ETF’s – iShares vs SPDR?

February 4, 2012 | 4 Comments

I’m doing some ETF research -

Is the difference between iShares ETF’s and SPDR ETF’s the fact that one tracks the dow the other tracks the S&P500?

Are there any underlying advantages/disadvantages to choosing one over another? Outside of the fact that iShares are more expensive.

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Comments

4 Comments so far

waterdrop on February 4, 2012 12:12 pm
Like mutual funds, ETF’s are pooled funds distributed by different companies. The terms iShares and SPDR are simply brand names of different distributors similar to Vanguard or Fidelity in the mutual fund world. The actual structure of the funds are essentially the same. iShares cover a wide variety of indexes and market sectors. SPDRs typically cover variouse sectors of the S&P 500 index. The advantage one has over the other has mostly to do with the cost of ownership and availability of the index or market sector in which you wish to invest or trade.
PK on February 4, 2012 12:18 pm
They both track a variety of indices. iShares and SPDR are just trademarks (like brand names). The share price of the index is irrelevant too, since like a mutual fund, the price is more of a NAV. Pick an index that you like. S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial are different indices, but both consist of large cap US domestic equities, so are very similar from a diversification perspective.
Concerned F on February 4, 2012 1:07 pm
I’d personally buy SPY or VTI due to their low expense ratios.
Adam J on February 4, 2012 1:20 pm
iShares is actually a family of exchange traded funds. SPDRs (ticker symbol SPY) are exchange traded funds that track the S&P 500. One of the iShares funds (IVV) also covers the S&P 500. The two S&P 500 funds have very similar expense ratios, with IVV’s being very slightly lower.