SPY vs VUG: how much do they really overlap?
SPY (SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, tracking the S&P 500) and VUG (Vanguard Growth ETF, tracking the CRSP US Large Cap Growth) overlap by roughly 78% by weight. 9 of SPY's top 10 holdings also appear in VUG. A 50/50 blend of the two behaves like about 30 equally-weighted bets (diversification grade C). In short, the two funds share most of their weight in the same names; the second fund adds only modest differentiation.
The same companies, in both funds
These 15 holdings appear in both SPY and VUG. The weight columns show how much of each fund each name represents.
| Holding | in SPY | in VUG |
|---|---|---|
| NVDA NVIDIA Corporation | 7.38% | 13.10% |
| AAPL Apple Inc. | 6.47% | 12.32% |
| MSFT Microsoft Corporation | 4.28% | 8.99% |
| AMZN Amazon.com, Inc. | 3.68% | 4.85% |
| GOOGL Alphabet Inc. | 3.24% | 5.95% |
| AVGO Broadcom Inc. | 2.76% | 5.17% |
| GOOG Alphabet Inc. | 2.60% | 4.68% |
| META Meta Platforms, Inc. | 1.93% | 3.73% |
| TSLA Tesla, Inc. | 1.81% | 3.31% |
| LLY Eli Lilly and Company | 1.52% | 2.53% |
| AMD Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. | 1.38% | 2.30% |
| V Visa Inc. | 0.89% | 1.45% |
| LRCX Lam Research Corporation | 0.80% | 1.09% |
| COST Costco Wholesale Corporation | 0.66% | 1.15% |
| AMAT Applied Materials, Inc. | 0.86% | 0.50% |
Only in SPY
SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust — US large-cap. Its biggest holdings that VUG doesn’t have:
| MU Micron Technology, Inc. | 2.02% |
| BRK.B Berkshire Hathaway Inc. | 1.42% |
| JPM JPMorgan Chase & Co. | 1.38% |
| JNJ Johnson & Johnson | 0.97% |
| INTC Intel Corporation | 0.97% |
| XOM Exxon Mobil Corporation | 0.88% |
| WMT Walmart Inc. | 0.79% |
| CAT Caterpillar Inc. | 0.74% |
Only in VUG
Vanguard Growth ETF — US large-cap growth. Its biggest holdings that SPY doesn’t have:
| MA Mastercard Inc. Class A | 1.07% |
| ORCL Oracle Corp. | 1.07% |
| NFLX Netflix Inc. | 0.99% |
| PLTR Palantir Technologies Inc. Class A | 0.93% |
| GEV GE Vernova LLC | 0.72% |
| SNDK Sandisk Corp./DE | 0.71% |
| KLAC KLA Corp. | 0.70% |
| PANW Palo Alto Networks Inc. | 0.64% |
So — heavily overlapping. Should you hold both?
SPY and VUG share most of their weight in the same names; the second fund adds only modest differentiation. If you already hold SPY, adding VUG mostly increases your bet on the names they share rather than spreading it — a 50/50 blend still behaves like only ~30 equal positions, with the top 10 alone at 50% and the Magnificent Seven at 44%.
Holdings as of — SPY: Jun 29, 2026 (State Street Global Advisors); VUG: 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 VUG — FAQ
- How much do SPY and VUG overlap?
- SPY and VUG overlap by approximately 78% measured by portfolio weight — that is the share of the smaller fund's holdings (by weight) that also sit inside the other. 9 of SPY's 10 largest holdings are also held by VUG. They share 15 of their listed top holdings in total.
- Is it redundant to hold both SPY and VUG?
- Because they share most of their weight in the same names; the second fund adds only modest differentiation, holding both is largely redundant — you mostly duplicate the same megacaps and concentrate rather than diversify. A 50/50 blend has an effective 30 positions and a C diversification grade.
- What does VUG hold that SPY doesn't?
- VUG's largest holdings that SPY doesn't hold include MA, ORCL, NFLX, PLTR, GEV. Its category is US large-cap growth, versus SPY's US large-cap.
- Which is more concentrated, SPY or VUG?
- SPY's top 10 holdings are 71% of its listed weight; VUG's are 73%. The more concentrated fund leans harder on its largest names.