Investors don’t need to pick individual US stocks to gain exposure to companies such as Nvidia NVDA, Apple AAPL, Microsoft MSFT, and Amazon AMZN. An S&P 500 ETF offers access to these names alongside a plethora of other top US companies. For UK investors, offerings by State Street, Amundi, iShares, and Vanguard achieve the highest Morningstar Medalist Rating of Gold.
What Are S&P 500 ETFs?
US large-cap blend portfolios are fairly representative of the overall US equity market in size, growth rates, and price. Equities in the top 70% of the capitalization of the US equity market are defined as large cap. The blend style is assigned to funds where neither growth nor value characteristics predominate. These funds invest at least 75% of their total assets in equities and invest at least 75% of equity assets in US equities.
The 5 Best S&P 500 ETFs to Buy in 2026
To find the best S&P 500 ETFs to buy, we screened for those earning a
- State Street SPDR S&P 500 UCITS ETF SPY5
- Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF VUSD
- Amundi Core S&P 500 Swap LSPU
- iShares Core S&P 500 UCITS ETF CSSPX
- iShares S&P 500 Swap UCITS ETF I500
Morningstar expects the highly rated US large-cap blend funds on this list to outperform their peers over a full market cycle. But even though all the funds on our list fall into the same category, they may practice different strategies, and therefore behave differently from each other. Investors need to do some homework to understand exactly what a particular fund invests in before buying.
Here’s a quick look at each of the best S&P 500 ETFs. Be sure to review a fund’s complete report for more details.
State Street SPDR S&P 500 UCITS ETF
- : £32.1 billionFund Size
- : GoldMorningstar Medalist Rating
- Ongoing Charge: 0.03%
The £32.1 billion fund has climbed 17.13% over the past year, outperforming the average fund in its category, which rose 14.82%. The State Street fund, which launched in March 2012, has climbed 17.31% over the past three years and gained 12.85% over the past five years.
State Street S&P 500 accurately represents the large-cap US stock market, allowing its low fee and efficient portfolio to carve out a long-term edge.
The fund tracks the S&P 500. A committee selects 500 of the largest US stocks, or roughly 80% of the US stock market, and weights them by market cap. The index committee has discretion over selecting companies that meet its liquidity and profitability standards. While a committee-based approach may lack clarity, it adds flexibility to reduce unnecessary changes during reconstitution, taming transaction costs compared with more rigid rules-based indexes.
The fund holds a broad, well-diversified portfolio. It typically includes around 500 stocks, and the top 10 represented around 40% of the portfolio at year-end 2025. Still, market-cap weighting can contribute to portfolio concentration when a few stocks dominate the market. This has been the case lately with a handful of mega-cap technology stocks growing to prominence and commanding a greater share of the portfolio.
When a few richly valued companies or sectors power most of the market gains, market-cap weighting may overexpose the strategy to the fluctuations of one stock or sector. But this is not a fault in design, as it simply reflects the market’s composition. Its low turnover, low fee, and broad diversification across the US market more than offset these risks.
Brendan McCann, senior associate analyst
Read Morningstar’s full report on the State Street SPDR S&P 500 UCITS ETF.
Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF
- : £65.4 billionFund Size
- : GoldMorningstar Medalist Rating
- Ongoing Charge: 0.07%
Over the past year, the Vanguard fund rose 17.12%, while the average fund in its category rose 14.82%. The fund, which launched in May 2012, has climbed 17.30% over the past three years and gained 12.86% over the past five years.
Vanguard S&P 500 accurately represents the large-cap US stock market, allowing its low fee and efficient portfolio to carve it a long-term edge.
The fund holds a broad, well-diversified portfolio. It typically includes around 500 stocks, and the top 10 represented around 40% of the portfolio at year-end 2025. Still, market-cap weighting can contribute to portfolio concentration when a few stocks dominate the market. This has been the case lately with a handful of mega-cap technology stocks growing to prominence and commanding a greater share of the portfolio.
The US exchange-traded fund holds little cash, which should help it outperform cash-saddled active peers during market rallies. Likewise, low cash drag could hurt this fund when the stock market declines, but long-term positive returns give this efficient approach a clear edge. Performance across share classes will vary owing to differences in fees and currency exchange rates for non-US investors.
Brendan McCann, senior associate analyst
Read Morningstar’s full report on the Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF.
