Nasdaq-100 vs S&P 500, side by side
Both track large US companies and carry dollar exposure for a UK investor, but they cast very different nets. EQQQ follows the 100 biggest non-financial companies on the Nasdaq, a group packed with technology and other fast-growing names. VUSA follows the 500 biggest US companies across every sector, including banks and healthcare. EQQQ is the narrower, more concentrated fund and typically swings further than the broader S&P.
Invesco EQQQ Nasdaq-100 UCITS ETF (Dist)EQQQ.L£533.44+29% 1Y
Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF (Dist)VUSA.L£106.19+22% 1YEQQQ
The 100 largest non-financial companies on the Nasdaq exchange - very technology-heavy, so more concentrated and more volatile than the S&P 500.
VUSA
The same 500 largest US companies as VUAG, but paying the dividends out to you as cash each quarter.
The numbers, side by side
| Measure | EQQQ | VUSA |
|---|---|---|
| What it tracks | Nasdaq-100 | S&P 500 |
| OCF: Ongoing Charge Figure: the fund's yearly running cost, taken automatically. 0.22% is about £2.20 a year for every £1,000 you hold. | 0.3% | 0.07% |
| Acc / Dist: Accumulating (Acc) reinvests dividends inside the fund automatically; Distributing (Dist) pays them to you as cash. Same index either way. | Dist | Dist |
| Holdings: Roughly how many different investments the fund spreads your money across. More holdings usually means more diversification. | 100 | 500 |
| Domicile | Ireland | Ireland |
| Replication | Physical (holds the underlying shares) | Physical (holds the underlying shares) |
| Yield: The income the fund has paid out over the past year as a percentage of its price. Accumulating funds reinvest this for you instead of paying cash. | — | — |
| Price | £533.44 | £106.19 |
| 1Y: How much the share price has moved over the past year. | +29% | +22% |
How they differ
On their biggest holdings, they share 8 of the top 10, worth at least about 32% of each - so holding both would add little diversification, you'd largely own the same names twice. The fees differ: EQQQ charges 0.3% a year and VUSA charges 0.07%. On £10,000 growing at an illustrative 6.5% a year that gap compounds to roughly £1,473 over 20 years - purely from cost, and an illustration rather than a forecast.
Descriptive only - how the two compare on today's data, never a verdict on either.
EQQQ, in one line
A pricier, more concentrated fund holding the 100 biggest non-financial companies on the Nasdaq, tilted hard toward tech.
Read the full EQQQ explainer →VUSA, in one line
The same 500 biggest US companies as VUAG, except this version pays the dividends out to you as cash.
Read the full VUSA explainer →Common questions
How is the Nasdaq-100 different from the S&P 500?
The Nasdaq-100 holds the 100 largest non-financial companies on the Nasdaq exchange, which makes it heavily tilted towards technology and other growth names. The S&P 500 holds 500 US companies from every sector, including the banks it leaves out. So the Nasdaq-100 is narrower and more concentrated, while the S&P 500 spreads across the whole market.
Why does the Nasdaq-100 tend to be more volatile?
Because it holds fewer companies and leans so heavily on technology, a big move in a handful of large tech firms pulls the whole index with it. The S&P 500 has more sectors to cushion those swings. That concentration means EQQQ can rise faster in good spells and fall harder in bad ones.