Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
DES vs DON: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, DES returned +19.2% to DON's +12.8%; 0% of their weight is in the same names.
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askIQ about DES and DONNet assets on Jun 30, 2026: $2.2bn for WisdomTree U.S. SmallCap Dividend Fund and $4.0bn for WisdomTree U.S. MidCap Dividend Fund.
Pair scorecard
Both cost 0.38% a year; their one-year returns differ by 6.4 points; DON is 1.8 times larger.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| Measure | DES | DON |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +19.2% | +12.8% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 6.2%, high on Aug 14, 2026 | 3.6%, high on Aug 14, 2026 |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | WisdomTree U.S. SmallCap Dividend Index | WisdomTree U.S. MidCap Dividend Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.38% | 0.38% |
| Net assets, as of Jun 30, 2026 | $2.2bn | $4.0bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 9.6% | 10.7% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jun 30, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Jun 23, 2006 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,061 weekly returns · each against IWVDON returned more: +497.4% to +348.1%. DON swung slightly less: 21.0% to 22.6%. DON fell slightly less at its worst: −61.6% to −64.6%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | DES | DON | IWV | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | |||||
| Total return | +348.1% | +497.4% | +733.6% | DON | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +7.6% | +9.2% | +11.0% | DON | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +133.3% | +239.8% | +497.5% | DON | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | |||||
| Volatility | 22.6% | 21.0% | 18.1% | DON (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 15.8% | 14.9% | 12.8% | DON (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −64.6% | −61.6% | −55.0% | DON (slight) | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 100.6% | 95.7% | 100.0% | DES (slight) | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. |
| Downside capture | 104.3% | 100.2% | 100.0% | DON (slight) | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. |
| Beta | 1.08 | 1.06 | 1.00 | Tie | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.74 | 0.83 | 1.00 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | |||||
| Sharpe | 0.36 | 0.44 | 0.57 | DON | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.52 | 0.62 | 0.81 | DON | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | 0.076 | 0.088 | 0.104 | DON | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. |
| Calmar | 0.12 | 0.15 | 0.20 | DON | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | |||||
| Benchmark | IWV | IWV | IWV | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | −2.9% a year | −1.6% a year | 0.0% | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | −1.14 | −0.85 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. | |
| Alpha range | −7.9% to +2.1% | −5.4% to +2.1% | Both include zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. | |
| Information ratio | −0.18 | −0.12 | DON | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 11.6% | 8.7% | 0.0% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,061 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, DES and DON hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jun 30, 2026.
half
0% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
DES and DON on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
DES and DON are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- What each follows. DES follows WisdomTree U.S. SmallCap Dividend Index and DON follows WisdomTree U.S. MidCap Dividend Index.
- Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Jun 30, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 DES returned +19.2% and DON +12.8% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 6.4 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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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.
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +12.8% with distributions reinvested, against +13.3% for its benchmark, the Russell 3000 Index.
DON tracks an index. By its holdings filed for Jun 30, 2026, 28% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 294 positions, with the top ten at 10.7%. It sat 3.6% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
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, DES against DON, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/des-vs-don
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