COWG vs SCHM: Differences, Returns & Fees
COWG and SCHM hold 10% of their weight in the same names, and SCHM returned +17.6% over the year. Net assets: $2.4bn on Oct 2, 2026 for Pacer US Large Cap Cash Cows Growth Leaders ETF, and $14.6bn on May 31, 2026 for Schwab U.S. Mid-Cap ETF.
SCHM costs 0.46 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 5.4 points.
| COWG | SCHM | |
|---|---|---|
| Expense ratio | 0.49% | 0.03% |
| Net assets, COWG as of Oct 2, 2026 and SCHM as of May 31, 2026 | $2.4bn | $14.6bn |
| Total return, 1 year | +12.2% | +17.6% |
| What it tracks | Pacer US Large Cap Cash Cows Growth Leaders Index | Dow Jones U.S. Mid-Cap Total Stock Market Index |
| Holdings in common | 10% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 28.4% | 13.3% |
| Below its high | 3.5%, high on Oct 9, 2026 | 5.8%, high on Jun 30, 2026 |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated May 31, 2026 and Jul 31, 2026.
COWG and SCHM are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- What each follows. COWG follows Pacer US Large Cap Cash Cows Growth Leaders Index and SCHM follows Dow Jones U.S. Mid-Cap Total Stock Market Index.
- Holdings in common. 10% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and May 31, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 20, 2026 COWG returned +12.2% and SCHM +17.6% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 5.4 points.
Data as of Oct 20, 2026. The differences are picked by a fixed rule, in a fixed order; the PDF prints it. Page 2 has the returns, overlap, risks and sources.
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What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, COWG and SCHM hold 10% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated May 31, 2026 and Jul 31, 2026.
half
10% in common
On the same fields
COWG and SCHM on the fields both publish, as of Oct 20, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
About COWG
COWG tracks an index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.49% a year. By its holdings filed for Jul 31, 2026, 65% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 100 positions, with the top ten at 28.4%. It sat 3.5% below its high of Oct 9, 2026 on Oct 20, 2026.
Over the year to Oct 20, 2026 it returned +12.2% with distributions reinvested, against +15.1% for its benchmark, the Russell 1000 Index.
About SCHM
SCHM tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 20, 2026 it returned +17.6% with distributions reinvested, against +15.9% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. By its holdings filed for May 31, 2026, 30% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 496 positions, with the top ten at 13.3%. It sat 5.8% below its high of Jun 30, 2026 on Oct 20, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, COWG or SCHM?
- In the year to Oct 20, 2026, with distributions reinvested, COWG returned +12.2% and SCHM +17.6%.
- Which is cheaper, COWG or SCHM?
- SCHM is cheaper, by 0.46 percentage points a year. That is about $46 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure; a link is not an endorsement. 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, COWG against SCHM, data as of Oct 20, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/cowg-vs-schm
ETFIQ. (Oct 20, 2026). COWG against SCHM. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/cowg-vs-schm
[COWG against SCHM (ETFIQ, Oct 20, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/cowg-vs-schm)
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