Wealthy PotFXAIX vs IVV: The Same S&P 500, Half the Fee or an ETF
FXAIX and IVV both track the S&P 500. FXAIX is Fidelity's index mutual fund at 0.015% a year; IVV is BlackRock's iShares Core S&P 500 ETF at 0.03%. They hold the same 500 or so companies, so the overlap is close to complete: 99.8% of FXAIX's money sits in companies IVV also owns. Over the ten years to 31 December 2025 FXAIX returned 14.81% a year and IVV 14.78%, with the index at 14.82%. After taxes on distributions the order flips, 14.30% against 14.31%. So the funds are a near tie on results. What separates them is the wrapper: FXAIX trades once a day at its closing price with no minimum and is most at home in a Fidelity account; IVV trades all day on an exchange at any broker.
Table of Contents
The Short Answer
- Same stocks. 99.8% of FXAIX's weight was in companies IVV holds, and 99.2% of IVV's weight in companies FXAIX holds. The overlap tool shows 94.5% only because the two holdings reports are a month apart.
- Fees: FXAIX 0.015%, IVV 0.03%. On $10,000 that is $1.50 a year against $3.00.
- Ten years to 31 December 2025: FXAIX 14.81% a year, IVV 14.78%. The S&P 500 returned 14.82%. Both figures come from each fund's prospectus, for the same dates.
- After taxes on distributions, IVV edges ahead: 14.31% against 14.30% a year over ten years. The ETF's smaller tax drag cancelled FXAIX's fee advantage.
- FXAIX is a mutual fund with no purchase minimum that prices once a day. IVV is an ETF that trades all day; one share closed at $773.10 on 2 October 2026.
- Do not hold both. It is the same index twice. Pick by account: FXAIX at Fidelity, IVV almost anywhere else.
Same Index, Same Stocks
FXAIX's prospectus says it normally invests "at least 80% of assets in common stocks included in the S&P 500® Index." IVV's says it "seeks to track the investment results of the S&P 500." Same index, so the same companies at the same weights.
Our Portfolio Overlap Checker puts the overlap at 94.5%, across 495 shared companies. It adds up the smaller of the two weights for every company both funds hold, using each fund's SEC holdings report (Form N-PORT). Fidelity's latest report in our data is dated 31 May 2026 and IVV's 30 June 2026, and stock prices moved in that month. Microsoft was 5.14% of FXAIX on 31 May and 4.29% of IVV on 30 June; Micron went the other way, 1.68% to 2.02%. The tool counts each of those drifts as non-overlap.
| Largest shared holdings | % of FXAIX (31 May 2026) | % of IVV (30 Jun 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| NVIDIA | 7.89% | 7.51% |
| Apple | 7.05% | 6.58% |
| Alphabet | 6.11% | 5.83% |
| Microsoft | 5.14% | 4.29% |
| Amazon | 4.07% | 3.61% |
The cleaner test does not depend on dates: 99.8% of FXAIX's weight sat in companies IVV also held. The same-date return figures below show the two funds a few hundredths of a point apart. Treat them as the same portfolio.
FXAIX vs IVV Side by Side
| FXAIX | IVV | |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Fidelity 500 Index Fund | iShares Core S&P 500 ETF |
| Index | S&P 500 | S&P 500 |
| Expense ratio | 0.015% | 0.03% |
| Annual cost on $10,000 | $1.50 | $3.00 |
| Prospectus cost example, $10,000 over 10 years | $19 | $39 |
| Type | Open-end mutual fund | Exchange-traded fund |
| How you buy | At the day's closing NAV, in dollar amounts | On an exchange during market hours, at market prices |
| Minimum | None, per the prospectus | One share, $773.10 at the 2 Oct 2026 close, unless your broker sells fractions |
| Holdings | 507 (28 Feb 2026) | 504 (30 Jun 2026) |
| Ten largest companies | 40.6% (31 May 2026) | 37.8% (30 Jun 2026) |
| Size | $749.4 billion (28 Feb 2026) | $888.3 billion (2 Oct 2026) |
| Portfolio turnover | 3% | 3% |
| Securities lending | Yes | Yes |
| Dividends paid | April, July, October, December | "at least once a year," per the prospectus |
| Inception | 17 Feb 1988 | 15 May 2000 |
Returns and Taxes: A Near Tie
Both prospectuses print the SEC's standard return table for periods ended 31 December 2025, and both print the identical S&P 500 line, so this is a like-for-like comparison.
