VUAA vs SPYY: 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
SPYY
VUAA tracks the S&P 500 IndexSPYY tracks the MSCI ACWI Index
What did the last 5 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 5 full years (2021–2025) — the longest stretch both were trading.
VUAA vs SPYY, 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.
| Year | VUAA | SPYY | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (so far) | +16.46% | +16.76% | SPYY |
| 2025 | +4.28% | +9.46% | SPYY |
| 2024 | +33.65% | +24.56% | VUAA |
| 2023 | +22.10% | +18.22% | VUAA |
| 2022 | -14.58% | -13.76% | SPYY |
| 2021 | +42.09% | +29.02% | VUAA |
| 2020 | — | +5.12% | — |
| 2019 | — | +30.21% | — |
| 2018 | — | -6.02% | — |
| 2017 | — | +8.80% | — |
| 2016 | — | +12.34% | — |
| 2015 | — | +8.88% | — |
| 2014 | — | +18.80% | — |
| 2013 | — | +17.52% | — |
| 2012 | — | +9.67% | — |
VUAA vs SPYY in plain words
VUAA tracks the S&P 500 Index while SPYY follows the MSCI ACWI Index, so they own different slices of the market and their years can look very different. VUAA charges 0.07% a year in running costs and SPYY charges 0.12% — VUAA 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 6 calendar years both funds were trading, VUAA finished the year ahead 3 times and SPYY 3 times. €10,000 invested at the start of 2021 was worth €20,655 in VUAA versus €17,936 in SPYY 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.
Fund facts: VUAA vs SPYY
| Fact | VUAA | SPYY |
|---|---|---|
| Fund | Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF (Acc) | SPDR MSCI ACWI UCITS ETF (Acc) |
| Tracks | S&P 500 Index | MSCI ACWI Index |
| Yearly cost (TER) | 0.07% | 0.12% |
| Dividends | Accumulating — dividends reinvested | Accumulating — dividends reinvested |
| Launched | 14 May 2019 | 13 May 2011 |
| ISIN | IE00BFMXXD54 | IE00B44Z5B48 |
| WKN | A2PFN2 | A1JJTC |
| €10,000 invested | What €10,000 in VUAA became | What €10,000 in SPYY became |
How bumpy the ride was: VUAA vs SPYY
These head-to-head figures use only the 1,463 trading days both funds were listed: 4 Jan 2021 to 7 Oct 2026, roughly 5.8 years.
VUAA swung more than SPYY: annualised volatility of 14.9% for VUAA against 13.7% for SPYY, with VUAA moving 1% or more on 21.2% of trading days and SPYY on 18.7%. Both had their worst day on 3 Apr 2025: VUAA closed -5.45% and SPYY -4.72%.
VUAA had the deeper drawdown: it 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; SPYY fell -21.27% from its peak on 19 Feb 2025 to a low on 9 Apr 2025, then closed back above the old peak on 1 Oct 2025, 5 months after the low.
Day to day the two move almost in lockstep: the correlation of their daily returns is 0.95, and they closed in opposite directions on 8.5% of the 1,462 days measured. The widest single-day gap came on 21 Sept 2022, when VUAA moved -3.37% and SPYY +1.11%.
| Measure | VUAA | SPYY |
|---|---|---|
| Annualised volatility | 14.9% | 13.7% |
| Worst day | -5.45% on 3 Apr 2025 | -4.72% on 3 Apr 2025 |
| Best day | +4.22% on 8 Mar 2021 | +3.95% on 10 Apr 2025 |
| Days moving 1% or more | 21.2% of days | 18.7% of days |
| Deepest drawdown | -23.28% | -21.27% |
| Peak to trough | 19 Feb 2025 → 9 Apr 2025 | 19 Feb 2025 → 9 Apr 2025 |
| Back above the old peak | 27 Oct 2025 · 6 months | 1 Oct 2025 · 5 months |
Years VUAA and SPYY parted ways
In 3 of the 5 completed calendar years both funds were trading, the two returns ended more than 5 points apart. The widest split was 2021: VUAA returned +42.09% and SPYY +29.02%, a gap of 13.1 points. They rose together in 4 years and fell together in 1 year.
| Year | VUAA | SPYY | Gap (VUAA − SPYY) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | +4.28% | +9.46% | -5.2 pts |
| 2024 | +33.65% | +24.56% | +9.1 pts |
| 2021 | +42.09% | +29.02% | +13.1 pts |
How often VUAA beat SPYY over any 12 months
Across the 57 rolling 12-month windows since January 2021, measured month-end to month-end, VUAA finished ahead in 59.6% of them (34) and SPYY in 40.4% (23).
€200 a month into each, 2022–2025
Putting €200 into each fund at the start of every month from January 2022 to December 2025 (48 payments, €9,600 in total) would have grown to €12,941 in VUAA and €12,721 in SPYY, leaving VUAA €221 ahead.
| Outcome | VUAA | SPYY |
|---|---|---|
| Paid in | €9,600 | €9,600 |
| Value at the end of 2025 | €12,941 | €12,721 |
| Gain on the money paid in | +€3,341 | +€3,121 |
| Gain in % | +34.80% | +32.51% |
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 SPYY better?
Across the 6 calendar years both funds were trading, VUAA finished the year ahead 3 times and SPYY 3 times. €10,000 invested at the start of 2021 was worth €20,655 in VUAA versus €17,936 in SPYY 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 SPYY?
VUAA tracks the S&P 500 Index while SPYY follows the MSCI ACWI Index, so they own different slices of the market and their years can look very different. VUAA charges 0.07% a year in running costs and SPYY charges 0.12% — VUAA 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 SPYY?
VUAA swung more than SPYY: annualised volatility of 14.9% for VUAA against 13.7% for SPYY, with VUAA moving 1% or more on 21.2% of trading days and SPYY on 18.7%. Both had their worst day on 3 Apr 2025: VUAA closed -5.45% and SPYY -4.72%.
Which had the deeper drawdown, VUAA or SPYY?
VUAA had the deeper drawdown: it 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; SPYY fell -21.27% from its peak on 19 Feb 2025 to a low on 9 Apr 2025, then closed back above the old peak on 1 Oct 2025, 5 months after the low.
How often did VUAA beat SPYY over a 12-month period?
Across the 57 rolling 12-month windows since January 2021, measured month-end to month-end, VUAA finished ahead in 59.6% of them (34) and SPYY in 40.4% (23).
What would €10,000 in VUAA have become?
€10,000 invested in VUAA at the start of 2021 grew to €20,655 by the end of 2025, with dividends reinvested — an average of 15.6% per year.
Related comparisons
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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.