What Is DIA? SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust
Last updated July 2026
Short answer
DIA is the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust, a fund that tracks the Dow Jones Industrial Average at a 0.16% expense ratio. It holds 30 large, established US companies and is price-weighted rather than market-cap-weighted, so higher-priced stocks carry more influence. Versus VOO, DIA is far more concentrated (30 names vs 500) and tilts toward established blue-chip companies rather than mega-cap technology.
DIA is issued by State Street SPDR and tracks Dow Jones Industrial Average. It charges a 0.16% expense ratio, holds approximately ~$38 billion in assets under management, yields about ~1.6%, and launched in January 1998.
What is DIA?
DIA is the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust, a fund that tracks the Dow Jones Industrial Average at a 0.16% expense ratio. It holds 30 large, established US companies and is price-weighted rather than market-cap-weighted, so higher-priced stocks carry more influence. Versus VOO, DIA is far more concentrated (30 names vs 500) and tilts toward established blue-chip companies rather than mega-cap technology.
DIA is issued by State Street SPDR and tracks Dow Jones Industrial Average, so a single ticker gives you the whole portfolio of underlying holdings weighted by the index's methodology rather than by any active stock-picking.
What does DIA hold?
DIA is weighted toward its largest constituents. As of early 2026, the top holdings are:
| Rank | Ticker | Company | % of DIA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GS | Goldman Sachs | ~8% | |
| 2 | MSFT | Microsoft | ~6% | |
| 3 | CAT | Caterpillar | ~6% | |
| 4 | HD | Home Depot | ~5% | |
| 5 | V | Visa | ~5% | |
| 6 | UNH | UnitedHealth Group | ~5% | |
| 7 | AMGN | Amgen | ~4% | |
| 8 | CRM | Salesforce | ~4% | |
| 9 | MCD | McDonald's | ~4% | |
| 10 | AXP | American Express | ~4% |
The remaining holdings make up the balance of the fund, with weights tapering off below the top names. Because the index reconstitutes on a rolling basis, the roster stays current without active management. Each ticker above links to its individual stock guide in Walnut.
How do I invest in DIA?
There are three common ways to get DIA exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) of DIA directly at any major broker that lists it. Hold it as a core position and layer more concentrated ideas on top. Or build it into a thematic portfolio in Walnut, so DIA sits alongside other holdings that express the same thesis, with target weights you can rebalance toward. DIA trades like a stock during market hours, so you buy it the same way you would any listed share.
New to buying funds? See how to buy an ETF, step by step.
Is DIA a good buy?
Whether DIA is a good buy depends less on any single call and more on your time horizon and what you already hold: it tracks Dow Jones Industrial Average, so the real question is whether you want that exposure in your mix and at what weight. We walk through valuation, concentration, and what would have to be true for it to outperform from here in is DIA a buy?
The bottom line on DIA
DIA tracks the 30-stock Dow using an unusual price-weighting method, giving a blue-chip, less tech-heavy slice of the US market than VOO. It works as a focused large-cap exposure rather than a fully diversified core, and its price-weighted structure makes it behave differently from cap-weighted S&P 500 funds.
More on DIA
Whether DIA is worth buying today depends more on your time horizon and what you already hold than on any single call. We walk through valuation, concentration, and what would have to be true for it to outperform from here in is DIA a buy?
DIA yields ~1.6% as of early 2026, paid by passing through the dividends of its underlying holdings. For the payout schedule, history, and how the distributions are taxed, see DIA dividend: yield and schedule.
DIA tracks the 30-stock, price-weighted Dow, while VOO tracks the 500-stock, market-cap-weighted S&P 500. VOO is far broader and weights by company size; DIA is narrower and quirkily weighted by share price rather than market cap. Read the full side-by-side in DIA vs VOO.
New to funds like DIA? Start with what an ETF is, then how to buy an ETF, or browse the full guide to ETF investing.
Wondering how DIA fits the portfolio you already own? Walnut is an AI investing app that connects your brokerage read-only and answers questions like that about your actual holdings: overlap, concentration, and how each position tracks the S&P 500. Compare the best AI portfolio analyzers or see the best AI investing apps in 2026.
Investing in DIA with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how DIA fits what you actually hold: what it overlaps with, what it leaves you exposed to, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.
FAQ
What is DIA?
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DIA is the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust, often nicknamed the Diamonds. A single ticker gives you ownership of the 30 large, established companies in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, one of the oldest US stock indexes.
What is DIA's expense ratio?
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0.16% per year (16 basis points) as of early 2026. On a $10,000 investment, that is about $16 per year in fees, higher than VOO's 0.03% but in line with other index-tracking sector and benchmark funds. Verify the current figure on the State Street site.
Why is DIA price-weighted?
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DIA tracks the Dow Jones Industrial Average, which is price-weighted: a stock's influence depends on its share price rather than its market capitalization. So a high-priced stock can move the index more than a larger company with a lower share price. This is unusual; most major indexes, including the S&P 500, are market-cap-weighted.
DIA vs VOO: what's the difference?
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VOO holds the 500 companies of the S&P 500, market-cap-weighted, at 0.03%. DIA holds only the 30 Dow companies, price-weighted, at 0.16%. DIA is far more concentrated and less technology-heavy, with more weight in established industrial, financial, and healthcare names. Walnut is not an investment adviser, so this is not a recommendation.
Does DIA pay a dividend?
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Yes, monthly. The trailing yield is approximately 1.6% as of early 2026, slightly higher than the S&P 500 because the Dow tilts toward mature, dividend-paying companies. Most brokers offer dividend reinvestment for DIA.
What companies are in DIA?
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The 30 Dow components, which have included Goldman Sachs, Microsoft, Caterpillar, Home Depot, Visa, UnitedHealth, Amgen, Salesforce, McDonald's, and American Express. Because the index is price-weighted, higher-priced stocks carry the largest weights. The roster changes occasionally, so verify the current list on the issuer's site.
How many stocks are in DIA?
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Exactly 30, matching the Dow Jones Industrial Average. That makes DIA far more concentrated than broad-market funds like VOO (about 500 holdings) or VTI (about 4,000). The narrow roster of established blue-chips is the defining feature of the Dow.
What is DIA's AUM?
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Approximately $38 billion as of early 2026. The exact figure moves with markets and flows, so verify on the State Street site.
When was DIA created?
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January 1998. DIA was one of the earliest US ETFs, launched by State Street a few years after SPY, and remains the primary way to track the Dow in a single fund.
How do I buy DIA?
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DIA trades like any stock during US market hours. Buy it through any broker: Robinhood, Fidelity, Schwab, Public, M1, or others. Fractional shares are supported at most modern brokers. Connect your broker to Walnut and the AI can show how DIA overlaps with what you already own.
Is DIA a good investment?
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DIA gives concentrated blue-chip exposure through the 30 Dow stocks, less tech-heavy than the S&P 500 and price-weighted. Whether it fits your portfolio depends on your time horizon and what else you own. Walnut is not an investment adviser, so this is not a recommendation.
How do I compare DIA to similar ETFs?
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Put a few fields side by side: the expense ratio (fees compound over decades), the index or strategy it tracks, the top holdings and how much they overlap with what you already own, the dividend yield, and the AUM, liquidity, and bid-ask spread that affect trading costs. For index funds, tracking error (how closely it follows its index) and tax efficiency matter too. DIA's figures are above; the full method is in Walnut's guide on how to compare ETFs.
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Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Holdings weights and fund statistics on this page are approximations stamped to early 2026; verify current figures against State Street SPDR's fund page or your broker before investing.