VONG or SPYM: Which Stock ETF Is a Better Buy?

By Ben Gran – Mar 15, 2026 at 11:45AM ESTKey PointsIf you want a low-cost S&P 500 index fund, the State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF is a good choice.Investors seeking a more tech-heavy, growth-oriented ETF can opt for the Vanguard Russell 1000 Growth ETF.Especially during volatile times in the world economy, you might have questions about how to choose the best stock ETFs. Two popular ETFs offer different approaches to help build a diversified portfolio.

The Vanguard Russell 1000 Growth ETF (VONG 1.10%) invests in growth stocks of large U.S. companies. This fund seeks to track the performance of the Russell 1000 Growth index and tends to have a high portion of its holdings in tech stocks. If you want a simple approach to just buy the entire S&P 500 index, the State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF (SPYM 0.57%) is a solid choice. This fund lets you own the entire S&P 500, representing about 80% of the U.S. stock market. Let's take a closer look at these U.S. stock ETFs and see which one could be a better buy. Image source: Getty Images. VONG: 391 stocks with an emphasis on tech and growth The Vanguard Russell 1000 Growth ETF has gained about 24% in the past year, outperforming the S&P 500 index (which gained 20.8%) and underperforming the tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 index (which gained 28.4%). This fund has also delivered strong average annual returns of 26% in the past three years, 14.3% in the past five years, and 18.1% in the past 10 years. ExpandNASDAQ: VONGVanguard Scottsdale Funds - Vanguard Russell 1000 Growth ETFToday's Change(-1.10%) $-1.26Current Price$112.81Key Data PointsDay's Range$112.66 - $115.0952wk Range$79.39 - $126.83Volume3M VONG owns a total of 391 stocks, with a heavy allocation to the tech sector: 59.7% of the fund's holdings are in technology stocks. The ETF's top five stock holdings are Nvidia (12.7% of the fund), Apple (10.8%), Microsoft (9.2%), Amazon (4.8%), and Broadcom (4.6%). VONG charges an expense ratio of 0.06%. If you want your investments to have a strong weighting toward tech stocks, this fund can be a good low-cost choice. SPYM: A simple, low-cost S&P 500 index ETF The State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF is just what its name describes: a straightforward S&P 500 index fund. If you want to own the entire S&P 500, this stock ETF is an easy, low-cost way to do it. This fund has delivered average annual returns of 21.8% in the past three years, 14.2% in the past five years, and 15.5% in the past 10 years. ExpandNYSEMKT: SPYMState Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETFToday's Change(-0.57%) $-0.45Current Price$77.74Key Data PointsDay's Range$77.63 - $78.9252wk Range$56.67 - $82.11Volume73M Compared to VONG, SPYM has slightly less exposure to technology stocks. Only 33.3% of this fund's holdings are in the technology sector. But the fund's top holdings are still mostly the same as VONG's. SPYM's top five holdings are Nvidia (7.6% of the fund), Apple (6.6%), Microsoft (5.2%), Amazon (3.6%), and Alphabet Class A (GOOG 0.56%) (3.1%). SPYM charges an expense ratio of 0.02%, making it an exceptionally low-cost way to own the entire S&P 500 index. VONG or SPYM: Head-to-head comparison If you're trying to decide which of these U.S. stock ETFs to buy, here's a quick side-by-side comparison of key metrics and performance indicators.

Metric Vanguard Russell 1000 Growth ETF (VONG) State Street® SPDR® Portfolio S&P 500® ETF (SPYM) Number of stocks 391 504 Top five sectors Technology (59.7% of fund), Consumer Discretionary (17.5%), Industrials (8.9%), Health Care (7.6%), Financials (2.5%) Information Technology (33.3% of fund), Financials (12.4%), Communication Services (10.6%), Consumer Discretionary (9.9%), Health Care (9.6%) Top five holdings Nvidia (12.7% of fund), Apple (10.8%), Microsoft (9.2%), Amazon (4.8%), and Broadcom (4.6%) Nvidia (7.6% of the fund), Apple (6.6%), Microsoft (5.2%), Amazon (3.6%), and Alphabet Class A (3.1%). Price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio 37.1 27.1 Average annual returns (as of Feb. 28, 2026) 1 year: 14.8% 3 year: 26% 5 year: 14.3% 10 year: 18.1% 1 year: 17% 3 year: 21.8% 5 year: 14.2% 10 year: 15.5% Expense ratio 0.06% 0.02% Data source: Vanguard, State Street. Which U.S. stock ETF should you buy? Both funds are diversified across hundreds of stocks and have low expense ratios. VONG has outperformed SPYM over the past 10 years, but its tech-heavy allocation might be the wrong fit for investors who are getting skeptical about AI stocks and major tech names. VONG also has a higher valuation -- its price-to-earnings ratio is 37.1 vs. only 27.1 for SPYM. If you still believe in loading up on a tech-heavy index of growth stocks, the Vanguard Russell 1000 Growth ETF could be a good buy. But if you want to diversify more broadly across the entire S&P 500 index with slightly less concentration in major tech names, the State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF could be a better buy.Read NextJan 8, 2026 •By Keith SpeightsThe Best S&P 500 ETF to Invest $5,000 in as 2026 BeginsJan 3, 2026 •By Katie BrockmanIVV and SPYM Offer Nearly Identical S&P 500 Exposure, But Which One Is Better for Investors?Dec 26, 2025 •By Eric TrieSPY vs SPYM: 2 Ways to Own the S&P 500Dec 20, 2025 •By Howard SmithVOO and SPYM Have Matching Long Term Returns. Here's How To Decide Which To Buy.Nov 18, 2025 •By Anders BylundVOO vs SPYM: Same S&P 500 Returns, Different Share PricesNov 14, 2025 •By Eric TrieSame Index, Lower Fees: How SPLG Stacks Up Against SPYAbout the AuthorBen Gran is a contributing analyst at The Motley Fool, covering publicly traded companies in consumer goods, technology, transportation, industrials, materials, and energy. He is a longtime freelance finance writer with 15+ years of experience writing for publications like Forbes Advisor, Motley Fool Money, and Business Insider, and corporate websites of Prudential and regional banks. Ben also ghostwrites books and bylines for CEOs and other business thought leaders. He earned his B.A. in History from Rice University. Ben is an avid international traveler and has visited 12 countries (and counting).TMFBenjaminGranStocks MentionedState Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETFNYSEMKT: SPYM$77.74(-0.57%)-$0.45Vanguard Scottsdale Funds - Vanguard Russell 1000 Growth ETFNASDAQ: VONG$112.81(-1.10%)-$1.26*Average returns of all recommendations since inception. Cost basis and return based on previous market day close.