<div id="readability-page-1"><div> <h2>Key Points</h2><ul><li>By tracking the S&amp;P 500 index, the State Street SPDR Portfolio S&amp;P 500 ETF has delivered annual returns averaging 10.7% over the past 20 years.</li><li>The ProShares S&amp;P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF underperformed the S&amp;P 500, with an average annual return of 10.4% over the past 12 years.</li><li>NOBL has a much higher expense ratio than SPYM, which makes its underperformance even more costly for investors.</li><li>10 stocks we like better than State Street SPDR Portfolio S&amp;P 500 ETF ›</li></ul>It's hard for any individual stock or exchange-traded fund (ETF) to beat the market over the long-term. Trends change, investors move money around, and today's hot stock or must-buy ETF might fall out of favor and see its price decline. For that reason, most investors would do well to buy an S&amp;P 500 ETF like the State Street SPDR Portfolio S&amp;P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: SPYM).But sometimes, investors want to have a sense of safety and earn steady income from stocks that pay dividends. If that's your investment strategy, you might consider buying the ProShares S&amp;P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF (NYSEMKT: NOBL). (The term Dividend Aristocrats® is a registered trademark of Standard &amp; Poor's Financial Services LLC.)Will AI create the world's first trillionaire? Our team just released a report on the one little-known company, called an &#34;Indispensable Monopoly&#34; providing the critical technology Nvidia and Intel both need. Continue »Let's look at a few ways to choose between SPYM and NOBL -- and which stock ETF is the better buy for most long-term investors.<img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://g.foolcdn.com/image//query-dXJsPWh0dHBzOi8vZy5mb29sY2RuLmNvbS9lZGl0b3JpYWwvaW1hZ2VzLzg2NDEzMy93b21hbi1zdG9jay1icm9rZXItaW52ZXN0b3ItdHJhY2tpbmctc3RvY2tzLTEyMDF4ODAwLTViMmRmNzkuanBnJnc9NzAw?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="700" height="466" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://g.foolcdn.com/image//query-dXJsPWh0dHBzOi8vZy5mb29sY2RuLmNvbS9lZGl0b3JpYWwvaW1hZ2VzLzg2NDEzMy93b21hbi1zdG9jay1icm9rZXItaW52ZXN0b3ItdHJhY2tpbmctc3RvY2tzLTEyMDF4ODAwLTViMmRmNzkuanBnJnc9NzAw"/>Image source: Getty Images. <h2>SPYM: Buy the S&amp;P 500 with a shockingly low fee</h2>Sometimes keeping your investments simple, low-cost, and &#34;plain vanilla&#34; is a great way to build wealth. The State Street SPDR Portfolio S&amp;P 500 ETF is a straightforward low-cost index fund that tracks the S&amp;P 500 index. When you buy this ETF, there are no guarantees that it will make you rich anytime soon -- but you are guaranteed to earn almost exactly the same return as the S&amp;P 500 index of America's 500 largest publicly traded companies.The long-term average return of the S&amp;P 500 is about 10% per year, with some big ups and downs along the way. If that sounds like a good enough deal for your long-term savings, this ETF will deliver it at a remarkably low fee. The fund's expense ratio is only 0.02%. That means that out of every $1,000 you invest in this fund, you'll only owe an annual fee of $0.20.When you buy SPYM, you are effectively buying into all 500 stocks of the S&amp;P 500. One criticism of the S&amp;P 500 in recent years is that it's become too top-heavy with major tech names. However, if you look at the sector-by-sector breakdown of SPYM, about 66% of the fund's holdings are in non-tech stocks. This includes Financials (12.4% of the fund), Communication Services (10.6%), Consumer Discretionary (9.9%), and Industrials (9.2%).SPYM has delivered slightly better returns than the S&amp;P 500 long-term average. Since its inception in November 2005, SPYM has earned average annual returns (by net asset value) of 10.7% and 14.2% over the past 10 years.<h2>NOBL: A stock ETF focused on dividends</h2>Some investors are getting nervous about tech stocks and high valuations of the companies that lead the S&amp;P 500. If you want to focus more on steady, well-established companies that pay consistent dividends, the ProShares S&amp;P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF can deliver. The fund has a dividend yield of 2.55%.This dividend stock ETF lets you own companies that have paid and grown their dividends for at least 25 years in a row. The fund owns 69 stocks. Its top holdings include Caterpillar, Target, Linde, ExxonMobil, and Air Products and Chemicals.If you want an alternative to tech stocks, NOBL can provide it. This fund's top sector weightings are Consumer Staples (23.5% of the fund), Industrials (21.4%), Financials (12.2%), Materials (12.1%), and Health Care (9.96%). Information Technology stocks make up only 2.4% of the NOBL fund holdings.