SPLG calculator
Historical growth of SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF using S&P 500 Total Return return series. Dividends reinvested at year-end; expense ratio drag negligible at 0.02%.
$10,000 invested in SPLG at inception (2005) with dividends reinvested through end of 2024 would be worth approximately $70,317 nominal ($42,338 in 2005 dollars). Annualized nominal: 10.24%; real: 7.48%.
Uses annual S&P 500 total return (with dividends reinvested) and CPI-U inflation, 1928–2024. Source: Damodaran (NYU Stern) + Shiller CAPE + BLS. Excludes fees, taxes, and bid/ask. Real return = nominal ÷ cumulative CPI.
SPLG at a glance
| Full name | SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF |
| Provider | State Street |
| Expense ratio | 0.02% |
| Inception | 2005 |
| Assets under management | $40B |
| Dividend yield | 1.30% |
| Return series used | S&P 500 Total Return |
Where an S&P 500 tracker fits
S&P 500 index funds are the default core holding in most US portfolios: 500 large-cap companies, self-cleansing membership (losers drop out, winners grow in), and a fee war that has driven expense ratios to nearly zero. The trade-off is concentration — the top 10 holdings are routinely 30%+ of the index — and zero exposure to small caps or international markets. Warren Buffett's standing advice to non-professionals is a low-cost S&P 500 fund held for decades.
What 0.02% costs over 30 years
Expense ratios compound against you exactly the way returns compound for you. On a $10,000 position growing at a 10% gross return for 30 years, SPLG's 0.02% fee quietly consumes about $949 of the final balance. That is the lowest fee in its category on this site — fee drag is one variable you fully control.
SPLG vs same-category peers
| Fund | ER | Yield | Since |
|---|---|---|---|
| SPLG (this page) | 0.02% | 1.3% | 2005 |
| VOO | 0.03% | 1.3% | 2010 |
| SPY | 0.09% | 1.3% | 1993 |
| IVV | 0.03% | 1.3% | 2000 |
| DIA | 0.16% | 1.9% | 1998 |
How this calculator works
For each start year, we apply the year-by-year total return of the S&P 500 Total Return to the entered starting amount, compounding annually with dividends reinvested at year-end. This mirrors what an actual buy-and-hold SPLG holder would have experienced, before fees and taxes. Expense ratio is intentionally excluded from the historical result to keep the underlying series comparable across ETFs; for a full lifetime fee estimate at 0.02%, use the projection tab in our fund fee analyzer.