Which returned more over the last year, DGRO or FTCS?

In the year to Oct 9, 2026, with distributions reinvested, DGRO returned +15.8% and FTCS +4.1%.

Which is cheaper, DGRO or FTCS?

DGRO is cheaper, by 0.45 percentage points a year. That is about $45 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

How much do DGRO and FTCS overlap with the S&P 500?

By their latest filed holdings, 92% of DGRO and 100% of FTCS by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

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DGRO vs FTCS: Differences, Returns & Fees

DGRO and FTCS hold 27% of their weight in the same names, and DGRO returned +15.8% over the year. Net assets on Oct 9, 2026: $43.1bn for iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF and $7.5bn for First Trust Capital Strength ETF.

DGRO costs 0.45 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 11.7 points; DGRO is 5.8 times larger.

DGRO vs FTCS: Differences, Returns & Fees
	DGRO	FTCS
Expense ratio	0.08%	0.53%
Net assets	$43.1bn	$7.5bn
Total return, 1 year	+15.8%	+4.1%
What it tracks	Morningstar US Dividend Growth Index	Capital Strength Index
Holdings in common	27%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	27.4%	22.6%
Below its high		6.1%, high on Aug 24, 2026

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 9, 2026.

+15.8%

DGRO total return, 1 year

+4.1%

FTCS total return, 1 year

0.08%

DGRO expense ratio

0.53%

FTCS expense ratio

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, DGRO and FTCS hold 27% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated Oct 9, 2026.

50%

half

27% in common

Positions both hold, largest shared weight first

Holding DGRO FTCS

JOHNSON & JOHNSON 2.79% 2.09%

APPLE 3.11% 2.04%

PROCTER & GAMBLE 2.38% 2.04%

COCA-COLA 1.88% 2.18%

MERCK & CO INC 1.85% 2.31%

HOME DEPOT 1.91% 1.74%

PEPSICO 1.68% 1.86%

AMGEN INC 1.18% 2.29%

VISA CLASS A 1.07% 2.18%

WALMART 1.02% 1.97%

GILEAD SCIENCES 0.93% 2.28%

UNION PACIFIC 0.74% 1.87%

Only in DGRO

MICROSOFT 3.27%

EXXONMOBIL HOLDINGS CORP 3.15%

ABBVIE 2.99%

BROADCOM INC 2.79%

JPMORGAN CHASE & CO 2.75%

PHILIP MORRIS INTERNATIONAL 2.29%

UNITEDHEALTH GROUP 1.81%

CISCO SYSTEMS INC 1.63%

Only in FTCS

Airbnb, Inc. (Class A) 2.30%

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated 2.13%

Veralto Corporation 2.09%

Expand Energy Corporation 2.03%

3M Company 2.02%

Copart, Inc. 2.00%

The Charles Schwab Corporation 1.93%

Kenvue Inc. 1.89%

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On the same fields

DGRO

iShares Core Dividend Growth ETF

FTCS

First Trust Capital Strength ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares First Trust

What it is Tracks an index of Dividend Growth Tracks an index

Total return, 1 year +15.8% +4.1%

Expense ratio 0.08% 0.53%

Already in the S&P 500 91.8% 99.9%

Holdings 393 50

Net assets $43.1bn $7.5bn

DGRO and FTCS on the fields both publish, as of Oct 9, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

About DGRO

DGRO tracks an index of Dividend Growth. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 it returned +15.8% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.08% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 9, 2026, 92% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 393 positions, with the top ten at 27.4%.

About FTCS

FTCS tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 it returned +4.1% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.53% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 9, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 50 positions, with the top ten at 22.6%. It sat 6.1% below its high of Aug 24, 2026 on Oct 9, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, DGRO or FTCS?: In the year to Oct 9, 2026, with distributions reinvested, DGRO returned +15.8% and FTCS +4.1%.
Which is cheaper, DGRO or FTCS?: DGRO is cheaper, by 0.45 percentage points a year. That is about $45 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do DGRO and FTCS overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 92% of DGRO and 100% of FTCS by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

DGRO vs FDL DGRO vs VOOV DGRO vs FDVV DGRO vs MGV FTCS vs IVE FTCS vs SPYV FTCS vs VYM FTCS vs IWD

DGRO on its own →FTCS on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →Standards and sources →

Where these figures came from

DGRO filings on SEC EDGAR ↗DGRO prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗iShares page for DGRO ↗FTCS filings on SEC EDGAR ↗FTCS prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗First Trust page for FTCS ↗

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.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, DGRO against FTCS, data as of Oct 9, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dgro-vs-ftcs

Open data

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