Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
CALF vs DES: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, CALF returned +33.4% to DES's +19.2%; 8% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets: $3.8bn on Oct 27, 2026 for Pacer US Small Cap Cash Cows ETF, and $2.2bn on Jun 30, 2026 for WisdomTree U.S. SmallCap Dividend Fund.
Pair scorecard
DES costs 0.21 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 14.2 points.
| Measure | CALF | DES |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +33.4% | +19.2% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 6.2%, high on Aug 14, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Pacer US Small Cap Cash Cows Index | WisdomTree U.S. SmallCap Dividend Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.59% | 0.38% |
| Net assets, CALF as of Oct 27, 2026 and DES as of Jun 30, 2026 | $3.8bn | $2.2bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 8% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 20.3% | 9.6% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Jul 31, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Jun 30, 2017 to Oct 23, 2026 · 486 weekly returnsCALF returned more: +157.0% to +88.5%. DES swung less: 21.9% to 25.4%. DES fell slightly less at its worst: −43.7% to −46.8%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | CALF | DES | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +157.0% | +88.5% | CALF | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +10.6% | +7.0% | CALF | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +127.4% | +44.8% | CALF | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 25.4% | 21.9% | DES | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 17.2% | 15.5% | DES (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −46.8% | −43.7% | DES (slight) | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.42 | 0.30 | CALF | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.62 | 0.42 | CALF | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.23 | 0.16 | CALF | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 486 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, CALF and DES hold 8% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Jul 31, 2026.
half
8% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
CALF and DES on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
CALF and DES are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- What each follows. CALF follows Pacer US Small Cap Cash Cows Index and DES follows WisdomTree U.S. SmallCap Dividend Index.
- Holdings in common. 8% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Jun 30, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 CALF returned +33.4% and DES +19.2% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 14.2 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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CALF
CALF tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +33.4% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.59% a year. By its holdings filed for Jul 31, 2026, 24% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 198 positions, with the top ten at 20.3%.
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +19.2% with distributions reinvested, against +13.3% for its benchmark, the Russell 3000 Index.
DES tracks an index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.38% 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 522 positions, with the top ten at 9.6%. It sat 6.2% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, CALF or DES?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, CALF returned +33.4% and DES +19.2%.
- Which is cheaper, CALF or DES?
- DES is cheaper, by 0.21 percentage points a year. That is about $21 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.
How this is computed
Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.
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ETFIQ, CALF against DES, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/calf-vs-des
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). CALF against DES. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/calf-vs-des
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