LSEQ vs. SPY

Last updated Apr 1, 2026

Compare and contrast key facts about Harbor Long-Short Equity ETF (LSEQ) and State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY).

LSEQ and SPY are both exchange-traded funds (ETFs), meaning they are traded on stock exchanges and can be bought and sold throughout the day. LSEQ is an actively managed fund by Harbor. It was launched on Dec 4, 2023. SPY is a passively managed fund by State Street that tracks the performance of the S&P 500 Index. It was launched on Jan 22, 1993.

Performance

LSEQ vs. SPY - Performance Comparison

The chart below illustrates the hypothetical performance of a $10,000 investment in Harbor Long-Short Equity ETF (LSEQ) and State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY). The values are adjusted to include any dividend payments, if applicable.

LSEQ vs. SPY - Yearly Performance Comparison

	2026 (YTD)	2025	2024	2023
LSEQ Harbor Long-Short Equity ETF	20.53%	4.13%	12.80%	-1.20%
SPY State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF	-4.37%	17.72%	24.89%	4.50%

Returns By Period

In the year-to-date period, LSEQ achieves a 20.53% return, which is significantly higher than SPY's -4.37% return.

LSEQ

• 1D: 0.81%
• 1M: -2.60%
• YTD: 20.53%
• 6M: 20.58%
• 1Y: 17.72%
• 3Y*: —
• 5Y*: —
• 10Y*: —

SPY

• 1D: 2.91%
• 1M: -4.94%
• YTD: -4.37%
• 6M: -1.82%
• 1Y: 17.59%
• 3Y*: 18.19%
• 5Y*: 11.69%
• 10Y*: 13.98%

*Multi-year figures are annualized to reflect compound growth (CAGR)

LSEQ vs. SPY - Expense Ratio Comparison

LSEQ has a 1.70% expense ratio, which is higher than SPY's 0.09% expense ratio.

LSEQ

Harbor Long-Short Equity ETF

SPY

State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF

Return for Risk

LSEQ vs. SPY — Risk / Return Rank

Compare risk-adjusted metric ranks to identify better-performing investments over the past 12 months.

LSEQ

LSEQ Risk / Return Rank: 64
LSEQ Sharpe Ratio Rank: 64
LSEQ Sortino Ratio Rank: 65
LSEQ Omega Ratio Rank: 58
LSEQ Calmar Ratio Rank: 85
LSEQ Martin Ratio Rank: 48

SPY

SPY Risk / Return Rank: 64
SPY Sharpe Ratio Rank: 56
SPY Sortino Ratio Rank: 60
SPY Omega Ratio Rank: 65
SPY Calmar Ratio Rank: 65
SPY Martin Ratio Rank: 75

The rank (0–100) shows how this investment's returns compare to the risk taken. Higher = better. Based on the past 12 months of data, combining Sharpe, Sortino, and other metrics used by quantitative funds and institutional investors.

LSEQ vs. SPY - Risk-Adjusted Trends Comparison

This table presents a comparison of risk-adjusted performance metrics for Harbor Long-Short Equity ETF (LSEQ) and State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY). Risk-adjusted metrics are performance indicators that assess an investment's returns in relation to its risk, enabling a more accurate comparison of different investment options.

	LSEQ	SPY	Difference
Sharpe ratio Return per unit of total volatility	1.12	0.93	+0.20
Sortino ratio Return per unit of downside risk	1.66	1.45	+0.21
Omega ratio Gain probability vs. loss probability	1.21	1.22	-0.01
Calmar ratio Return relative to maximum drawdown	2.54	1.53	+1.01
Martin ratio Return relative to average drawdown	4.60	7.30	-2.70
Data is calculated on a 1-year rolling basis and updated daily. The trend shows the change in the indicator over the past month.

LSEQ vs. SPY - Sharpe Ratio Comparison

The current LSEQ Sharpe Ratio is 1.12, which is comparable to the SPY Sharpe Ratio of 0.93. The chart below compares the historical Sharpe Ratios of LSEQ and SPY, offering insights into how both investments have performed under varying market conditions. These values are calculated using daily returns over the previous 12 months.

Sharpe Ratios by Period

	LSEQ	SPY	Difference
Sharpe Ratio (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	1.12	0.93	+0.20
Sharpe Ratio (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period	—	0.69	—
Sharpe Ratio (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period	—	0.78	—
Sharpe Ratio (All Time) Calculated using the full available price history	1.10	0.56	+0.54

Correlation

The correlation between LSEQ and SPY is 0.37, which is considered to be low. This implies their price changes are not closely related. A low correlation is generally favorable for portfolio diversification, as it helps to reduce overall risk by spreading it across multiple assets with different performance patterns.

Dividends

LSEQ vs. SPY - Dividend Comparison

LSEQ's dividend yield for the trailing twelve months is around 1.83%, more than SPY's 1.14% yield.

	TTM	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015
LSEQ Harbor Long-Short Equity ETF	1.83%	2.20%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
SPY State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF	1.14%	1.07%	1.21%	1.40%	1.65%	1.20%	1.52%	1.75%	2.04%	1.80%	2.03%	2.06%

Drawdowns

LSEQ vs. SPY - Drawdown Comparison

The maximum LSEQ drawdown since its inception was -8.35%, smaller than the maximum SPY drawdown of -55.19%. Use the drawdown chart below to compare losses from any high point for LSEQ and SPY.

Drawdown Indicators

	LSEQ	SPY	Difference
Max Drawdown Largest peak-to-trough decline	-8.35%	-55.19%	+46.84%
Max Drawdown (1Y) Largest decline over 1 year	-7.40%	-12.05%	+4.65%
Max Drawdown (5Y) Largest decline over 5 years	—	-24.50%	—
Max Drawdown (10Y) Largest decline over 10 years	—	-33.72%	—
Current Drawdown Current decline from peak	-2.60%	-6.24%	+3.64%
Average Drawdown Average peak-to-trough decline	-3.34%	-9.09%	+5.75%
Ulcer Index Depth and duration of drawdowns from previous peaks	4.08%	2.52%	+1.56%

Volatility

LSEQ vs. SPY - Volatility Comparison

Harbor Long-Short Equity ETF (LSEQ) has a higher volatility of 6.23% compared to State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) at 5.31%. This indicates that LSEQ's price experiences larger fluctuations and is considered to be riskier than SPY based on this measure. The chart below showcases a comparison of their rolling one-month volatility.

Volatility by Period

	LSEQ	SPY	Difference
Volatility (1M) Calculated over the trailing 1-month period	6.23%	5.31%	+0.92%
Volatility (6M) Calculated over the trailing 6-month period	12.47%	9.47%	+3.00%
Volatility (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	15.88%	19.05%	-3.17%
Volatility (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period, annualized	14.23%	17.06%	-2.83%
Volatility (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period, annualized	14.23%	17.92%	-3.69%