IVV vs VOO: Side-by-Side ETF Comparison

IVV vs VOO are essentially identical S&P 500 trackers with the same 0.03% expense ratio and identical 14.43% one-year returns. The only meaningful difference is IVV's slightly higher dividend yield (1.17% vs 1.13%), making it marginally better for income-focused investors.

Table of Content

• Annual & Cumulative Returns
• Risk Metrics
• Dividend Yield & Growth
• Fees & Liquidity
• ETF Composition: Asset Classes
• Regional Allocation
• Sector Weights
• Top 10 Holdings
• Valuation & Growth Metrics
• Which ETF Fits Your Portfolio?

ETF Issuers & Investment Objective

IVV comes from iShares, the ETF arm of BlackRock, while VOO is Vanguard's take on the same S&P 500 benchmark. Both funds charge 0.03% annually and delivered identical 14.43% returns over the past year, so your choice really comes down to which company's structure you prefer. iShares lets IVV use derivatives and cash for up to 20% of holdings, which can help with liquidity but adds slight complexity. Vanguard keeps VOO simpler by directly holding all 500 stocks in their index weights, though this makes the fund technically "non-diversified" under SEC rules.

The sector breakdowns are nearly identical too - technology dominates both at 34-35%, with financial services and communication services rounding out the top three. VOO has marginally more tech exposure (35.1% vs 34.3%) and financials (13.0% vs 12.6%), differences so small they'll barely register in performance. Either fund gives you the same large-cap U.S. equity exposure; pick based on whether you like BlackRock's flexibility approach or Vanguard's pure indexing philosophy.

Annual & Cumulative Returns

The numbers tell a familiar story: two S&P 500 trackers moving in lockstep, with differences so small they barely register. Both IVV and VOO delivered identical 1.07% year-to-date returns through the same period, matching each other penny for penny across every timeframe from one year (14.43%) all the way to ten years (15.69%). Even the three-year annualized return shows just a 0.01% gap - 21.52% versus 21.51% - which amounts to a dollar's difference on a $10,000 investment.

This near-perfect tracking shouldn't surprise anyone. Both funds own the same 500 companies, charge the same 0.03% expense ratio, and weight their holdings within a hair's breadth of each other. The microscopic variances you'll notice come from minor timing differences in portfolio rebalancing and the tiny drag from each fund's cash holdings. For investors, the choice between these two comes down to convenience factors like trading volume, bid-ask spreads, or which brokerage platform you prefer - not performance.

Risk Metrics

The volatility numbers tell a clear story: IVV and VOO move almost in lockstep, with 1-year volatility at 10.99% for both funds and 3-year figures differing by just 0.01 percentage point. This near-identical risk profile makes sense since both ETFs track the same S&P 500 index - you're essentially getting the same basket of large-cap U.S. stocks whether you pick iShares or Vanguard. The Sharpe ratio of 1.4 for both funds confirms that investors have been equally compensated for the risk taken in either ETF over the past three years.

These metrics reinforce what the expense ratios already suggested: choosing between IVV and VOO won't meaningfully change your portfolio's risk characteristics. The 0.01% difference in 3-year volatility is negligible and likely reflects minor tracking variations rather than any substantive difference in fund construction. For investors deciding between these two, risk considerations won't be the deciding factor - focus instead on factors like trading volume, personal preference for the fund provider, or slight differences in dividend yield (IVV's 1.17% versus VOO's 1.13%).

Dividend Yield & Growth

IVV's 1.17% yield edges out VOO's 1.13%, a difference that adds up to about four extra basis points of income per year. Both funds track the same S&P 500 index, so this gap likely stems from timing differences in dividend collection and distribution rather than any structural advantage. The real distinction is payment schedule: IVV sends checks every quarter, while VOO's distribution calendar isn't specified here. For investors who budget around dividend income, knowing exactly when cash arrives can matter more than a few hundredths of a percentage point in yield.

Neither yield is particularly generous by historical standards, reflecting the index's current tech-heavy composition where many companies prefer buybacks to dividends. The 0.04% yield difference translates to $4 annually on a $10,000 position - real money, but probably not worth choosing one fund over the other. Pick based on brokerage availability and trading costs, then enjoy essentially identical exposure to the same 500 companies.

Fees & Liquidity

Both IVV and VOO charge the same razor-thin 0.03% annual fee on a $10,000 position that’s three dollars a year, practically a rounding error. Because the expense ratios are identical, the cheaper fund will be the one you can trade commission-free at your broker; Fidelity customers get free IVV, Vanguard account holders get free VOO, and most other major platforms now waive commissions on both.

Spread costs tell a similar story. IVV’s median 30-day bid/ask spread has been hovering around 0.01%, while VOO’s is typically 0.01-0.02%. Either way, a round-trip trade adds only about one to two cents per $100 invested, so unless you’re flipping millions of shares a day the liquidity difference is immaterial. Pick the one that lines up with your broker’s free-ETF list and call it done your wallet won’t notice.

