Latest news with #IVV
Yahoo
09-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
IVV Is a Great Choice for Most, but I Like SPLG ETF Better
Low-cost index funds are one of the best ways investors can buy a diverse array of stocks. The IVV is a popular method to track the S&P 500, but there's another one I like just a little better. 10 stocks we like better than SPDR Series Trust - SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF › It can be fun to do all the research, pick some great stocks, and then watch the outsized returns that all your hard work produced roll in. But some investors don't necessarily find "hard work" to be fun. For those investors, one of the best ways to get richer is to choose a quality, low-cost index fund to do the hard work for them. Even Warren Buffett, the legendary CEO of Berkshire Hathaway and one of the best stock pickers on the planet, famously endorses index funds as a great option for the average investor. In his 2013 letter to shareholders, Buffett wrote that his will specifies how his money should be invested after his death: "My advice to the trustee could not be more simple: Put 10% of the cash in short-term government bonds and 90% in a very low-cost S&P 500 index fund. ... I believe the trust's long-term results from this policy will be superior to those attained by most investors -- whether pension funds, institutions or individuals -- who employ high-fee managers." Buffett believes that professional fund managers should try to beat the S&P 500, but individual investors should look at these low-cost exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as the best way to grow their wealth. One of the most popular index funds that tracks the S&P 500 is the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: IVV). And it's a really good fund. But I think there's one out there with some subtle differences that is even better: the SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF (NYSEMKT: SPLG). If I had to choose one index fund, SPLG is at the top of my list. Here's why. The SPLG ETF strives to mimic the performance of the S&P 500, which tracks the 500 top companies that are listed on U.S. stock exchanges. The S&P 500, like the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite, is considered a bellwether on the overall health of the economy and the stock market. The ETF has 503 equity holdings currently because a few of the 500 companies include multiple classes of stock. SPLG is a market-cap-weighted fund, which means that companies with the largest market capitalization have a higher weighting. Top 10 Holdings SPLG Portfolio Weight IVV Portfolio Weight 1. Nvidia 7.3% 7.26% 2. Microsoft 6.96% 6.91% 3. Apple 5.99% 6.01% 4. Amazon 3.96% 3.94% 5. Meta Platforms 2.93% 2.93% 6. Broadcom 2.43% 2.4% 7. Alphabet (Class A) 1.96% 1.97% 8. Berkshire Hathaway (Class B) 1.67% 1.67% 9. Tesla 1.66% 1.68% 10. Alphabet (Class C) 1.59% 1.60% Data sources: Morningstar, author research. IVV is also a market-cap-weighted fund, so as you can see on the chart, its holdings are nearly identical because it's built the same way. The only real difference in the top 10 is that Tesla comes in at No. 9 with the SPLG, and at No. 8 with the IVV. That's probably just a matter of one fund balancing a little quicker than the other, but the difference is negligible and doesn't factor into my final conclusion. My choice comes down to which ETF is cheaper to buy, hold, and sell. The IVV has a low expense ratio of 0.03%, or $3 annually per $10,000 invested. That's a good price and what you would expect from any quality index fund. But the SPLG is just a little bit better. Its expense ratio is 0.02%, so you're going to pay a little less in annual management fees. And those dollars tend to add up when you are paying them every year and building a portfolio that reaches into the millions. And here's one more factor that's in SPLG's favor: the bid-ask spread, which is essentially the difference between what buyers want to pay and what sellers want to receive. The SPLG has a bid price and ask price (at this writing) of $73.16. You can't get more efficient than a perfect match. Meanwhile, the IVV has a bid of $623.45 and an ask of $623.50, meaning there's a $0.05 spread on the transaction. When the asking price is higher than the bid price, you lose a little bit of money every time you buy. That's not a big deal if you are a set-it-and-forget-it investor, but if you're a day trader or a fund manager, those pennies add up quickly. So, I prefer the more efficient ETF, the SPLG. To be honest, you can't go wrong with either of these ETFs. I'm not suggesting that anyone sell their shares of IVV. But for me, the SPLG is a hair better and wins this comparison. Before you buy stock in SPDR Series Trust - SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the for investors to buy now… and SPDR Series Trust - SPDR Portfolio S&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 $687,764!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, you'd have $980,723!