SPUS vs VOO: Sharia-Screened Growth Tilt Against Low-Cost Broad Market Exposure

Key Takeaways

• SPUS and VOO both track S&P 500 constituents, but SPUS applies faith-based screens that remove financials and high-debt companies, concentrating it in technology.
• SPUS has delivered stronger trailing returns in recent years, while VOO offers far lower costs (0.03% versus 0.45% expense ratio) and broader diversification.
• SPUS is more concentrated and more volatile, with roughly 57% of assets in its top 10 holdings versus about 36% for VOO.
• VOO is dramatically larger, with assets near $1 trillion, while SPUS manages only a few billion dollars.
• The two funds are highly correlated (about 0.96), meaning their relative performance is driven mainly by differences in sector weightings and concentration.
• Investors seeking value alignment and growth tilt may favor SPUS, while cost- and diversification-focused investors typically favor VOO.

Getting to Know the Two Approaches

Both SPUS and VOO deliver exposure to large-cap U.S. equities, yet they pursue that objective in distinct ways. SPUS, the SP Funds S&P 500 Sharia Industry Exclusions ETF, incorporates Islamic finance principles that exclude interest-heavy and certain other industries. VOO, the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, simply seeks to mirror the full S&P 500 Index with maximum efficiency and minimal cost. This comparison matters for investors balancing values-based strategies with straightforward benchmark tracking, as well as for those evaluating how concentration and sector differences have influenced recent results.

SPUS: A Tech-Heavy, Values-Driven Portfolio

SPUS follows the S&P 500 Shariah Industry Exclusions Index, which filters out firms that do not meet Sharia-compliance standards, particularly financial companies involved in interest-based activities and sectors such as aerospace and defense. The result is a more focused portfolio of roughly 213 to 219 holdings, with a pronounced tilt toward technology names including Nvidia, Apple, Microsoft, and Alphabet. I also checked this using Tickeron’s AI Screener to see how the stock compares to others in the industry. Recent performance has been supported by strength in semiconductors and large-cap technology, leading to outperformance over one-, three-, and five-year periods. That same concentration, however, brings higher volatility, and the fund’s 0.45% expense ratio reflects the specialized nature of its index.

VOO: Efficient, Comprehensive Market Coverage

VOO is designed to track the entire S&P 500, holding approximately 500 stocks that span all major sectors, including financials, energy, healthcare, and industrials. With assets approaching $1 trillion and an expense ratio of just 0.03%, it stands out as one of the most economical and widely adopted broad-market options. In recent periods VOO has moved in line with the overall market, trading near record levels amid steady gains in large-cap equities. Its full-sector inclusion provides smoother, more diversified exposure, though this breadth has caused it to trail SPUS during stretches when mega-cap technology has led the market.

Direct Comparison of Key Differences

The core distinction between SPUS and VOO lies in breadth versus concentration. VOO represents a large-cap blend across the complete S&P 500, whereas SPUS functions as a large-cap growth vehicle that deliberately omits entire industries. This explains much of the performance differential: the absence of financials and heavier technology weighting in SPUS has been advantageous lately, yet it also creates sector-specific risks that VOO sidesteps. Cost remains another clear trade-off, with VOO at 0.03% versus 0.45% for SPUS. SPUS supplies values alignment and a growth bias that appeals to some investors despite the higher fee. From a risk standpoint, SPUS has exhibited greater annualized volatility, and its narrower holdings make it more sensitive to shifts in a single sector. Both funds sit in established uptrends, but their roughly 0.96 correlation indicates that relative results hinge primarily on sector allocation and concentration rather than overall market direction.

An AI-Assisted Perspective

Considering factors such as trend consistency, relative strength, and emphasis on leading growth areas, the data point toward SPUS showing stronger recent momentum in the current setting. Its persistent outperformance, fueled by substantial technology and semiconductor exposure, reflects solid trend consistency. That said, the higher volatility and greater concentration position SPUS as a higher-risk way to participate in the same broad uptrend that VOO captures more conservatively. In probabilistic terms, trend-following and momentum approaches may lean toward SPUS, while VOO represents the more stable, lower-cost, and diversified choice for investors prioritizing broad market exposure.

Integrating AI Tools Into My Process

When evaluating holdings and momentum across similar ETFs, I sometimes reference Tickeron’s Trending AI Robots to review how different automated strategies have performed on related tickers. The page highlights top-performing bots with transparent metrics on win rates, trade frequency, and market conditions, which can offer an additional layer of perspective alongside traditional analysis. It serves as a practical way to cross-check ideas without replacing core research.

Disclaimer

The information on this webpage is provided for general informational and educational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice, a recommendation to purchase or sell any security, or an offer or solicitation related to investments. It does not consider your personal financial situation, goals, or risk profile, and all investing carries inherent risks, including the possibility of losing your entire investment. For more details, please review our full disclaimer.

Disclaimers and Limitations

Contributor

Harry Richardson|Expert

Harry Richardson — Algorithmic Trader & Strategy Developer Harry is an algorithmic trader specializing in impulse and breakout trading strategies across cryptocurrency and equity markets. With more than 10 years of experience in developing automated trading systems, he focuses on building structured algorithms designed to capture momentum while maintaining strict risk control. His approach combines quantitative analysis, real-market execution, and continuous performance monitoring. Vitalii prioritizes risk management, drawdown control, and strategy stability over short-term optimization, ensuring algorithms are adaptable to changing market conditions. He has developed and tested hundreds of automated strategies, working extensively with live trading environments, forward testing, and portfolio-level algorithm management. His work centers on transforming trading ideas into fully operational, scalable automated systems.

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