50/50 SPY + QQQ
About 43% technology — 10 percentage points heavier than SPY alone, in roughly the same names.
Guardfolio Research · ETF Overlap
SPY vs QQQ Overlap: 34.8% of Weight in the Same Mega-Caps
SPY and QQQ share 8 of their top 10 holdings — Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, both Alphabet share classes, Broadcom, and Tesla. At a 50/50 allocation, those names account for roughly 35% of the combined portfolio. Owning both does not diversify; it concentrates the same handful of US mega-cap growth names.
Overlap Summary
Weight Overlap34.81%
Shared Top-108 of 10
Overlap LevelHigh
UpdatedMay 2026
Bottom line
Holding both is not diversification.
The Data
Exactly which stocks SPY and QQQ share
The table below shows the 8 holdings that appear in both funds' top 10, with each fund's weight. The combined effective weight in a 50/50 portfolio is shown in the final column.
| Stock | SPY weight | QQQ weight | 50/50 combined |
|---|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA Corp. (NVDA) | 7.84% | 9.35% | 8.59% |
| Apple Inc. (AAPL) | 6.44% | 7.15% | 6.79% |
| Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) | 4.89% | 4.96% | 4.92% |
| Amazon.com, Inc. (AMZN) | 4.19% | 4.68% | 4.44% |
| Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL) | 3.62% | 3.81% | 3.71% |
| Broadcom Inc. (AVGO) | 3.2% | 3.4% | 3.3% |
| Alphabet Inc. (GOOG) | 2.89% | 3.53% | 3.21% |
| Tesla, Inc. (TSLA) | 1.74% | 3.61% | 2.67% |
| Total shared weight | 34.81% | 40.49% | 37.65% |
Weights reflect each fund's top-10 holdings as published in issuer filings, refreshed quarterly. The 34.81% overlap figure uses the minimum of each fund's weight per shared holding (the standard weight-based overlap calculation).
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Sector Concentration
What the combination does to your sector mix
SPY allocates about 33% to technology. QQQ allocates roughly 54% to technology alone. When you hold both at equal weight:
Compared to VTI alone
VTI (Total Market) sits around 33% technology. The SPY+QQQ blend adds 10 points of tech concentration in mega-caps already represented in VTI.
What SPY alone gives you
SPY by itself is ~33% tech. Adding QQQ pushes that to ~43% while leaving the rest of the index (financials, energy, healthcare, industrials) at half-weight.
Key Distinction
SPY vs QQQ: what is actually different
The table below summarises the structural differences that drive each fund's behaviour beyond the headline overlap number.
| SPY | QQQ | |
|---|---|---|
| Index tracked | S&P 500 | Nasdaq-100 |
| Number of holdings | ~500 | ~100 |
| Includes financials | Yes (~12%) | No |
| Tech sector weight | ~33% | ~54% |
| Top-10 weight | ~38% | ~48% |
| Expense ratio | 0.09% | 0.20% |
| Main use case | Broad market core | Growth tilt |
Practical Implications
When does this overlap actually matter?
In a tech-driven bull market
Both funds rise together because the same names lead. The pair looks well-balanced when the shared mega-caps are doing the work.
When tech leadership reverses
Both funds fall together. The redundancy becomes visible: SPY does not protect you from QQQ's drawdown because they own the same top names at the same time.
During rebalancing
Trimming QQQ while keeping SPY still leaves you with heavy exposure to the same 8 mega-caps through SPY. There is no clean exit from the concentration.
When sizing new contributions
Directing money to "both" for perceived diversification feeds the same cluster twice. Concentration compounds over time, especially in flat-to-rising markets.
Alternatives
What pairs differently with SPY
SPY + IWM (0% top-10 overlap)
IWM tracks the Russell 2000 small-caps. Zero shared top-10 names with SPY. True diversification across market-cap bands.
SPY + SCHD (0% top-10 overlap)
SCHD's dividend-quality screen filters out most mega-cap growth names. Zero top-10 overlap with SPY in this dataset, different factor exposure.
SPY + VEA or VWO
International developed (VEA) or emerging markets (VWO) add geographic diversification and near-zero overlap with US mega-cap names.
Frequently Asked Questions
SPY vs QQQ overlap — common questions
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