QQQM vs SPY: Correlation & Overlap
How closely do Invesco Nasdaq 100 ETF (QQQM) and SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) trade together? Their weekly returns over three years give a correlation of 0.95, which is very strong. The two funds also share 53.4% of their portfolios by weight.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are QQQM and SPY?
Across a 3-year window, the weekly returns of QQQM and SPY correlate at 0.95, very strong, meaning they move nearly in lockstep. The relationship has been stable: the 1-year correlation (0.94) sits close to the 3-year figure. Stretching to 5 years gives 0.95, with an annualized covariance of 266.8 %².
By 3-year correlation, SPY places #6 of the 103 assets tracked against QQQM. Over the last 12 months QQQM came out ahead by 5.8 percentage points (+26.4% against +20.6%). The link looks structural: the rolling one-year correlation barely moved, holding between 0.89 and 0.97.
How is this computed?
Pearson correlation on weekly returns: ρ(A,B) = cov(rA, rB) / (σA · σB), over windows of 52, 156 and 260 weeks. Covariance is annualized (×52) and expressed in %². Full definitions on the methodology page.
QQQM vs SPY: side by side
| QQQM (Invesco Nasdaq 100 ETF) | SPY (SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +26.4% | +20.6% |
| 5-year return | +96.1% | +82.4% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 19.5% | 14.5% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 1.28 | 1.00 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -22.7% | -18.8% |
| Dividend yield | 0.46% | 1.01% |
| Expense ratio | 0.15% | 0.09% |
| Assets under management | $97.1B | $795.3B |
| Sector / category | ETF · US Growth & Tech | ETF · US Large Cap |
On the fund side, QQQM sits in the Large Growth category at Invesco, with $97.1B under management, 105 holdings, a 0.15% expense ratio, a 0.46% trailing dividend yield. SPY is a Large Blend fund from State Street Investment Management: $795.3B under management, 504 holdings, a 0.09% expense ratio, a 1.01% trailing dividend yield.
Portfolio overlap between QQQM and SPY
The two portfolios overlap heavily, with 87 holdings in common adding up to 53.4% of fund weight. Where correlation shows the co-movement, the overlap shows its source.
| Common holding | Weight in QQQM | Weight in SPY |
|---|---|---|
| NVDA | 8.15% | 7.68% |
| AAPL | 7.39% | 6.96% |
| MSFT | 5.93% | 5.58% |
| AMZN | 4.50% | 3.85% |
| GOOGL | 3.20% | 3.03% |
| AVGO | 2.71% | 2.55% |
| GOOG | 2.97% | 2.42% |
| META | 2.74% | 1.91% |
| MU | 4.69% | 1.60% |
| TSLA | 2.77% | 1.47% |
| AMD | 3.48% | 1.19% |
| WMT | 2.26% | 0.69% |
| CSCO | 1.96% | 0.67% |
| INTC | 1.97% | 0.66% |
| COST | 1.88% | 0.64% |
Largest positions held only by QQQM: SPCX (1.19%), SHOP (0.81%), ASML (0.71%), ARM (0.47%), MELI (0.44%). Only by SPY: JPM (1.44%), LLY (1.42%), BRK.B (1.40%), XOM (0.99%), JNJ (0.98%).
Overlap = sum of the smaller of the two weights across common holdings, from issuer disclosures as of 2026-08-26. Top 15 common positions shown.
Year-by-year returns
| Year | QQQM | SPY |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -32.5% | -18.2% |
| 2023 | +55.0% | +26.2% |
| 2024 | +25.7% | +24.9% |
| 2025 | +20.9% | +17.7% |
| 2026 | +17.7% | +13.7% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Are QQQM and SPY good diversifiers for each other?
Not really. At 0.95, the two trade almost as one position, and owning both buys little extra protection. They also hold much of the same portfolio (53.4% overlap), so the exposure is doubly redundant.
FAQ
What is the correlation between QQQM and SPY?
As of 2026-08-27, the correlation of weekly returns between QQQM and SPY is 0.95 over 3 years, 0.94 over 1 year and 0.95 over 5 years.
Is SPY a good diversifier for QQQM?
Not really. At 0.95, the two trade almost as one position, and owning both buys little extra protection. They also hold much of the same portfolio (53.4% overlap), so the exposure is doubly redundant.
How much do QQQM and SPY overlap?
The two funds share 87 holdings amounting to 53.4% of weight, per issuer portfolio files dated 2026-08-26.
Use this data
$ curl https://www.pairbook.io/api/v1/pairs/qqqm-vs-spy.json
Embed this badge (it refreshes with the data), with attribution:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/qqqm-vs-spy/)
Free with attribution; caching and terms are described in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: QQQM correlations · SPY correlations