ETFs · Guide
From SPY to GLD: a plain-English guide to 25 ETFs
25 ETFs, grouped by what they actually do — broad market, growth, dividends, sectors, international, bonds, and gold.
Every ETF supported by this calculator falls into one of eight categories below. None of these are recommendations — just a plain explanation of what each fund tracks, so you know what you are actually looking at before running the numbers.
Broad U.S. market
These funds spread your money across hundreds or thousands of U.S. companies at once, so no single company’s performance dominates the result.
SPY, VOO, and IVV all track the same index — the S&P 500, the 500 largest publicly traded U.S. companies. They are functionally near-identical in what they hold; the differences between them come down to small variations in cost and trading volume, not what you actually own.
VTI (Total Stock Market) goes a step further, holding thousands of U.S. companies of every size, not just the largest 500. In practice it moves very similarly to the S&P 500 funds above, since large companies still make up most of its value.
Nasdaq and growth-focused
These funds lean toward companies expected to grow faster than average, which historically has meant a heavier weighting toward technology.
QQQ tracks the Nasdaq-100, the 100 largest non-financial companies on the Nasdaq exchange. It is heavily concentrated in a small number of large technology companies, which has made it more volatile, and often more rewarding, than broader funds like SPY.
VUG and SCHG both track broader growth-style indexes rather than the Nasdaq specifically — they select companies expected to grow earnings faster than average from across the whole market, not just tech.
Dow Jones
DIA tracks the Dow Jones Industrial Average, 30 large, well-established U.S. companies. It is a much smaller, more concentrated basket than SPY, and its price-weighted structure (rather than the more common size-weighted approach) means a single expensive stock can move it more than you might expect.
Dividend-focused
These funds specifically select for companies that pay, and often steadily grow, cash dividends — typically more established, stable businesses.
SCHD focuses on U.S. companies with a strong history of consistent dividend payments. VYM targets companies with an above-average dividend yield today. DGRO instead prioritizes companies that have a track record of growing their dividend over time, even if the current yield is more modest.
Sector-specific
Rather than spreading across the whole market, these funds concentrate entirely in one industry — higher risk if that sector struggles, but a direct way to invest in a specific theme.
XLK and VGT both track technology, holding the same kind of large tech companies but built on slightly different index rules. SOXX narrows this further to specifically semiconductor companies, a more concentrated bet within tech. XLF covers financial companies such as banks and insurers, XLE covers energy companies, XLV covers health care, and XLI covers industrials — manufacturing, aerospace, and similar businesses.
International
All the funds above focus on U.S. companies. These instead hold companies based outside the United States, spreading risk across other economies.
VXUS (Total International) is the broadest of the three, holding companies across both developed and emerging markets worldwide. VEA and IEFA both narrow this to developed markets specifically — countries like Japan, the UK, and Germany — excluding emerging markets such as China or India.
Bonds
Unlike every fund above, these do not hold company shares at all — they hold debt. Bonds typically move differently from stocks, which is why they are often used to reduce overall volatility rather than to maximize growth.
BND and AGG both hold a broad mix of U.S. investment-grade bonds — government and corporate debt of varying lengths. TLT is narrower and more specific: only U.S. government bonds with 20 or more years until they mature, which makes it considerably more sensitive to interest rate changes than the broader bond funds.
Commodities
GLD is the only commodity fund on this site — it holds physical gold, not company shares or debt at all. Gold has historically moved somewhat independently of both stocks and bonds, which is the main reason it gets included in some portfolios, though it produces no dividends or interest on its own.
Try any of them
Every ticker described above can be run through the calculator directly, using real historical closing prices.
This guide is for educational purposes only and is not personalized financial or investment advice. Fund holdings, strategies, and index methodologies can change over time; always verify current details with the fund provider before investing.