* Now, it's worth noting Stock Advisor's total average return is 1,048% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 179% for the S&P 500. Don't miss out on the latest top 10 list, available when you join . See the 10 stocks » *Stock Advisor returns as of July 7, 2025 Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Randi Zuckerberg, a former director of market development and spokeswoman for Facebook and sister to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Patrick Sanders has positions in Nvidia. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet, Apple, Berkshire Hathaway, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Tesla. The Motley Fool recommends Broadcom and recommends the following options: long January 2026 $395 calls on Microsoft and short January 2026 $405 calls on Microsoft. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. IVV Is a Great Choice for Most, but I Like SPLG ETF Better was originally published by The Motley Fool
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
BlackRock iShares Bitcoin ETF Surges Past 700K BTC in Record-Breaking Run
BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) now holds 700,000 bitcoin (BTC), according to Glassnode data, and has amassed $76 billion in assets under management in just 18 months, outstripping both the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV), which tracks the U.S. equity benchmark, and iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM), which tracks the performance of small-cap U.S. stocks. The figures beats the 600,000 BTC held by Strategy (MSTR), which started purchases in 2020, and compares with Fidelity FBTC's 203,000 BTC and Grayscale GBTC's 184,000 BTC. 'New milestone, iShares Bitcoin ETF now holds over 700,000 BTC. 700,000 Did this in 18 months. Ridiculous,' Nate Geraci, president of The ETF Store, commented in a post on X. The U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) debuted in January 2024 and have become the most successful ETF introductions of all time. Since inception, they have attracted $50 billion in net inflows. IBIT is now the third highest revenue-generating ETF for BlackRock across all its ETF products. Senior Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas noted that BlackRock operates a total of 1,197 funds. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
BlackRock's Crypto ETF Tops Massive S 500 Fund in Fees
After a year and a half on the market, BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETF—the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT)—has edged past the firm's largest exchange-traded fund in fee generation, underscoring the crypto product's historic success. In a case of the hare beating the tortoise, the $74.9 billion IBIT is topping the $623.8 billion iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV), even though it holds one-eighth of the older fund's assets. According to calculation, as of July 3, IBIT hauls in $187.2 million annually, narrowly beating the $187.1 million generated by IVV. IBIT has become a growth engine as BlackRock, the world's biggest ETF issuer, taps into soaring demand for cryptocurrency investments that are rapidly moving into the mainstream. IBIT began trading with 10 other spot Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024, becoming the biggest among the group as well as the fastest-growing ETF in history. IBIT brings in more revenue by leveraging its 0.25% management fee, which is more than six times the 0.03% fee levied by IVV. IBIT has pulled in $52.4 billion in net flows since it launched, with the remainder of its assets resulting from the rising Bitcoin price. Bitcoin has gained 81% over the past year, according to CoinMarketCap, steadily gaining since October and hitting an all-time high of about $112,000 in late May. IVV, of course, is no slouch. The third-largest U.S. ETF recently passed 25 years on the market, and some analysts expect it will surpass the $633.5 billion SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) and move into the No. 2 position. Still, IVV fee generation has been muted thanks to the fund's net inflows of $2.9 billion so far this year. Over the same period last year, it hauled in $30.5 billion. IBIT has a net inflow gain of $15.1 billion so far this year. IBIT vs. IVV—Source: & FactSet data IBIT isn't currently iShare's top fee generator. It appears headed for that distinction, which would put it among the world's top revenue-generating | © Copyright 2025 All rights reserved Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
NASA IV&V in Fairmont faces drastic funding cut
