VOO vs QQQ ETF comparisonTwo of the most popular large cap growth ETFs are being compared in today’s ETF comparison post. We will do a side by side comparison of the Invesco QQQ ETF and the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF.

Both of these funds share a number of similarities, as well as quite a few differences. Overall, both ETFs are loved by investors due to their low expense ratios and strong performance over this past bull market.

The Vanguard S&P 500 ETF tracks the S&P 500 index, which comprises of the top 500 United States companies. The fund is weighted based on market cap of the companies.

The Invesco QQQ ETF is constructed to track the NASDAQ 100 Index, which includes 100 of the largest domestic and international non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange.  The 100 companies comprising the index are weighted in the fund based on their market cap.

Fund Similarities

  • Both funds invest in large cap, growth oriented companies
  • QQQ and VOO both have a low expense ratio – with VOO at only 0.03% and QQQ at 0.20%

Fund Differences

  • The funds have a different structure. While VOO is an ETF, QQQ is a UIT, or Unit Investment Trust
  • VOO has more total assets under management with $118B, while QQQ has $75B
  • VOO is issued by Vanguard, QQQ is issued by Invesco
  • So far, year to date, QQQ has outperformed VOO with a total return of 25.31%, comparied to QQQ’s 20.35%.
  • VOO has an annual dividend rate of $5.34, while QQQ is $1.49

Top Holdings In Each ETF

as of July 23, 2019

VOO (505 Basket Holdings)

MSFT (Microsoft Corp) 4.28%
AAPL (Apple Inc) 3.65%
AMZN (Amazon.com Inc) 3.31%
FB (Facebook Inc) 1.96%
BRK/B (Berkshire Hathaway Inc) 1.60%
JPM (JP Morgan Chase & Co) 1.50%
GOOG (Alphabet Inc) 1.41%
GOOGL (Alphabet Inc) 1.38%
JNJ (Johnson & Johnson) 1.38%
XOM (Exxon Mobil Corp) 1.28%

QQQ (104 Basket Holdings)

MSFT (Microsoft Corp) 11.24%
AMZN (Amazon.com Inc) 10.37%
AAPL (Apple Inc) 10.11%
FB (Facebook Inc) 5.20%
GOOG (Alphabet Inc) 4.23%
GOOGL (Alphabet Inc) 3.71%
CSCO (Cisco Systems Inc) 2.91%
INTC (Intel Corp) 2.70%
CMCSA (Comcast Corp) 2.34%
PEP (PepsiCo Inc) 2.15%

Compare VOO and QQQ ETFs Side By Side

ETF Jeff's Final Thoughts

Final Thoughts

These funds have a few similarities, as well as a handful of differences. The main similarity is that they are both popular ETFs in the large cap growth sector.  The key differences are that QQQ tracks an index of 100 companies, while VOO tracks an index of 500 companies. There is also a difference in the overall structure of the fund, with QQQ being a unit investment trust.  Both of these ETFs are great, though I tend to prefer VOO to QQQ right now due to a lower expense ratio, and a bit more diversification with 500 companies in the fund instead of just 100.