| Average annual total return to 31 Dec 2025 | 1 year | 5 years | 10 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| FXAIX, before taxes | 17.86% | 14.41% | 14.81% |
| IVV, before taxes | 17.85% | 14.39% | 14.78% |
| S&P 500 | 17.88 | 14.42 | 14.82 |
| FXAIX minus IVV | +0.01 | +0.02 | +0.03 |
| FXAIX, after taxes on distributions | 17.51 | 14.02 | 14.30 |
| IVV, after taxes on distributions | 17.48 | 14.00 | 14.31 |
| FXAIX, after taxes on distributions and sale | 10.77 | 11.50 | 12.33 |
| IVV, after taxes on distributions and sale | 10.77 | 11.48 | 12.33 |
| Tax drag, FXAIX | 0.35 | 0.39 | 0.51 |
| Tax drag, IVV | 0.37 | 0.39 | 0.47 |
Before tax, FXAIX kept a little more. It trailed the index by 0.01 points a year over ten years, IVV by 0.04. The fee gap is 0.015 points, so FXAIX's lead of 0.03 is roughly the fee plus a sliver.
After tax, the gap disappears. FXAIX gave up 0.51 points a year to taxes on distributions over ten years, IVV 0.47. Neither filing explains why, and we do not guess. The result is that a taxable investor in the top bracket ended up with 14.30% from FXAIX and 14.31% from IVV, and exactly 12.33% from both after also selling at the end. In an IRA or 401(k) only the before-tax line matters.
The later figures say the same thing. Fidelity reports FXAIX at 15.32% a year over ten years to 30 September 2026, against 15.33% for the index. iShares had not yet posted 30 September figures when we checked; to 31 August 2026 IVV returned 15.34% a year over ten years against 15.37% for the index. Different dates, so do not subtract one from the other, but each fund stayed within a few hundredths of the index.
| Hypothetical $10,000 held for 10 years | Ending value |
|---|---|
| At IVV's 10-year return to 2025 (14.78%) | $39,688 |
| At FXAIX's 10-year return to 2025 (14.81%) | $39,792 |
| Difference | about $104 |
This is educational information, not personalized investment advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results, and all investing carries the risk of loss.
Where They Really Differ
FXAIX prices once a day. Fidelity "normally calculates NAV as of the close of business of the NYSE, normally 4:00 p.m. Eastern time," and you get that price whether you order at 10 a.m. or 3 p.m. You buy in dollars, so $50 buys $50 of the fund, with no bid-ask spread. The prospectus says "There is no purchase minimum for fund shares."
FXAIX has a short-term trading rule. Fidelity counts a "roundtrip" when you sell within 30 days of buying, and "Shareholders with two or more roundtrip transactions in a single fund within a rolling 90-day period will be blocked from making additional purchases or exchange purchases of the fund for 85 days." A monthly buyer who holds for years never meets it.
FXAIX lives best at Fidelity. The prospectus warns "you may be charged a transaction fee if you buy or sell shares through a non-Fidelity broker or other investment professional." Whether your broker carries FXAIX, and at what charge, is up to that broker.
IVV trades like a stock, anywhere. You can buy or sell at any moment the market is open, use limit orders, and hold it at nearly any brokerage. The cost is a small bid-ask spread on each trade, and a share price above $700 unless your broker offers fractional shares.
Taxes in a taxable account. IVV's slightly smaller tax drag offset its higher fee over the last decade. That is one record, not a rule. If you already own either one with large gains, selling to switch would likely cost more in tax than any difference here.
Which One Fits You
You have a Fidelity brokerage account or IRA: FXAIX. Half the fee, no minimum, any dollar amount, and dividends reinvest automatically unless you choose otherwise. Inside an IRA the tax point above does not apply, so the lower fee is the tiebreaker.
