Data as of Sep 12, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.
IWM vs VXF: how they differ
IWM and VXF hold 35% of their weight in the same names, and IWM returned more over the year.
iShares Russell 2000 ETF and Vanguard Extended Market Index Fund.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, IWM and VXF hold 35% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | IWM | VXF |
|---|---|---|
| Viasat, Inc. | 0.35% | 0.14% |
| Moog, Inc. | 0.38% | 0.14% |
| Cytokinetics, Inc. | 0.35% | 0.14% |
| Hut 8 Corp. | 0.37% | 0.14% |
| Argan, Inc. | 0.34% | 0.13% |
| BrightSpring Health Services, Inc. | 0.35% | 0.13% |
| MaxLinear, Inc. | 0.34% | 0.13% |
| UMB Financial Corp. | 0.33% | 0.12% |
| Krystal Biotech, Inc. | 0.30% | 0.12% |
| CareTrust REIT, Inc. | 0.28% | 0.11% |
| ESCO Technologies, Inc. | 0.29% | 0.11% |
| Old National Bancorp | 0.28% | 0.10% |
| Only in IWM | Only in VXF |
|---|---|
| JFrog Ltd. 0.31% | Space Exploration Technologies Corp 1.19% |
| Alkermes plc 0.27% | Snowflake Inc 1.03% |
| SSR Mining, Inc. 0.20% | Bloom Energy Corp 0.93% |
| Joby Aviation, Inc. 0.19% | Cloudflare Inc 0.92% |
| Xenon Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 0.18% | Astera Labs Inc 0.76% |
| Essent Group Ltd. 0.18% | Rocket Lab Corp 0.61% |
| CRISPR Therapeutics AG 0.16% | Cheniere Energy Inc 0.59% |
| Golar LNG Ltd. 0.15% | Ferguson Enterprises Inc 0.54% |
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.
| IWM iShares Russell 2000 ETF | VXF Vanguard Extended Market Index Fund | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | Core index fund | Core index fund |
| Issuer | iShares | Vanguard |
| What it is | Russell 2000 | Extended Market |
| Total return, 1 year | +21.2% | +14.1% |
| S&P 500 over the same days | +17.5% | +17.5% |
| Gap to the S&P 500 | +3.7 pts | −3.4 pts |
| Expense ratio | 0.19% | 0.05% |
| Already in the S&P 500 | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Holdings | 2014 | 3365 |
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.
VXF in plain words
VXF is an index equity fund tracking the Extended Market. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +14.1% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.05% 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 3365 positions, with the top ten at 7.6%. It sat 5.1% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, IWM or VXF?
- In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IWM returned +21.2% and VXF returned +14.1%, so IWM returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
- Which is cheaper, IWM or VXF?
- IWM charges 0.19% a year and VXF charges 0.05%, so VXF is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
- How much do IWM and VXF overlap with the S&P 500?
- By their latest filed holdings, 0% of IWM and 0% of VXF by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds. Between the two funds, 35% of their books are the same securities at the same weight.
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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, IWM against VXF, data as of Sep 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/IWM-VXF Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources