ETF Versus

MGC vs SPY

Vanguard Mega Cap Index Fund vs State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust

Last updated: 2026-04-10

MGC Vanguard

Vanguard Mega Cap Index Fund (MGC) is an exchange-traded fund issued by Vanguard that provides exposure to large-cap U.S. equities across growth and value styles. It charges a very low expense ratio of 0.05%. The fund offers a modest dividend yield of 0.98%. Launched in 2007, the fund has a 19-year track record.

AUM: $8.8B ER: 0.05% Yield: 0.98% Since: Dec 24, 2007
SPY SPDR

State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is an exchange-traded fund issued by SPDR that provides exposure to large-cap U.S. equities across growth and value styles. It charges a low expense ratio of 0.09%. The fund offers a moderate dividend yield of 1.09%. Launched in 1993, the fund has a 33-year track record.

AUM: $678.3B ER: 0.09% Yield: 1.09% Since: Jan 22, 1993

Quick Verdict

MGC has a slightly lower expense ratio (0.05% vs 0.09%), saving about $79 per $10,000 over 10 years. Both funds have delivered similar 1-year returns (30.5% vs 29.6%), tracking closely.

Key Metrics

Metric MGC SPY
Expense Ratio 0.05% 0.09%
Dividend Yield 1.0% 1.1%
Fund Family Vanguard SPDR
Category US Large Cap Blend US Large Cap Blend

Performance Chart

Indexed to 100 at start (5-year comparison)

85 103 121 139 157 175 2021-04 2022-07 2023-10 2025-01 2026-04
MGC +69.5%
SPY +65.2%

Performance Comparison

Period MGC SPY Difference
1 Month +0.34% +0.54% -0.20%
3 Months -2.85% -2.19% -0.66%
6 Months +1.77% +2.55% -0.78%
YTD -1.33% -0.47% -0.86%
1 Year +30.54% +29.62% +0.92%
3 Years +72.94% +65.95% +6.99%
5 Years +69.52% +65.18% +4.34%

Fee Impact Over Time

Estimated fee cost difference assuming 8% annual returns

Investment Period MGC Fees SPY Fees You Save
$10,000 10 years $100 $179 $79
$10,000 20 years $430 $771 $341
$10,000 30 years $1,388 $2,486 $1,097
$50,000 10 years $499 $896 $397
$50,000 30 years $6,941 $12,428 $5,486
$100,000 30 years $13,882 $24,855 $10,973

Risk Metrics

Based on 5 years of daily returns

Metric MGC SPY
Annualized Volatility 17.3% 17.1%
Max Drawdown -26.6% -25.4%
Sharpe Ratio 0.44 0.41

Dividend Comparison

Metric MGC SPY
Annual Dividend (per share) $2.42 $7.38
Dividend Yield 0.98% 1.09%
Distribution Frequency Quarterly Quarterly

Top Holdings

8 of top 9 holdings overlap (89% overlap in top holdings)

MGC Top Holdings

NameWeight
NVIDIA CorporationNVDA8.53%
Apple Inc.AAPL8.14%
Microsoft CorporationMSFT6.09%
Amazon.com, Inc.AMZN4.22%
Broadcom Inc.AVGO3.15%
Alphabet Inc.GOOG2.99%
Meta Platforms, Inc.META2.95%
Tesla, Inc.TSLA2.37%
Eli Lilly and CompanyLLY1.87%

SPY Top Holdings

NameWeight
NVIDIA CorporationNVDA7.61%
Apple Inc.AAPL6.54%
Microsoft CorporationMSFT4.78%
Amazon.com, Inc.AMZN3.72%
Broadcom Inc.AVGO2.86%
Alphabet Inc.GOOG2.53%
Meta Platforms, Inc.META2.31%
Tesla, Inc.TSLA1.66%
Berkshire Hathaway Inc.BRK.B1.51%

Which One Should You Choose?

Choose MGC if...

you want the lowest fees and plan to buy and hold long-term. Over decades, the expense ratio difference compounds significantly.

Either works if...

you just need broad us large cap blend exposure. Both are solid options — pick whichever your brokerage offers commission-free.

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AGG vs SPY ARKK vs SPY BIL vs SPY BND vs SPY BNDX vs SPY COWZ vs SPY EFA vs SPY GLD vs SPY