Generated August 16, 2026.
Overview
Both SPMO and VOO track the S&P 500, but SPMO isolates momentum—the highest-performing names within the index—while VOO holds the full 500 stocks in market-weight proportion. SPMO's tighter focus tilts toward growth and recent winners; VOO provides broad market exposure. The core tradeoff is concentrated upside versus diversification.
How they differ
SPMO applies a momentum factor screen to the S&P 500, holding only the stocks with the strongest recent returns, whereas VOO owns all 500 constituents. That concentration drives SPMO's higher beta of 1.33 versus VOO's 1.0—SPMO amplifies market moves and historically tends to outperform in rising markets and underperform in downturns.
VOO's yield of 1.10% more than doubles SPMO's 0.64%, a gap that reflects SPMO's tilt toward faster-growing, lower-dividend payers. VOO's expense ratio of 0.03% is among the cheapest in the industry; SPMO's 0.13% is still low but materially higher. AUM also reveals scale: VOO holds $1045B compared to SPMO's $21.7B, giving VOO deeper liquidity and tighter bid-ask spreads.
Who each is best for
SPMO: Fits investors seeking concentrated exposure to market-leading momentum trends, with a higher risk tolerance and longer time horizon to ride out periods when momentum reversals underperform.
VOO: Fits investors who want broad, low-cost S&P 500 exposure without factor tilts, prioritizing simplicity and full diversification across the 500 constituents.
Key risks to know
- Momentum reversal risk: SPMO's focus on recent outperformers is cyclical. Momentum factors historically underperform during market rotations or when investor preference shifts toward laggards or value stocks; past strong performance by top momentum names does not guarantee continuance.
- Beta amplification: SPMO's beta of 1.33 means it swings harder than the market in both directions. In corrections, that leverage can magnify losses relative to a broad-based fund.
- Tracking error and overlap concentration: While both track the S&P 500, SPMO's subset of the index is far smaller, creating higher overlap in holdings. This concentration can widen performance gaps during periods when the momentum subset underperforms the full index.
- Dividend leakage: SPMO's 0.64% yield is less than half VOO's, which can matter in low-growth environments when dividends form a larger portion of total return.
Bottom line
If you want broad, low-cost exposure to the full market, VOO's 0.03% expense ratio and full diversification stand out; if you're comfortable with higher beta and are betting on momentum to persist, SPMO's concentrated tilt offers a different return pattern. Either way, past performance doesn't guarantee future results.
AI-generated analysis for educational purposes only. Verify important details independently; past performance does not guarantee future results.