Which returned more over the last year, ESML or FESM?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, ESML returned +17.7% and FESM +23.0%.

Which is cheaper, ESML or FESM?

ESML is cheaper, by 0.11 percentage points a year. That is about $11 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

How much do ESML and FESM overlap with the S&P 500?

By their latest filed holdings, 12% of ESML and 1% of FESM by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

ESML vs FESM: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, ESML returned +17.7% to FESM's +23.0%; 19% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets: $2.7bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA Small-Cap ETF, and $6.4bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Fidelity Enhanced Small Cap Core ETF.

ESML on its own →FESM on its own →

At a glance

+17.7%

ESML total return, 1 year

+23.0%

FESM total return, 1 year

0.17%

ESML expense ratio

0.28%

FESM expense ratio

Pair scorecard

ESML costs 0.11 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 5.3 points; FESM is 2.4 times larger.

ESML vs FESM: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	ESML	FESM
Return
Measure	ESML	FESM
Total return, 1 year	+17.7%	+23.0%
Drawdown
Measure	ESML	FESM
Below its high	5.3%, high on Aug 14, 2026	5.9%, high on Aug 14, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	ESML	FESM
What it tracks	MSCI USA Small Cap Extended ESG Focus Index	No index, actively managed
Cost and size
Measure	ESML	FESM
Expense ratio	0.17%	0.28%
Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026	$2.7bn	$6.4bn
Holdings
Measure	ESML	FESM
Holdings in common	19%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	5.2%	8.0%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method

What they share

19%

By the books each fund has filed, ESML and FESM hold 19% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

19% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first ESML FESM

GUARDANT HEALTH 0.38% 1.09%

SOUTHWEST GAS HOLDINGS 0.34% 0.48%

ZURN ELKAY WATER SOLUTIONS CORP 0.32% 0.32%

SPIRE INC 0.23% 0.26%

NEW JERSEY RESOURCES CORP 0.22% 0.28%

ACI WORLDWIDE 0.21% 0.51%

COMMVAULT SYSTEMS 0.20% 0.51%

CYTOKINETICS 0.20% 0.33%

SEMTECH 0.20% 0.30%

PHILLIPS EDISON AND COMPANY 0.19% 0.64%

STERLING INFRASTRUCTURE 0.19% 0.26%

GLACIER BANCORP INC 0.18% 0.61%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in ESML

MODERNA 1.13%

ASSURANT INC 0.66%

US FOODS HOLDING 0.58%

OVINTIV 0.51%

ONE GAS 0.40%

REVVITY 0.39%

DYNATRACE INC 0.38%

EQUITABLE HOLDINGS 0.36%

Only in FESM

GRIFFON CORP 0.61%

WESBANCO INC 0.60%

SKYWEST INC 0.49%

FLUOR CORP NEW 0.49%

COMFORT SYSTEMS USA INC 0.48%

SPHERE ENTERTAINMENT CO 0.48%

HUNTINGTON BANCSHARES INC 0.46%

ENOVA INTERNATIONAL INC 0.44%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

ESML iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA Small-Cap ETF FESM Fidelity Enhanced Small Cap Core ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares Fidelity

What it is Tracks an index Actively managed

Total return, 1 year +17.7% +23.0%

Its benchmark over the same days +13.3% (PBUS) not measured

Gap to its benchmark +4.4 pts vs PBUS not measured

Expense ratio 0.17% 0.28%

Already in the S&P 500 12.3% 1.1%

Holdings 903 779

Net assets, ESML as of Oct 27, 2026 and FESM as of Sep 30, 2026 $2.7bn $6.4bn

ESML and FESM on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Alert

About each fund

ESML

ESML tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +17.7% with distributions reinvested, against +13.3% for its benchmark, the MSCI USA Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.17% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 12% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 903 positions, with the top ten at 5.2%. It sat 5.3% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

FESM

FESM is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +23.0% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.28% a year. By its holdings filed for Jun 30, 2026, 1% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 779 positions, with the top ten at 8.0%. It sat 5.9% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, ESML or FESM?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, ESML returned +17.7% and FESM +23.0%.
Which is cheaper, ESML or FESM?: ESML is cheaper, by 0.11 percentage points a year. That is about $11 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do ESML and FESM overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 12% of ESML and 1% of FESM by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

ESML vs IJT ESML vs SLYG ESML vs FNDA ESML vs SMLF FESM vs VIOO FESM vs SMLF FESM vs SLYG FESM vs FYC

Where to next

ESML on its own →FESM on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →ESML dividend history →ESML holdings →FESM dividend history →FESM holdings →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

ESML filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

ESML prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for ESML ↗

FESM filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

FESM prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Fidelity website ↗

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.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, ESML against FESM, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/esml-vs-fesm

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