IQ

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

vsCompare their flowsaskIQ about these two fundsAsk the committee about these two funds
Across categories

BOXX vs MDY: Differences, Returns & Fees

Share
Share on XDownload as PDF

BOXX is an actively managed short-term fund and MDY an equity index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, MDY returned +12.8% against +4.0%.

askIQ about this page

askIQ about BOXX and MDY

Net assets: $14.5bn on Oct 28, 2026 for Alpha Architect 1-3 Month Box ETF, and $25.9bn on Oct 27, 2026 for SPDR S&P MidCap 400 ETF Trust.

BOXX on its own →MDY on its own →
At a glance
+4.0%
BOXX total return, 1 year
+12.8%
MDY total return, 1 year
0.19%
BOXX expense ratio
0.23%
MDY expense ratio

Pair scorecard

BOXX costs 0.04 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 8.8 points; MDY is 1.8 times larger.

BOXX vs MDY: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureBOXXMDY
Return
Total return, 1 year+4.0%+12.8%
Drawdown
Below its high6.5%, high on Aug 14, 2026
Benchmark
What it tracksNo index, actively managedS&P MidCap 400 Index
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.19%0.23%
Net assets, as of Oct 26, 2026$14.4bn$25.8bn
Holdings
Holdings in commonnot published
In the S&P 500, by weight0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund7.5%

Method

Side by side

BOXX Alpha Architect 1-3 Month Box ETF MDY SPDR S&P MidCap 400 ETF Trust
Where it sits Bond ETF Stock ETF
Issuer Alpha Architect State Street
What it is Actively managed Tracks the S&P MidCap 400
Total return, 1 year +4.0% +12.8%
Its benchmark over the same days not measured +13.2% (IJH)
Gap to its benchmark not measured −0.4 pts vs IJH
Expense ratio 0.19% 0.23%
Holdings not counted 401
Net assets, BOXX as of Oct 28, 2026 and MDY as of Oct 27, 2026 $14.5bn $25.9bn

BOXX and MDY on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Alert

MDY flows, by email on Sundays.

One-click unsubscribe. See Privacy.

About each fund
BOXX

BOXX is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +4.0% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.19% a year.

MDY

MDY tracks the S&P MidCap 400. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +12.8% with distributions reinvested, against +13.2% for its benchmark, the S&P MidCap 400 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.23% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 401 positions, with the top ten at 7.5%. It sat 6.5% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, BOXX or MDY?
In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BOXX returned +4.0% and MDY +12.8%.
Which is cheaper, BOXX or MDY?
BOXX is cheaper, by 0.04 percentage points a year. That is about $4 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Other comparisons
BOXX vs VOBOXX vs IJHBOXX vs VXFBOXX vs MOATMDY vs VBILMDY vs MINTMDY vs USFRMDY vs PULS
Where to next
BOXX on its own →MDY on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →BOXX dividend history →MDY dividend history →MDY holdings →Standards and sources →
Sources and dates
BOXX filings on SEC EDGAR ↗
BOXX prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗
Alpha Architect website ↗
MDY filings on SEC EDGAR ↗
State Street website ↗

Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, BOXX against MDY, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/boxx-vs-mdy

Open data →

Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.