Jul. 5—dbeard @ MORGANTOWN — NASA's Katherine Johnson Independent Verification & Validation Facility in Fairmont could see a drastic budget cut under President Trump's Fiscal Year 2026 Discretionary Budget Request. But members of West Virginia's Congressional delegation are working to prevent it As part of an overall proposed NASA budget cut, Johnson IV &V would see its funding fall from its current $43.3 million (from FY 2024) to $13.8 million in FY 2026 — just one third of the current budget. NASA is working on answers to questions from The Dominion Post about the ramifications of the cut and will provide those next week. In its 2026 Budget Technical Supplement, the agency says, "In FY 2026, NASA plans to significantly reduce and restructure both the NASA Engineering and Safety Center and Independent Verification and Validation program as part of the effort to consolidate the overall Agency Technical Authority program. In FY 2026, NASA will allocate $9.9 million for IV &V to ensure the program can provide software assurance support to the future Moon to Mars programs." The Dominion Post reached out to Sens. Shelley Moore Capito and Jim Justice, and Rep. Riley Moore for comments on the proposal. Capito spokeswoman Kelley Moore (no relation) said Capito "is aware of the proposed cuts to NASA that would impact the mission and the facility at Katherine Johnson IV &V." She has been in contact with leadership at the facility, Goddard Space Flight Center, which oversees the work at IV &V, and NASA Headquarters. "It has also been conveyed to NASA and to the Senate Appropriations Committee that Sen. Capito will oppose any cuts to this facility that would impact workforce or its mission, " Moore said. Moore noted that since NASA does not have an administrator or a nominee at this time, there has not been a budget hearing where this topic could be raised. "Regardless, Sen. Capito is working hard to protect this facility that she so proudly helped name around this time in 2019." Justice did not respond to several requests for comment. Moore said, "I am closely tracking the proposed cuts to NASA's Fairmont facility. I have been in constant communication with the appropriations subcommittee chairman who oversees its funding, and will use my position on the Appropriations Committee to fight for the important work being done there." Here's a breakdown of the numbers that factor into IV &V's budget — with several layers of authority above IV &V. IV &V overall falls under NASA's Safety, Security and Mission Services. That budget was cut from $3.131 billion in FY 2024 to $3.092 billion in FY 2025 and will fall to $2.118 billion in FY 2026 the federal fiscal year begins Oct. 1). Under SS &MS, is Engineering Safety & Operations. Its budget will fall from $1.088 billion in FY 2024 to $620.3million in FY 2026 and $446.5 million in FY 2027. And under ES &O, the Agency Technical Authority funding will fall from $196.1 million in FY 2024 to $69.6 million in FY 2026. "The Agency Technical Authority program protects the health and safety of NASA's workforce by evaluating programs, projects, and operations to ensure safe and successful completion. ATA capabilities provide expert technical excellence, mission assurance, and technical authority agency wide." IV &V falls directly under the Agency Technical Authority, with funding from several accounts. Funding from the Safety, Security and Mission Services account will be cut from $39.2 million to $9.9 million — for software assurance support for Moon and Mars programs, as mentioned above. Funding from the Exploration account will go from $3.3 million to $2 million. Funding from the Space Operations account will go from $800, 000 to $700, 000. One account source will see an increase: Science account funding will go from $0 in FY 2024 to $1.2 million for FY 2026. A footnote hints at some flexibility: "The IV &V program will work with Mission Directorate to adjust FY 2026 allocations as the FY 2026 operating plan is developed." Some information provided to The Dominion Post noted that cuts to IV &V have been proposed in the past, but not to this extent.
Yahoo
03-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF Generating More Revenue Than Its Flagship S&P 500 Fund
BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) is now generating more revenue than one of the asset manager's most iconic products, the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV), according to Bloomberg data. Despite having just $52 billion in AUM — a fraction of IVV's $624 billion in total assets — IBIT's higher fee structure has turned it into a bigger moneymaker for the world's largest asset manager. Bloomberg estimates that IBIT brings in roughly $187.2 million annually through its 0.25% management fee. By comparison, IVV, which tracks the S&P 500 and has been a staple in retail and institutional portfolios for years, charges just 0.03%. That means it generates around $187.1 million in annual fees, despite managing roughly nine times more in assets than IBIT. IBIT launched in January 2024 as part of a wave of spot bitcoin ETFs approved by U.S. regulators. Since then, the fund has seen inflows every month except one, amassing $52 billion in assets to date. That makes it the largest spot bitcoin ETF on the market by a wide margin. The rapid growth of IBIT highlights the ongoing demand for regulated bitcoin investment products, particularly those offered by established financial firms like BlackRock. For investors, the appeal lies in gaining exposure to bitcoin without the technical hurdles or security risks of holding the asset directly. While IBIT's management fee is higher than more traditional ETFs, it reflects the added complexity, custody and regulatory requirements involved in offering exposure to a digital asset like bitcoin.
