What Is SPLG? SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF
Last updated August 2026
Short answer
SPLG is the SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF, State Street's cheap version of the S&P 500 SPDR family. It charges just 0.02% in annual fees, far below SPY's 0.0945%, while tracking the exact same S&P 500 Index of large U.S. companies. The lower fee and lower share price make it a budget-friendly alternative to SPY for buy-and-hold S&P 500 exposure. Note that the fund was rebranded in late 2025 and now trades under the ticker SPYM.
SPLG is issued by State Street SPDR and tracks S&P 500. It charges a 0.02% expense ratio, holds approximately ~$87 billion in assets under management, yields about ~1.2%, and launched in November 2005.
What is SPLG?
SPLG is the SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF, State Street's cheap version of the S&P 500 SPDR family. It charges just 0.02% in annual fees, far below SPY's 0.0945%, while tracking the exact same S&P 500 Index of large U.S. companies. The lower fee and lower share price make it a budget-friendly alternative to SPY for buy-and-hold S&P 500 exposure. Note that the fund was rebranded in late 2025 and now trades under the ticker SPYM.
SPLG is issued by State Street SPDR and tracks S&P 500, 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 SPLG hold?
SPLG is weighted toward its largest constituents. As of early 2026, the top holdings are:
| Rank | Ticker | Company | % of SPLG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | NVDA | NVIDIA Corp. | 7.3% | |
| 2 | MSFT | Microsoft Corp. | 7.0% | |
| 3 | AAPL | Apple Inc. | 5.8% | |
| 4 | AMZN | Amazon.com Inc. | 3.9% | |
| 5 | META | Meta Platforms Inc. | 3.0% | |
| 6 | GOOGL | Alphabet Inc. Class A | 2.2% | |
| 7 | AVGO | Broadcom Inc. | 2.1% | |
| 8 | GOOG | Alphabet Inc. Class C | 1.8% | |
| 9 | TSLA | Tesla Inc. | 1.7% | |
| 10 | BRK.B | Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Class B | 1.6% |
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 SPLG?
There are three common ways to get SPLG exposure. Buy shares (or fractional shares) of SPLG 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 SPLG sits alongside other holdings that express the same thesis, with target weights you can rebalance toward. SPLG 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 SPLG a good buy?
Whether SPLG is a good buy depends less on any single call and more on your time horizon and what you already hold: it tracks S&P 500, 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 SPLG a buy?
The bottom line on SPLG
SPLG offers the same S&P 500 exposure as SPY at roughly a fifth of the cost, with a lower share price that suits smaller contributions. The fund now trades as SPYM after an October 2025 rebrand, but its index, strategy, and holdings are unchanged.
More on SPLG
Whether SPLG 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 SPLG a buy?
SPLG yields ~1.2% 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 SPLG dividend: yield and schedule.
SPLG and VOO both track the S&P 500 with essentially identical exposure, so returns are nearly the same. SPLG's fee is a touch lower (0.02% vs 0.03%) and its share price is smaller, which some prefer for exact-dollar buying; the two are interchangeable as a core holding. Read the full side-by-side in SPLG vs VOO.
New to funds like SPLG? Start with what an ETF is, then how to buy an ETF, or browse the full guide to ETF investing.
Wondering how SPLG 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 SPLG with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how SPLG 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 SPLG?
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SPLG is the SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF, a fund from State Street that tracks the S&P 500 Index of roughly 500 large U.S. companies. It is the low-cost core member of the SPDR S&P 500 family, designed to give broad U.S. large-cap exposure in a single holding. In late 2025 it was rebranded and now trades under the ticker SPYM.
What is SPLG's expense ratio?
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SPLG charges an expense ratio of 0.02% per year, or about $2 annually on every $10,000 invested. That makes it one of the cheapest S&P 500 ETFs available and far less expensive than SPY, which charges 0.0945%.
SPLG vs SPY vs VOO: what is the difference?
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All three track the same S&P 500 Index, so their returns are nearly identical before fees. The main difference is cost and share price: SPLG (now SPYM) charges 0.02% versus SPY's 0.0945% and VOO's 0.03%, and SPLG trades at a much lower per-share price than SPY, which can make it easier to buy in small amounts.
What does SPLG hold?
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SPLG holds the stocks of the S&P 500, weighted by market capitalization, so its largest positions are mega-cap names like NVIDIA, Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, and Meta. Technology and communication-services companies dominate the top of the fund, mirroring the concentration of the broad U.S. large-cap market.
Does SPLG pay a dividend?
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Yes. SPLG passes through the dividends paid by its underlying S&P 500 holdings and distributes them to shareholders quarterly. Its dividend yield is roughly 1.2%, which is typical for a broad S&P 500 index fund.
Is SPLG a good investment?
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SPLG gives low-cost, diversified exposure to the U.S. large-cap market, which is why many long-term investors use S&P 500 funds as a core holding. Whether it fits your situation depends on your goals, time horizon, and risk tolerance. Walnut is informational, not investment advice.
Why did SPLG change to SPYM?
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Effective October 31, 2025, State Street renamed the fund the State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF and changed its trading symbol from SPLG to SPYM. The change aligned the ticker with State Street's broader SPDR branding, similar to how the firm names SPY. The fund's S&P 500 index, strategy, holdings, and 0.02% fee were unchanged.
Can I buy SPLG instead of SPY to save money?
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Many investors do exactly that. SPLG (now SPYM) tracks the same S&P 500 Index as SPY but charges 0.02% instead of 0.0945% and trades at a lower share price, so it can lower both your fees and the dollar amount needed per share. SPY's larger size and trading volume can still make it preferable for active traders who prioritize liquidity.
How do I compare SPLG 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. SPLG's figures are above; the full method is in Walnut's guide on how to compare ETFs.
Guides that feature SPLG
SPLG is one of the names covered in these guides. Each one puts the fund next to its peers so you can see where it fits rather than judging it alone.
Related ETFs
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.