Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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BOXX vs URTH: Differences, Returns & Fees

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BOXX is an actively managed short-term fund and URTH an equity index fund, and over the year to Oct 28, 2026, URTH returned +13.1% against +4.0%.

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Net assets on Oct 28, 2026: $14.5bn for Alpha Architect 1-3 Month Box ETF and $8.9bn for iShares MSCI World ETF.

At a glance
+4.0%
BOXX total return, 1 year
+13.1%
URTH total return, 1 year
0.19%
BOXX expense ratio
0.24%
URTH expense ratio

Pair scorecard

BOXX costs 0.05 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 9.1 points; BOXX is 1.6 times larger.

BOXX vs URTH: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureBOXXURTH
Return
Total return, 1 year+4.0%+13.1%
Benchmark
What it tracksNo index, actively managedMSCI World Index
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.19%0.24%
Net assets$14.5bn$8.9bn
Holdings
Holdings in commonnot published
In the S&P 500, by weight69%
Holdings datedOct 27, 2026
Top ten holdings, share of the fund27.2%

Method

Risk and return

Jan 6, 2023 to Oct 23, 2026 · 198 weekly returns
BOXX URTH
Return
Total return edge URTH +18.9% +94.5%
Annualized edge URTH +4.6% +19.1%
Price return edge URTH +18.6% +84.1%
Risk
Volatility edge BOXX 0.2% 13.6%
Max drawdown edge BOXX −0.1% −14.9%
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe edge URTH −0.25 1.02
Sortino edge URTH −0.35 1.55
Calmar Not measured 1.28
Reading

URTH returned more: +94.5% to +18.9%. BOXX swung less: 0.2% to 13.6%. BOXX fell less at its worst: −0.1% to −14.9%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured
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Risk and return: BOXX vs URTH: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureBOXXURTHEdgeHow it is measured
Return
Total return+18.9%+94.5%URTHPrice change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized+4.6%+19.1%URTHTotal return as a yearly rate.
Price return+18.6%+84.1%URTHPrice change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility0.2%13.6%BOXXSpread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation0.2%8.9%BOXXLike volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown−0.1%−14.9%BOXXDeepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe−0.251.02URTHReturn above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino−0.351.55URTHReturn above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
CalmarNot measured1.28Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 198 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

Side by side

BOXX Alpha Architect 1-3 Month Box ETF URTH iShares MSCI World ETF
Where it sits Bond ETF Stock ETF
What it is Actively managed Tracks the MSCI World
Total return, 1 year +4.0% +13.1%
Its benchmark over the same days not measured +13.4% (ACWI)
Gap to its benchmark not measured −0.3 pts vs ACWI
Expense ratio 0.19% 0.24%
Holdings not counted 1254
Net assets $14.5bn $8.9bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-1DD2F09120

BOXX and URTH do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?

  1. What each follows. BOXX follows No index, actively managed and URTH follows MSCI World Index.
  2. One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 BOXX returned +4.0% and URTH +13.1% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 9.1 points.
  3. Cost (similar). BOXX charges 0.19% of assets a year and URTH 0.24%, a gap of 0.05 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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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.

URTH

URTH tracks the MSCI World. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.1% with distributions reinvested, against +13.4% for its benchmark, the MSCI All Country World Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.24% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 69% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 1,254 positions, with the top ten at 27.2%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, BOXX or URTH?
In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BOXX returned +4.0% and URTH +13.1%.
Which is cheaper, BOXX or URTH?
BOXX is cheaper, by 0.05 percentage points a year. That is about $5 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Other comparisons
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ETFIQ, BOXX against URTH, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/boxx-vs-urth

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