ETF Composition: Asset Classes

Both ETFs are virtually identical in their asset class makeup, with each holding 99% or more in U.S. stocks. The remaining sliver splits between tiny cash positions and non-U.S. securities, reflecting the handful of S&P 500 constituents that maintain foreign listings. VOO keeps a hair less cash (0.22% versus 0.27%) and tucks an extra 0.18% into an "Other" bucket, but the practical difference is negligible - either fund gives you the same large-cap U.S. equity exposure.

For investors, this near-perfect overlap means the choice between IVV and VOO won't materially alter your portfolio's geographic or asset-class risk. You're getting the same S&P 500 companies, the same sector weights, and the same domestic focus. The 0.1% gap in U.S. stock allocation and the few basis points of cash difference won't move the needle on performance; both funds behave like pure-play S&P 500 trackers with minimal cash drag.

Regional Allocation

Both IVV and VOO keep their money almost entirely at home: each parks 99.47% of assets in North-American companies. The residual slivers are identical in spirit roughly 0.38% across developed Europe, 0.11% 0.12% in emerging Asia and a barely-there 0.03% in the U.K. In practice, the difference between the two funds on any single region is one one-hundredth of one percent, a gap you will not feel even if you squint at the statement.

For investors, this means geographic risk is a non-factor when choosing between them. Either ETF gives you the same U.S.-centric profile, so currency swings or foreign-earnings surprises will hit both portfolios the same way. Pick based on cost, trading convenience or tax treatment; the world-map breakdown will not push the needle.

Sector Weights

Both funds mirror the S&P 500, so their sector footprints are nearly identical, but the small print shows Vanguard’s portfolio leans a hair more toward the recent winners. Technology’s weight in VOO is 35.1% versus 34.3% in IVV, a 0.8-percentage-point tilt that equals about $3 billion extra in megacaps such as Microsoft and NVIDIA for every $400 billion in assets. Financial services get the same treatment - 13.0% in VOO, 12.6% in IVV - while energy, industrials and consumer cyclicals are shaved by roughly 0.2-0.4 points each. The gaps are small enough that a one-day market move can erase them, yet they explain why VOO’s P/E sits a touch higher at 22.44 compared with 22.30 for IVV.

What this means for your portfolio is mostly noise unless you’re rebalancing monthly or running a tracking-error budget. Over the past year the extra tech stake neither helped nor hurt - both funds posted the same 14.43% return - and the largest absolute difference between any two sector weights is still under one percent. Pick the one with the trading hours or custodian you prefer, check the tiny cash drag from dividend timing, and move on; sector bets aren’t the deciding factor here.

Top 10 Holdings

Both ETFs track the same S&P 500 index, so their top holdings mirror each other - the tech giants dominate. VOO gives slightly more weight to Apple at 6.87% versus IVV's 6.20%, while IVV leans a bit heavier on Alphabet's A shares at 3.25% compared to VOO's 3.11%. These tiny differences come from each fund's sampling methodology and rebalancing schedule, not from any strategic bet on specific companies.

What matters for investors is that NVIDIA sits at the top of both funds with a 7.59% (IVV) and 7.75% (VOO) allocation - a significant concentration in one semiconductor company. Combined, the top five holdings represent roughly 26% of each fund's assets, meaning a quarter of your investment rides on just five mega-cap stocks. This concentration risk isn't unique to either ETF - it's simply how the S&P 500 looks right now with tech's outsized market values.

Valuation & Growth Metrics

The valuation gap between these two S&P 500 trackers is practically nonexistent. IVV trades at 22.3 times earnings while VOO sits at 22.4, a difference of just 0.14. The price-to-book spread is similarly tight - IVV's 4.53 versus VOO's 4.59. These microscopic differences reflect the fact that both funds hold essentially the same 500 stocks, just with slightly different weighting mechanics.

Growth expectations tell the same story. Long-term earnings growth forecasts hover around 10.5% for both funds, with IVV holding a razor-thin 0.003% edge that won't move the needle for any investor. Sales growth projections differ by an equally meaningless 0.01%. When funds track identical indexes this closely, valuation and growth metrics become a dead heat. The choice between them comes down to factors like trading volume, tax efficiency, or personal preference for BlackRock versus Vanguard - not these fundamentals.

Which ETF Fits Your Portfolio?

Both IVV and VOO charge the same razor-thin 0.03% expense ratio and produced identical 14.43% one-year returns, so the decision comes down to the subtle differences that show up only after you own the fund. IVV’s dividend yield is a hair higher at 1.17% versus 1.13%, which means an extra $4 in annual income for every $10,000 invested. That’s hardly life-changing, but if you’re automatically reinvesting distributions it can compound into a few extra shares over a decade.

Pick the one that matches your account type and trading style. VOO often has a tighter bid-ask spread in the first hour of the trading day, so frequent buyers may save a couple of basis points on entry. IVV, on the other hand, is sometimes easier to transfer in-kind between brokers if you ever change custodians. Unless you’re running a large taxable account where every cent of dividend and spread matters, either fund will give you the same market exposure; flip a coin or simply choose the brand you already trust.

If you want to have look at other ETF comparisons, check out this: Fund Overlap Tool

Data sources: The data has been obtained from the ETF provider's website and ETF fact sheet.