Which returned more over the last year, ESGU or MSLC?

In the year to Oct 9, 2026, with distributions reinvested, ESGU returned +17.3% and MSLC +14.3%.

Which is cheaper, ESGU or MSLC?

ESGU is cheaper, by 0.24 percentage points a year. That is about $24 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

How much do ESGU and MSLC overlap with the S&P 500?

By their latest filed holdings, 97% of ESGU and 92% of MSLC by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

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ESGU vs MSLC: Differences, Returns & Fees

ESGU and MSLC hold 64% of their weight in the same names, and ESGU returned +17.3% over the year. Net assets: $18.3bn on Oct 9, 2026 for iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF, and $4.0bn on May 31, 2026 for Morgan Stanley Pathway Large Cap Equity ETF.

ESGU costs 0.24 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 3.0 points; ESGU is 4.9 times larger.

ESGU vs MSLC: Differences, Returns & Fees
	ESGU	MSLC
Expense ratio	0.15%	0.39%
Net assets, as of Feb 28, 2025	$13.7bn	$2.8bn
Total return, 1 year	+17.3%	+14.3%
What it tracks	MSCI USA Extended ESG Focus Index	No index, actively managed
Holdings in common	64%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	37.8%	34.8%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated May 31, 2026 and Oct 9, 2026.

+17.3%

ESGU total return, 1 year

+14.3%

MSLC total return, 1 year

0.15%

ESGU expense ratio

0.39%

MSLC expense ratio

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, ESGU and MSLC hold 64% 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 May 31, 2026 and Oct 9, 2026.

50%

half

64% in common

Positions both hold, largest shared weight first

Holding ESGU MSLC

NVIDIA 7.87% 6.61%

MICROSOFT 5.67% 4.98%

APPLE 7.25% 4.87%

AMAZON.COM INC 3.69% 4.46%

BROADCOM INC 2.46% 2.87%

META PLATFORMS CLASS A 2.16% 2.33%

ALPHABET CLASS C 3.50% 2.14%

ALPHABET CLASS A 1.93% 3.45%

MICRON TECHNOLOGY 1.69% 1.76%

TESLA INC 1.60% 1.32%

JPMORGAN CHASE & CO 1.28% 1.37%

VISA CLASS A 1.20% 1.23%

Only in ESGU

APPLIED MATERIAL INC 0.74%

EXXONMOBIL HOLDINGS CORP 0.71%

GE AEROSPACE 0.45%

TEXAS INSTRUMENT INC 0.38%

AMERICAN TOWER REIT 0.36%

EQUINIX REIT 0.35%

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES 0.34%

WILLIAMS 0.34%

Only in MSLC

EXXON MOBIL CORP 0.95%

BROOKFIELD CORP 0.66%

TRANSDIGM GROUP INC 0.52%

WALMART INC 0.49%

INTL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP 0.45%

GENERAL ELECTRIC 0.44%

TJX COMPANIES INC 0.41%

SCHWAB (CHARLES) CORP 0.40%

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On the same fields

ESGU

iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA ETF

MSLC

Morgan Stanley Pathway Large Cap Equity ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares MORGAN STANLEY PATHWAY

What it is Tracks an index Actively managed

Total return, 1 year +17.3% +14.3%

Expense ratio 0.15% 0.39%

Already in the S&P 500 97.4% 92.3%

Holdings 269 1007

Net assets, ESGU as of Oct 9, 2026 and MSLC as of May 31, 2026 $18.3bn $4.0bn

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

About ESGU

ESGU tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 it returned +17.3% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 9, 2026, 97% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 269 positions, with the top ten at 37.8%.

About MSLC

MSLC is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 it returned +14.3% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.39% a year. By its holdings filed for May 31, 2026, 92% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 1,007 positions, with the top ten at 34.8%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, ESGU or MSLC?: In the year to Oct 9, 2026, with distributions reinvested, ESGU returned +17.3% and MSLC +14.3%.
Which is cheaper, ESGU or MSLC?: ESGU is cheaper, by 0.24 percentage points a year. That is about $24 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do ESGU and MSLC overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 97% of ESGU and 92% of MSLC by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

ESGU vs LRGF ESGU vs GRNY ESGU vs QLTY ESGU vs TSPA MSLC vs SPYM MSLC vs VTI MSLC vs SPY IVV vs MSLC

ESGU on its own →MSLC on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →Standards and sources →

Where these figures came from

ESGU filings on SEC EDGAR ↗ESGU prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗iShares page for ESGU ↗MSLC filings on SEC EDGAR ↗MSLC prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗MORGAN STANLEY PATHWAY website ↗

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, ESGU against MSLC, data as of Oct 9, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/esgu-vs-mslc

Open data

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