Your 401(k) menu offers FXAIX: use it for your S&P 500 slice. A 401(k) can only offer what is on its menu, and IVV would be reachable only through a brokerage window if your plan has one.
You use Schwab, Vanguard or any broker other than Fidelity: IVV. An ETF can be held at nearly any brokerage and does the same job. Check first whether your broker charges a fee for FXAIX; if it does, IVV is the simpler choice.
You trade during the day or want limit orders: IVV. A mutual fund cannot do this.
Other close cousins. IVV and Vanguard's VOO are compared in IVV vs VOO; FXAIX against Vanguard's ETF in FXAIX vs VOO and against State Street's oldest S&P 500 fund in FXAIX vs SPY. The lowest-fee S&P 500 ETF from State Street is covered in FXAIX vs SPYM.
Sources & Methodology
- Fidelity 500 Index Fund Summary Prospectus, 29 April 2026: the 0.015% fee table, strategy, no purchase minimum, and returns to 31 December 2025.
- Fidelity Concord Street Trust, Form 485BPOS filed 24 April 2026: NAV timing, the roundtrip rule, non-Fidelity broker fees and the distribution schedule.
- Fidelity Concord Street Trust, Form N-CSR for the year ended 28 February 2026: FXAIX's fund size, holdings count and turnover.
- Fidelity's FXAIX performance page: quarter-end returns to 30 September 2026.
- iShares Trust, Form 485BPOS filed 27 July 2026: IVV's 0.03% fee table, strategy, lending, and returns to 31 December 2025.
- iShares' IVV page and IVV fact sheet, 30 June 2026: net assets and closing price on 2 October 2026, holdings count, and returns to 31 August 2026.
- FXAIX Form N-PORT for 31 May 2026 and IVV Form N-PORT for 30 June 2026: the holdings behind the overlap and top-ten figures.
How the overlap was computed. The Portfolio Overlap Checker sums the smaller of the two weights for each company held by both funds, using each fund's latest N-PORT in our dataset. The two filings are a month apart; we state both dates rather than adjust either one.
What we could not verify. Which non-Fidelity brokers carry FXAIX and what they charge, and which 401(k) plans offer either fund; those are specific to each firm. We quote no bid-ask spread or trading-volume figure for IVV.
This article is for general education and is not investment, tax or legal advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results, and all investing carries the risk of loss. Figures were checked against the sources above on 5 October 2026; verify current figures with each fund company before acting.
FAQ: FXAIX vs IVV
Is FXAIX the same as IVV?
Same index, different wrapper. Both track the S&P 500 and hold the same companies. FXAIX is a Fidelity mutual fund that prices once a day; IVV is an iShares ETF that trades all day.
Which is cheaper, FXAIX or IVV?
FXAIX, at 0.015% a year against 0.03%. On $100,000 that is $15 against $30 a year.
Which has performed better?
They are within a few hundredths of a point. Over ten years to 31 December 2025 FXAIX returned 14.81% a year and IVV 14.78%. After taxes on distributions it was 14.30% against 14.31%.
Is IVV more tax-efficient than FXAIX?
Slightly, on the prospectus numbers: ten-year tax drag on distributions was 0.47 points for IVV and 0.51 for FXAIX. In an IRA or 401(k) it does not matter.
Is there a minimum for either?
FXAIX has none. IVV's minimum is one share, $773.10 at the 2 October 2026 close, unless your broker sells fractional shares.
Can I buy FXAIX outside Fidelity?
Possibly, but the prospectus warns you may pay a transaction fee through a non-Fidelity broker. Check your broker's fund list and fee schedule.
Should I hold both FXAIX and IVV?
No. They hold the same S&P 500 companies. Owning both adds a second line to track and nothing else.
Which is better for a Roth IRA?
At Fidelity, FXAIX: lower fee and no minimum, and taxes on distributions do not apply inside a Roth. At another broker, IVV.
Cite This Page
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"FXAIX vs IVV: The Same S&P 500, Half the Fee or an ETF." Wealthy Pot, 2026. https://wealthypot.com/fxaix-vs-ivv/
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