Best S&P 500 ETF in Australia: IVV vs V500 vs IHVV vs SPY

For most Australians, IVV is the best S&P 500 ETF. It's the cheapest at 0.04% a year, the largest at A$15.0 billion, and Australian-domiciled, so there are no US tax forms or US estate-tax exposure. V500 (0.07%) is the better pick if you invest through Vanguard Personal Investor, where buying Vanguard ETFs costs no brokerage. Choose IHVV if you want the currency hedged. SPY is the one most Australians should skip.

S&P 500 ETFs on the ASX compared

ETF	Issuer	Fee (p.a.)	Currency hedged	Domicile	Fund size	Distributions
IVV	iShares	0.04%	No	Australia	A$15.0b	Quarterly
V500	Vanguard	0.07%	No	Australia	A$143.6m	Quarterly
IHVV	iShares	0.10%	Yes	Australia	A$4.3b	Annual
V5AH	Vanguard	0.09% (+0.02% indirect costs)	Yes	Australia	A$20.0m	Half-yearly
SPY	State Street	0.0945%	No	United States	—	Quarterly

IVV and IHVV fund sizes as at 14 October 2026 (iShares). V500 and V5AH sizes are the ASX-listed ETF classes at 30 June 2026 (Vanguard).

All five track the same index: the S&P 500, about 500 of the largest US companies weighted by size. The differences are fee, size, currency hedging and where the fund is legally based.

IVV vs V500

Both are unhedged, Australian-domiciled and track the same index. IVV is cheaper and far bigger. V500 launched on 4 March 2026 and had A$143.6 million in its ETF class by 30 June, against IVV's A$15.0 billion.

The fee gap is small: 0.03% a year, or $30 on $100,000. What can flip the decision is brokerage. Vanguard Personal Investor charges $0 to buy Vanguard ETFs and $9 to sell (Vanguard Personal Investor Guide). If you already invest there and add a few hundred dollars a month, V500's brokerage-free buys outweigh its extra 0.03%. On any other platform, IVV is the default. Several brokers now charge $0 on all ASX ETFs anyway (best ETF brokers).

Hedged or unhedged?

An unhedged fund (IVV, V500) holds US shares priced in US dollars. When the Australian dollar falls, your units are worth more in A$, and when it rises, they're worth less. A hedged fund (IHVV, V5AH) neutralises most of that currency effect, so you get close to the S&P 500's US-dollar return.

That currency swing can be large. Returns to 30 September 2026, after fees:

	1 year	3 years p.a.	5 years p.a.	10 years p.a.
IVV (unhedged)	10.09%	19.56%	14.38%	16.16%
IHVV (hedged)	14.60%	21.16%	11.62%	13.29%

Source: iShares fund pages for IVV and IHVV. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

Hedging won over one and three years, when the Australian dollar rose against the US dollar. Unhedged won over five and ten years. Nobody can reliably predict which way the currency will go, so the more useful question is what role the fund plays for you:

Unhedged tends to cushion a portfolio in a crisis, because the A$ usually falls when global markets fall. It's the common default for long-term investors.
Hedged suits you if you want the S&P 500's return without the extra currency swings, or you already hold plenty of US-dollar assets.

Some investors split 50/50. Note that IHVV distributes only once a year, while IVV pays quarterly.

Why most Australians should avoid SPY

SPY on the ASX isn't an Australian fund. It's the original US-listed SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, quoted here as CHESS Depositary Interests, with its domicile in the United States. That brings three costs IVV doesn't have:

A higher fee: 0.0945% against IVV's 0.04%.
US paperwork: you need a W-8BEN form to get the 15% treaty rate on US withholding tax.
US estate tax risk: non-US residents who die holding US-situated assets worth more than US$60,000 can trigger a US estate tax return (IRS).

IVV used to have the same issues. It was restructured from a US-domiciled ETF into an Australian one on 7 September 2018 (iShares), which is why it's now the simpler choice. The same domicile issue affects VTS, covered in IVV vs VGS vs VTS.

