaper fund to hold. Both are accumulating funds: dividends are reinvested inside the fund and show up as a higher share price, never as a payout.

Which is more volatile, VUAA or SPYL?

VUAA and SPYL swung about equally: annualised volatility of 14.6% for VUAA against 14.7% for SPYL, with VUAA moving 1% or more on 18.2% of trading days and SPYL on 18.8%. Both had their worst day on 3 Apr 2025: VUAA closed -5.45% and SPYL -5.54%.

Which had the deeper drawdown, VUAA or SPYL?

Both funds suffered a drawdown of about the same depth: VUAA fell -23.28% from its peak on 19 Feb 2025 to a low on 9 Apr 2025, then closed back above the old peak on 27 Oct 2025, 6 months after the low; SPYL fell -23.27% from its peak on 19 Feb 2025 to a low on 9 Apr 2025, then closed back above the old peak on 27 Oct 2025, 6 months after the low.

How often did VUAA beat SPYL over a 12-month period?

Across the 16 rolling 12-month windows since November 2023, measured month-end to month-end, VUAA finished ahead in 37.5% of them (6) and SPYL in 62.5% (10).

What would €10,000 in VUAA have become?

€10,000 invested in VUAA at the start of 2024 grew to €13,937 by the end of 2025, with dividends reinvested — an average of 18.1% per year.

Related comparisons

More head-to-heads featuring VUAA or SPYL.

Source: Yahoo Finance daily adjusted closes for the EUR trading lines on Xetra, dividends reinvested. Prices through · refreshed 7 Oct 2026, 08:49 UTC. How every number is calculated.