VUAG vs EQQQ, side by side
They sound similar - both US index trackers - but they are built differently. VUAG follows the S&P 500: America's 500 largest companies across every sector. EQQQ follows the Nasdaq 100: the 100 biggest non-financial companies on the Nasdaq, which is dominated by technology and holds no banks. EQQQ is essentially a more concentrated, more tech-heavy bet than the broader S&P 500.
Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF (Acc)VUAG.L£108.24+22% 1Y
Invesco EQQQ Nasdaq-100 UCITS ETF (Dist)EQQQ.L£533.44+29% 1YVUAG
The 500 largest companies listed in the United States (Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia and the rest), with dividends reinvested inside the fund.
EQQQ
The 100 largest non-financial companies on the Nasdaq exchange - very technology-heavy, so more concentrated and more volatile than the S&P 500.
The numbers, side by side
| Measure | VUAG | EQQQ |
|---|---|---|
| What it tracks | S&P 500 | Nasdaq-100 |
| 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. | 0.07% | 0.3% |
| Acc / Dist: Accumulating (Acc) reinvests dividends inside the fund automatically; Distributing (Dist) pays them to you as cash. Same index either way. | Acc | Dist |
| Holdings: Roughly how many different investments the fund spreads your money across. More holdings usually means more diversification. | 500 | 100 |
| 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. | Reinvested inside the fund | — |
| Price | £108.24 | £533.44 |
| 1Y: How much the share price has moved over the past year. | +22% | +29% |
How they differ
These are genuinely different investments: VUAG tracks S&P 500 while EQQQ tracks Nasdaq-100 - the real question is region and mix, not the wrapper. 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 VUAG 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. VUAG reinvests dividends inside the fund automatically, while EQQQ pays them out to you as cash - same holdings, different plumbing.
Descriptive only - how the two compare on today's data, never a verdict on either.
VUAG, in one line
The 500 biggest American companies in one very low-cost package, with every dividend quietly reinvested for you.
Read the full VUAG explainer →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 →Common questions
Why has the Nasdaq 100 often risen (and fallen) more?
Concentration. With 100 mostly-technology names and no banks, EQQQ swings harder on the fortunes of big tech - more gain when technology leads, more pain when it sells off. The S&P 500's broader spread smooths that ride somewhat.
Do they overlap?
Heavily - the Nasdaq's giants (Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia and the like) are also the biggest names in the S&P 500. EQQQ mostly strips out the non-tech parts and doubles down on the technology core they share.