How concentrated is the S&P 500?

"500 companies" sounds broad, but the index is weighted by company size. At 30 June 2026, the ten largest holdings made up 37.8% of V500:

Nvidia 7.5%
Apple 6.6%
Alphabet 5.8%
Microsoft 4.3%
Amazon 3.6%
Broadcom 2.8%
Micron 2.0%
Meta 1.9%
Tesla 1.8%
Eli Lilly 1.5%

(Vanguard)

That's a large bet on a handful of US tech companies and on the US itself. If you want the rest of the developed world too, a global ETF like VGS or BGBL holds the same US companies plus Japan, Europe and others. See IVV vs VGS vs VTS and BGBL vs VGS.

S&P 500 variants that aren't the plain index

Some ASX funds use the S&P 500 but change how it's held. They shouldn't be confused with the five funds above:

ETF	What it does	Fee (p.a.)	3 years p.a.	5 years p.a.
QUS (BetaShares)	Holds every S&P 500 company in equal amounts, not by size	0.29%	12.22%	8.98%
UMAX (BetaShares)	S&P 500 shares plus call options sold for extra income	0.79%	14.37%	11.49%
IVV for comparison	Standard S&P 500	0.04%	19.56%	14.38%

Returns after fees to 30 September 2026 from each issuer's page.

Equal weighting reduces the reliance on the tech giants. In a period when those giants led, it lagged. UMAX trades some upside for higher income, the same trade-off covered in our dividend ETF comparison. Geared US funds, which borrow to amplify returns, are a different product again (geared ETFs explained).

How to buy an S&P 500 ETF in Australia

Every fund above trades on the ASX, so you can buy it through any Australian broker with its ticker, e.g. "IVV". Your first purchase of each ETF on a CHESS-sponsored broker must be at least $500. Step-by-step instructions are in the beginners guide to ETF investing. To see what regular contributions could grow to after fees, try the ETF calculator.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best S&P 500 ETF in Australia?

For most investors, IVV: it charges 0.04% a year, holds A$15.0 billion (14 October 2026) and is Australian-domiciled, so there's no W-8BEN form or US estate-tax exposure. V500 (0.07%) suits Vanguard Personal Investor users because buying Vanguard ETFs there is brokerage-free. IHVV (0.10%) is the main currency-hedged option.

IVV or V500: which is better?

They track the same index and are both Australian-domiciled. IVV is cheaper (0.04% vs 0.07%) and much larger. V500 wins only if you buy through Vanguard Personal Investor, where Vanguard ETF purchases cost $0 brokerage. The fee gap is $30 a year on $100,000.

Should I buy a hedged or unhedged S&P 500 ETF?

Neither is reliably better. To 30 September 2026, hedged IHVV beat unhedged IVV over one and three years, but IVV beat IHVV over five and ten years, because of moves in the Australian dollar. Unhedged is the more common long-term default because the A$ tends to fall in global sell-offs, cushioning losses. Hedged suits people who want less currency volatility.

Is SPY on the ASX the same as IVV?

Both track the S&P 500, but SPY on the ASX is the US-domiciled SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust. That means a higher fee (0.0945% vs 0.04%), a W-8BEN form, and potential US estate tax for holdings above US$60,000. IVV became Australian-domiciled in 2018 and avoids those issues.

Is the S&P 500 a good investment for Australians?

It has delivered strong long-term returns. IVV returned 16.16% a year over the ten years to 30 September 2026 in Australian dollars, but past returns don't predict future ones. It's concentrated: the ten largest companies were 37.8% of the index in June 2026, and it's 100% US. Many investors pair it with Australian shares or use a global ETF instead.

Related calculators and guides

ETF Calculator — project growth after fees
IVV vs VGS vs VTS
How to invest in US shares from Australia
Best ETF brokers in Australia
How many ETFs should you hold?
All ETF and broker comparisons

This article is for general information only and does not constitute financial, tax or legal advice. Individual circumstances vary. Consult a registered tax agent or licensed financial adviser before making decisions based on this information.