Data as of Sep 12, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.
CTA vs IWM: how they differ
CTA and IWM hold 0% of their weight in the same names, and IWM returned more over the year.
Simplify Managed Futures Strategy ETF and iShares Russell 2000 ETF.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, CTA and IWM hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Only in CTA | Only in IWM |
|---|---|
| SIMPLIFY EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 81.69% | Moog, Inc. 0.38% |
| UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - BUREAU OF THE 3.72% | Hut 8 Corp. 0.37% |
| UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - BUREAU OF THE 3.44% | Viasat, Inc. 0.35% |
| UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - BUREAU OF THE 2.76% | BrightSpring Health Services, Inc. 0.35% |
| UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - BUREAU OF THE 2.75% | Cytokinetics, Inc. 0.35% |
| UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - BUREAU OF THE 2.20% | MaxLinear, Inc. 0.34% |
| UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - BUREAU OF THE 1.37% | Argan, Inc. 0.34% |
| UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - BUREAU OF THE 1.07% | UMB Financial Corp. 0.33% |
Weight overlap is an ETFIQ calculation: for every security both funds hold, the smaller of the two weights, summed. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated Jun 30, 2026.
| CTA Simplify Managed Futures Strategy ETF | IWM iShares Russell 2000 ETF | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | Core index fund | Core index fund |
| Issuer | Simplify | iShares |
| What it is | Simplify Managed Futures Strategy | Russell 2000 |
| Total return, 1 year | +17.0% | +21.2% |
| S&P 500 over the same days | +17.5% | +17.5% |
| Gap to the S&P 500 | −0.5 pts | +3.7 pts |
| Expense ratio | 0.75% | 0.19% |
| Already in the S&P 500 | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Holdings | 10 | 2014 |
CTA in plain words
CTA is an index equity fund tracking the Simplify Managed Futures Strategy. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +17.0% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.75% a year. By its holdings filed for Jun 30, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 10 positions, with the top ten at 100.0%. It sat 5.3% below its high of May 4, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.
IWM in plain words
IWM is an index equity fund tracking the Russell 2000. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +21.2% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.19% a year. By its holdings filed for Jun 30, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 2014 positions, with the top ten at 3.4%. It sat 5.3% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, CTA or IWM?
- In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, CTA returned +17.0% and IWM returned +21.2%, so IWM returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
- Which is cheaper, CTA or IWM?
- CTA charges 0.75% a year and IWM charges 0.19%, so IWM is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
- How much do CTA and IWM overlap with the S&P 500?
- By their latest filed holdings, 0% of CTA and 0% of IWM by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds. Between the two funds, 0% of their books are the same securities at the same weight.
Other comparisons
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Where these figures came from
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.
Cite this page. ETFIQ, CTA against IWM, data as of Sep 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/CTA-IWM Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources