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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, ESML returned +17.7% and FYC +21.7%.

Which is cheaper, ESML or FYC?

ESML is cheaper, by 0.53 percentage points a year. That is about $53 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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

By their latest filed holdings, 12% of ESML and 0% of FYC by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

ESML vs FYC: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, ESML returned +17.7% to FYC's +21.7%; 8% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $2.7bn for iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA Small-Cap ETF and $1.3bn for First Trust Small Cap Growth AlphaDEX Fund.

ESML on its own →FYC on its own →

At a glance

+17.7%

ESML total return, 1 year

+21.7%

FYC total return, 1 year

0.17%

ESML expense ratio

0.70%

FYC expense ratio

Pair scorecard

ESML costs 0.53 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 4.0 points; ESML is 2.1 times larger.

ESML vs FYC: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	ESML	FYC
Return
Measure	ESML	FYC
Total return, 1 year	+17.7%	+21.7%
Drawdown
Measure	ESML	FYC
Below its high	5.3%, high on Aug 14, 2026	8.6%, high on Jun 30, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	ESML	FYC
What it tracks	MSCI USA Small Cap Extended ESG Focus Index	Nasdaq AlphaDEX Small Cap Growth Index
Cost and size
Measure	ESML	FYC
Expense ratio	0.17%	0.70%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$2.7bn	$1.3bn
Holdings
Measure	ESML	FYC
Holdings in common	8%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	5.2%	7.7%

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

Risk and return

Apr 20, 2018 to Oct 23, 2026 · 444 weekly returns

ESML FYC

Return

Total return edge FYC +126.6% +160.6%

Annualized edge FYC +10.1% +11.9%

Price return edge FYC +104.3% +153.5%

Risk

Volatility edge ESML 22.8% 25.4%

Max drawdown edge ESML −40.6% −46.4%

Downside capture 104.1% 112.5%

Beta 1.11 1.19

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge FYC 0.41 0.46

Sortino edge FYC 0.59 0.67

Treynor 0.085 0.100

Calmar edge FYC (slight) 0.25 0.26

Against the benchmark

Alpha −4.4% a year −2.4% a year

Alpha t-stat −1.14 −0.92

Information ratio −0.27 −0.02

Tracking error 11.3% 10.8%

Each against its own benchmark: ESML against PBUS, Apr 20, 2018 to Oct 23, 2026; FYC against IWV, Apr 29, 2011 to Oct 23, 2026.

Reading

FYC returned more: +160.6% to +126.6%. ESML swung less: 22.8% to 25.4%. ESML fell less at its worst: −40.6% to −46.4%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: ESML vs FYC: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	ESML	FYC	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+126.6%	+160.6%	FYC	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+10.1%	+11.9%	FYC	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+104.3%	+153.5%	FYC	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	22.8%	25.4%	ESML	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	16.0%	17.5%	ESML (slight)	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−40.6%	−46.4%	ESML	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture	97.1%	122.2%		Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture	104.1%	112.5%		Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta	1.11	1.19	Not an edge	How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared	0.76	0.78	Not an edge	Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.41	0.46	FYC	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.59	0.67	FYC	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor	0.085	0.100		Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar	0.25	0.26	FYC (slight)	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
Benchmark	PBUS	IWV		The ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha	−4.4% a year	−2.4% a year	Not significant	Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat	−1.14	−0.92	Not an edge	How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range	−11.9% to +3.2%	−7.6% to +2.7%	Includes zero	The 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio	−0.27	−0.02		Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error	11.3%	10.8%	Not an edge	How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 444 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, ESML and FYC hold 8% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

8% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first ESML FYC

CAREDX 0.18% 0.69%

YETI HOLDINGS 0.16% 0.38%

PLANET FITNESS INC CLASS A 0.17% 0.15%

WORKIVA CLASS A 0.15% 0.47%

VERACYTE 0.14% 0.41%

AZZ INC 0.13% 0.26%

COPT DEFENSE PROPERTIES 0.17% 0.13%

MUELLER WATER PRODUCTS SERIES A 0.16% 0.13%

VALVOLINE 0.13% 0.13%

CINEMARK HOLDINGS INC 0.12% 0.54%

CLEARWAY ENERGY INC CLASS C 0.12% 0.14%

EXPRO LTD 0.12% 0.41%

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%

GUARDANT HEALTH 0.38%

Only in FYC

Appian Corporation 0.90%

Slide Insurance Holdings, Inc. 0.81%

Amplitude, Inc. (Class A) 0.79%

Fortrea Holdings Inc. 0.78%

Netskope, Inc. (Class A) 0.76%

FIGS, Inc. (Class A) 0.75%

Pebblebrook Hotel Trust 0.72%

Septerna, Inc. 0.72%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

ESML iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA Small-Cap ETF FYC First Trust Small Cap Growth AlphaDEX Fund

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares First Trust

What it is Tracks an index Tracks an index

Total return, 1 year +17.7% +21.7%

Its benchmark over the same days +13.3% (PBUS) +13.3% (IWV)

Gap to its benchmark +4.4 pts vs PBUS +8.4 pts vs IWV

Expense ratio 0.17% 0.70%

Already in the S&P 500 12.3% 0.0%

Holdings 903 264

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $2.7bn $1.3bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-684C72F7E9

ESML and FYC are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?

What each follows. ESML follows MSCI USA Small Cap Extended ESG Focus Index and FYC follows Nasdaq AlphaDEX Small Cap Growth Index.
Holdings in common. 8% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 ESML returned +17.7% and FYC +21.7% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 4.0 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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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.

FYC

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +21.7% with distributions reinvested, against +13.3% for its benchmark, the Russell 3000 Index.

FYC tracks an index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.70% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 264 positions, with the top ten at 7.7%. It sat 8.6% below its high of Jun 30, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, ESML or FYC?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, ESML returned +17.7% and FYC +21.7%.
Which is cheaper, ESML or FYC?: ESML is cheaper, by 0.53 percentage points a year. That is about $53 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do ESML and FYC overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 12% of ESML and 0% of FYC by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

ESML vs IWM ESML vs VB ESML vs IJR ESML vs FNX FYC vs IJT FYC vs SPSM FYC vs VTWO FYC vs SCHA

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

ESML filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

ESML prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for ESML ↗

FYC filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

FYC prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

First Trust page for FYC ↗

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 FYC, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/esml-vs-fyc

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