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The FIRE Exit
Fund vs fund

CSPX vs VUAA.

CSPX or VUAA, tracking the same index? The fee, the domicile, the structure, and how far each drifts from the index. Side by side, verified, with no crowned winner.

The fee, and what it costs

MeasureCSPXVUAA
Yearly fee (TER)0.07%0.07%
Fee cost over thirty years, on €100,000€11k€11k

The fee alone, priced on a €100,000 lump over thirty years at a steady 6% real return. Same-index funds track almost identically, so on one index this fee gap is close to the whole story. Your own numbers: run them through The Tracking Gap

Where they differ

DimensionCSPXVUAA
Size€133bn€30bn
Vs its index, per year−0.21%−0.20%

Where they match

  • Fee (TER) 0.07%
  • Domicile 🇮🇪 Ireland
  • Structure Physical (full)
  • Income Accumulating
  • Securities lending Yes

“Vs its index” is each fund’s average yearly tracking difference against its own index, from trackingdifferences.com; negative means it beat its index.

The honest notes

CSPX

iShares Core S&P 500 UCITS ETF (Acc)

The giant, and Irish domicile means it keeps more of the US dividends than a fund taxed at 30% would.

VUAA

Vanguard S&P 500 UCITS ETF (Acc)

Vanguard's accumulating S&P 500 line: full replication, at the same fee as the iShares giant.

Checked July 2026

The structural facts (fee, domicile, structure, size) are each fund’s own, from its factsheet or KID, checked and cited. The returns come from justETF, a reputable ETF data service, so every fund is measured to the same date on the same basis: the only honest way to compare them. The tracking difference (how each fund actually did against its own index) comes from trackingdifferences.com, the standard European source. I don’t compute any of it myself, and there are still no affiliate links.

No affiliate links. No paywall. Nothing on this page is for sale, and no broker pays me to rank one fund above another. The neutrality is the whole point.

Structural facts from the funds’ own reports, returns via justETF, tracking via trackingdifferences.com. Not a recommendation, and I’m not a licensed adviser. Past returns are not a guide to future ones. Which fund suits you depends on your broker, your account and your country’s tax. Not advice.

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The Exit Audit, then ninety minutes: a straight verdict, real alternatives with their pros and cons, and your first move. If you want someone to nod along, I’m the wrong person to pay.

How the sessions work

Ninety minutes, online, €600. The Exit Audit included.