SPYM vs USPX

SPYMAState Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF

USPXAFranklin U.S. Equity Index ETF

In short

SPYM State Street's budget-priced S&P 500 tracker: the same 500 large caps as its famous sibling, for 0.02% a year, the lowest fee in its S&P 500 peer group. Running since 2005 and now one of the category's giants.

USPX The odd one out in the S&P 500 aisle. Franklin's fund tracks a Morningstar large-cap benchmark instead, for three basis points. Same big-US-stocks job, different scorecard, and a fee that undercuts most of the peer group.

Stated mandate

SPYM The fund seeks to track the total return of the S&P 500 Index before fees and expenses, providing broad exposure to U.S. large-cap equities.

USPX The fund seeks to provide U.S. equity exposure through an index-based strategy.

Why people hold it

• SPYM 0.02% a year, the cheapest fee in its S&P 500 cohort, against a 0.15% median for the group. Two dollars a year per $10,000 invested.
• Same S&P 500 index as State Street's flagship SPY (0.09%), for a fraction of the fee, and a basis point under VOO and IVV.
• Tracks the index tightly: gaps between fund and benchmark are among the smallest in its peer group, which is the whole job of an index wrapper.
• Live since 2005, now one of the largest and most heavily traded funds in the category. Distributions land quarterly.

• USPX 0.03% a year, a fraction of the roughly 0.15% typical in its peer group and level with the fee on VOO and IVV.
• Sticks close to its Morningstar US Target Market Exposure Index, one of the tighter index-following records among the S&P 500 wrappers it sits beside.
• Rules-based cap-weighted US equity, roughly 190 names, no factor tilts or manager picks. Pays quarterly.
• Running since 2016 and now a multi-billion-dollar fund, with Franklin Templeton behind it.

Worth knowing

• SPYM The S&P 500 is cap-weighted, so the biggest US companies drive most of the move. Equal-weight takes on the same index (RSP) spread that bet differently.
• About 500 US large caps and nothing else: no mid caps, no small caps, no international.
• The fee edge over VOO and IVV is one basis point. Same index, so trading costs and platform access matter as much as the sticker fee.

• USPX Different index, different constituent rules. Holdings and returns can drift from the S&P 500 trackers most people compare it to.
• Moderately traded rather than a volume monster like SPY, which can mean wider bid-ask spreads than the biggest names in the category.
• Fewer names than the 500-stock benchmarks next door, and cap weighting keeps the largest US companies in the driver's seat.

Full SPYM profile⁠

Full USPX profile⁠