SPY vs VEA: how much do they really overlap?
SPY (SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, tracking the S&P 500) and VEA (Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF, tracking the FTSE Developed All Cap ex US) overlap by roughly 0% by weight. 0 of SPY's top 10 holdings also appear in VEA. A 50/50 blend of the two behaves like about 188 equally-weighted bets (diversification grade A). In short, the two funds hold almost none of the same securities — they are complementary, not redundant.
The same companies, in both funds
These 0 holdings appear in both SPY and VEA. The weight columns show how much of each fund each name represents.
| Holding | in SPY | in VEA |
|---|
Only in SPY
SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust — US large-cap. Its biggest holdings that VEA doesn’t have:
| NVDA NVIDIA Corporation | 7.38% |
| AAPL Apple Inc. | 6.47% |
| MSFT Microsoft Corporation | 4.28% |
| AMZN Amazon.com, Inc. | 3.68% |
| GOOGL Alphabet Inc. | 3.24% |
| AVGO Broadcom Inc. | 2.76% |
| GOOG Alphabet Inc. | 2.60% |
| MU Micron Technology, Inc. | 2.02% |
Only in VEA
Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF — developed ex-US. Its biggest holdings that SPY doesn’t have:
| 005930 Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. | 2.99% |
| 000660 SK hynix Inc | 2.55% |
| ASML ASML Holding NV | 1.90% |
| HSBA HSBC Holdings plc | 0.98% |
| ROP Roche Holding AG | 0.89% |
| NOVN Novartis AG | 0.87% |
| AZN AstraZeneca plc | 0.84% |
| RY Royal Bank of Canada | 0.81% |
So — essentially different. Should you hold both?
SPY and VEA hold almost none of the same securities — they are complementary, not redundant. Held together they genuinely broaden your exposure — a 50/50 blend reaches ~188 effective positions (grade A), because they hold largely different securities.
Holdings as of — SPY: Jun 29, 2026 (State Street Global Advisors); VEA: May 31, 2026 (Vanguard). Refreshed monthly. Overlap is measured across each fund’s largest holdings (top 50); the diffuse long tail barely moves the math.
See this for YOUR whole portfolio, free →SPY vs VEA — FAQ
- How much do SPY and VEA overlap?
- SPY and VEA overlap by approximately 0% measured by portfolio weight — that is the share of the smaller fund's holdings (by weight) that also sit inside the other. 0 of SPY's 10 largest holdings are also held by VEA. They share 0 of their listed top holdings in total.
- Is it redundant to hold both SPY and VEA?
- Because they hold almost none of the same securities — they are complementary, not redundant, holding both is not redundant — each fund covers largely different holdings, so together they broaden your exposure. A 50/50 blend has an effective 188 positions and a A diversification grade.
- What does VEA hold that SPY doesn't?
- VEA's largest holdings that SPY doesn't hold include 005930, 000660, ASML, HSBA, ROP. Its category is developed ex-US, versus SPY's US large-cap.
- Which is more concentrated, SPY or VEA?
- SPY's top 10 holdings are 71% of its listed weight; VEA's are 43%. The more concentrated fund leans harder on its largest names.