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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, ESML returned +17.7% and IJR +17.5%.

Which is cheaper, ESML or IJR?

IJR 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 IJR overlap with the S&P 500?

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

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

ESML vs IJR: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, ESML returned +17.7% to IJR's +17.5%; 27% 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 $104.6bn for iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF.

ESML on its own →IJR on its own →

At a glance

+17.7%

ESML total return, 1 year

+17.5%

IJR total return, 1 year

0.17%

ESML expense ratio

0.06%

IJR expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IJR costs 0.11 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.2 points; IJR is far larger, $104.6bn against $2.7bn.

ESML vs IJR: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	ESML	IJR
Return
Measure	ESML	IJR
Total return, 1 year	+17.7%	+17.5%
Drawdown
Measure	ESML	IJR
Below its high	5.3%, high on Aug 14, 2026	6.8%, high on Aug 14, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	ESML	IJR
What it tracks	MSCI USA Small Cap Extended ESG Focus Index	S&P SmallCap 600
Cost and size
Measure	ESML	IJR
Expense ratio	0.17%	0.06%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$2.7bn	$104.6bn
Holdings
Measure	ESML	IJR
Holdings in common	27%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	5.2%	5.3%

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

Risk and return

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

ESML IJR

Return

Total return edge ESML +126.6% +99.0%

Annualized edge ESML +10.1% +8.4%

Price return edge ESML +104.3% +74.8%

Risk

Volatility edge ESML (slight) 22.8% 23.8%

Max drawdown edge ESML (slight) −40.6% −43.6%

Downside capture 104.1% 98.9%

Beta 1.11 0.99

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge ESML 0.41 0.34

Sortino edge ESML 0.59 0.49

Treynor 0.085 0.097

Calmar edge ESML 0.25 0.19

Against the benchmark

Alpha −4.4% a year +0.6% a year

Alpha t-stat −1.14 0.91

Information ratio −0.27 0.20

Tracking error 11.3% 2.4%

Each against its own benchmark: ESML against PBUS, Apr 20, 2018 to Oct 23, 2026; IJR against SPSM, Jul 19, 2013 to Oct 23, 2026.

Reading

ESML returned more: +126.6% to +99.0%. ESML swung slightly less: 22.8% to 23.8%. ESML fell slightly less at its worst: −40.6% to −43.6%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: ESML vs IJR: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	ESML	IJR	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+126.6%	+99.0%	ESML	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+10.1%	+8.4%	ESML	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+104.3%	+74.8%	ESML	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	22.8%	23.8%	ESML (slight)	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	16.0%	16.6%	ESML (slight)	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−40.6%	−43.6%	ESML (slight)	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture	97.1%	98.7%		Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture	104.1%	98.9%		Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta	1.11	0.99	Not an edge	How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared	0.76	0.99	Not an edge	Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.41	0.34	ESML	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.59	0.49	ESML	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor	0.085	0.097		Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar	0.25	0.19	ESML	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
Benchmark	PBUS	SPSM		The ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha	−4.4% a year	+0.6% a year	Not significant	Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat	−1.14	0.91	Not an edge	How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range	−11.9% to +3.2%	−0.7% to +1.9%	Includes zero	The 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio	−0.27	0.20		Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error	11.3%	2.4%	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

27%

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

50%

0 half 100%

half

27% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first ESML IJR

ZURN ELKAY WATER SOLUTIONS CORP 0.32% 0.41%

FIRST BANCORP 0.32% 0.23%

GLAUKOS 0.23% 0.61%

ACI WORLDWIDE 0.21% 0.31%

PAYCOM SOFTWARE 0.21% 0.57%

ADT INC 0.20% 0.21%

RYMAN HOSPITALITY PROPERTIES REIT 0.20% 0.51%

MERIT MEDICAL SYSTEMS INC 0.19% 0.32%

PHILLIPS EDISON AND COMPANY 0.19% 0.28%

FULTON FINANCIAL 0.18% 0.25%

CHESAPEAKE UTILITIES 0.17% 0.18%

FRONTDOOR INC 0.17% 0.33%

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 IJR

EASTMAN CHEMICAL 0.43%

MOHAWK INDUSTRIES 0.36%

MAGNOLIA OIL GAS CORP CLASS A 0.36%

LIGAND PHARMACEUTICALS 0.35%

CASELLA WASTE SYSTEMS CLASS A 0.33%

LINCOLN NATIONAL CORP 0.33%

MOBILITY GLOBAL INC 0.30%

MSG KNICKERBOCKERS CLASS A 0.30%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

ESML iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA Small-Cap ETF IJR iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Tracks an index Tracks the S&P SmallCap 600

Total return, 1 year +17.7% +17.5%

Its benchmark over the same days +13.3% (PBUS) +17.6% (SPSM)

Gap to its benchmark +4.4 pts vs PBUS −0.1 pts vs SPSM

Expense ratio 0.17% 0.06%

Already in the S&P 500 12.3% 0.0%

Holdings 903 642

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $2.7bn $104.6bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-E72D9714E9

ESML and IJR 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 IJR follows S&P SmallCap 600.
Holdings in common. 27% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
Cost. ESML charges 0.17% of assets a year and IJR 0.06%, a gap of 0.11 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.

IJR

IJR tracks the S&P SmallCap 600. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +17.5% with distributions reinvested, against +17.6% for its benchmark, the S&P SmallCap 600. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.06% 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 642 positions, with the top ten at 5.3%. It sat 6.8% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, ESML or IJR?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, ESML returned +17.7% and IJR +17.5%.
Which is cheaper, ESML or IJR?: IJR 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 IJR overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 12% of ESML and 0% of IJR by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

ESML vs VB ESML vs IWM ESML vs SCHA ESML vs VTWO IJR vs SMLF IJR vs SLYG FYC vs IJR IJR vs NUSC

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

ESML and IJR filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

ESML prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for ESML ↗

IJR prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IJR ↗

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

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