<h2>Why buy SPYM instead of NOBL?</h2>Past performance is no guarantee of future results, but for as long as it's been around, this dividend ETF has underperformed SPYM. Ever since NOBL was first launched in October 2013, it has gained about 164%. But during that time, SPYM has gained 323%. Given that NOBL is a dividend-focused investment, another measure for comparison better suited to these two would be total return (which includes dividends). But here too, SPYM outperforms with a total return of 424% compared to NOBL's 240%, over the same time frame.<img src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://g.foolcdn.com/image//query-dXJsPWh0dHBzOi8vbWVkaWEueWNoYXJ0cy5jb20vY2hhcnRzLzAxY2Q1ZmU0MTQ0YWY2N2UyZGRmYTA5ODg1ZmY5MGRjLnBuZyZ3PTcwMA?x-oss-process=image/auto-orient,1/interlace,1/resize,w_1440,h_1440/quality,q_95/format,jpg" width="700" height="525" original-src="https://imageproxy.pbkrs.com/https://g.foolcdn.com/image//query-dXJsPWh0dHBzOi8vbWVkaWEueWNoYXJ0cy5jb20vY2hhcnRzLzAxY2Q1ZmU0MTQ0YWY2N2UyZGRmYTA5ODg1ZmY5MGRjLnBuZyZ3PTcwMA"/>Data by YCharts.Since the fund's inception in October 2013, NOBL has delivered average annual returns of 10.4%. That's not bad, but it's lower than the long-term average of SPYM, which has gained an average of 10.7% per year since its inception in November 2005.NOBL charges a higher fee -- its expense ratio is 0.35%. It hurts to pay extra for lower performance.SPYM is also more diversified than NOBL. No matter how steady and reliable this collection of dividend stocks might be, it seems unlikely that 69 stocks will outperform 500 stocks over the long run. Based on past performance, low fees, and its diversified holdings, SPYM is likely a better buy than NOBL for most long-term investors.<h2>Should you buy stock in State Street SPDR Portfolio S&amp;P 500 ETF right now?</h2> Before you buy stock in State Street SPDR Portfolio S&amp;P 500 ETF, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now… and State Street SPDR Portfolio S&amp;P 500 ETF wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $581,304!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you’d have $1,215,992!* Now, it’s worth noting Stock Advisor’s total average return is 1,016% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 197% for the S&amp;P 500. Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with Stock Advisor, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors. See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of April 17, 2026. Ben Gran has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Caterpillar, ProShares S&amp;P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF, and Target. The Motley Fool recommends Linde. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc. </div></div>

SPYM

NOBL

The article compares two ETFs: the State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF (SPYM) and the ProShares S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF (NOBL). SPYM has delivered an average annual return of 10.7% over 20 years with a low expense ratio of 0.02%, while NOBL has underperformed with a 10.4% return over 12 years and a higher expense ratio. SPYM is recommended for long-term investors seeking market returns, while NOBL focuses on dividend-paying stocks. Overall, SPYM has outperformed NOBL in both total and average annual returns since their respective inceptions.

- The State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF (SPYM) has achieved average annual returns of 10.7% since 2005, outperforming the ProShares S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats ETF (NOBL), which has returned 10.4% since its launch in 2013.  
- SPYM has a lower expense ratio of 0.02% compared to NOBL's 0.35%, making it more cost-effective for investors.  
- Given its better performance, lower fees, and broader diversification, SPYM is generally regarded as a more attractive option for long-term investors.

SPYM vs. NOBL: Which Stock ETF Is a Better Buy?