Amundi Core S&P 500 Swap
- : £24.4 billionFund Size
- : GoldMorningstar Medalist Rating
- Ongoing Charge: 0.05%
The fund’s management earns an Above Average rating from Morningstar. Parent company Amundi earns a rating of Average.
Over the past year, the Amundi fund rose 17.26%, while the average fund in its category rose 14.82%. The fund, which launched in March 2010, has climbed 17.47% over the past three years and gained 13.04% over the past five years.
Amundi S&P 500 ETF offers low-cost passive exposure to US large-cap equities, an area in which active managers have struggled to demonstrate their value. This exchange-traded fund’s synthetic replication method also means it benefits from a tax-based performance advantage versus both the S&P 500 and its physically replicated peers. For these reasons, this fund represents a strong investment proposition for those seeking exposure to US equities.
This competitively priced fund is among the most cost-effective S&P 500 trackers available.
When it comes to investing in US equities, fund domicile and replication method are crucial because they dictate how much withholding tax an investor must pay.
For example, this fund is synthetically replicated and therefore pays 0% withholding tax, which is less than that borne by both its physically replicated peers and by the S&P 500. For this reason, this fund holds a durable performance advantage over many of its peers and regularly outperforms its index after fees. A synthetic approach to replication also introduces some counterparty risk, which must be weighed against the clear performance benefits of the structure.
This fund’s long-term risk-adjusted returns have ranked in the top quartile of its peer group, which includes both active and passive options.
The fund is managed by Amundi, whose long-tenured and resourced portfolio management team earn a People Pillar rating of Above Average.
Madeleine Black, associate analyst
Read Morningstar’s full report on the Amundi Core S&P 500 Swap.
iShares Core S&P 500 UCITS ETF
- : £116.8 billionFund Size
- : GoldMorningstar Medalist Rating
- Ongoing Charge: 0.07%
The £116.8 billion fund has climbed 17.11% over the past year, outperforming the average fund in its category, which rose 14.82%. The iShares fund, which launched in May 2010, has climbed 17.30% over the past three years and gained 12.86% over the past five years.
IShares S&P 500 accurately represents the large-cap US stock market, allowing its low fee and efficient portfolio to carve out a long-term edge.
The fund holds a broad, well-diversified portfolio. It typically includes around 500 stocks, and the top 10 represented around 35% of the portfolio at the end of February 2026. Still, market-cap weighting can contribute to portfolio concentration when a few stocks dominate the market. This has been the case lately with a handful of mega-cap technology stocks growing to prominence and commanding a greater share of the portfolio.
Brendan McCann, senior associate analyst
Read Morningstar’s full report on the iShares Core S&P 500 UCITS ETF.
iShares S&P 500 Swap UCITS ETF
- : £13.7 billionFund Size
- : GoldMorningstar Medalist Rating
- Ongoing Charge: 0.05%
The fund’s management earns an Above Average rating from Morningstar. Parent company iShares earns a rating of Above Average.
The £13.7 billion fund has climbed 17.28% over the past year, outperforming the average fund in its category, which rose 14.82%. The iShares fund, which launched in September 2020, has climbed 17.50% over the past three years and gained 13.08% over the past five years.
iShares S&P 500 Swap ETF offers low-cost passive exposure to US large-cap equities, an area in which active managers have struggled to demonstrate their value. This exchange-traded fund’s synthetic replication method also means it benefits from a tax-based performance advantage versus both the S&P 500 and its physically replicated peers. For these reasons, this fund represents a strong investment proposition for those seeking exposure to US equities.
This competitively priced fund is among the most cost-effective S&P 500 trackers available.
When it comes to investing in US equities, fund domicile and replication method are crucial because they dictate how much withholding tax an investor must pay.
For example, this fund is synthetically replicated and therefore pays 0% withholding tax, which is less than that borne by both its physically replicated peers and by the S&P 500. For this reason, this fund holds a durable performance advantage over many of its peers and regularly outperforms its index after fees. A synthetic approach to replication also introduces some counterparty risk, which must be weighed against the clear performance benefits of the structure.
This fund’s risk-adjusted returns over the past three- and five-year periods have ranked in the top quartile of its peer group, which includes both active and passive options.
IShares’ industry-leading technology, global footprint, and extensive supporting cast earn an Above Average People Pillar rating.
Madeleine Black, associate analyst
Read Morningstar’s full report on the iShares S&P 500 Swap UCITS ETF.
