Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
ESML vs RSSL: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, ESML returned +17.7% to RSSL's +14.1%; 33% of their weight is in the same names.
askIQ about this page
askIQ about ESML and RSSL
Net assets: $2.7bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares ESG Aware MSCI USA Small-Cap ETF, and $1.4bn on Oct 12, 2026 for Global X Russell 2000 ETF.
Pair scorecard
RSSL costs 0.09 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 3.6 points; ESML is 1.9 times larger.
| Measure | ESML | RSSL |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +17.7% | +14.1% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 5.3%, high on Aug 14, 2026 | 7.6%, high on Aug 14, 2026 |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | MSCI USA Small Cap Extended ESG Focus Index | Russell 2000 RIC Capped Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.17% | 0.08% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 12, 2026 | $2.7bn | $1.4bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 33% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 5.2% | 3.2% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Jun 14, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026 · 123 weekly returnsEach against its own benchmark: ESML against PBUS, Apr 20, 2018 to Oct 23, 2026; RSSL against VOO, Jun 14, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026.
ESML and RSSL returned about the same: +42.7% and +42.2%. ESML swung slightly less: 18.1% to 19.7%. ESML fell slightly less at its worst: −23.5% to −24.7%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | ESML | RSSL | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +42.7% | +42.2% | Tie | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +16.2% | +16.0% | Tie | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +39.0% | +37.5% | ESML (slight) | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 18.1% | 19.7% | ESML (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 12.2% | 13.2% | ESML (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −23.5% | −24.7% | ESML (slight) | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 97.1% | 102.3% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 104.1% | 102.8% | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. | |
| Beta | 1.11 | 1.06 | Not an edge | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.76 | 0.63 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.69 | 0.64 | ESML (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 1.02 | 0.96 | ESML (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | 0.085 | 0.119 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | 0.69 | 0.65 | ESML (slight) | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | PBUS | VOO | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | −4.4% a year | −0.5% a year | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | −1.14 | −0.07 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | −11.9% to +3.2% | −16.2% to +15.1% | 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% | 12.1% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 123 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, ESML and RSSL hold 33% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.
half
33% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
ESML and RSSL on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
ESML and RSSL 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 RSSL follows Russell 2000 RIC Capped Index.
- Holdings in common. 33% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026 and Jul 31, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 ESML returned +17.7% and RSSL +14.1% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 3.6 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
The two-page PDF for this pair is coming. Save the comparison to follow its changes. Free. It needs an email sign-in, once.
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.
RSSL
RSSL tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +14.1% with distributions reinvested, against +13.7% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.08% a year. By its holdings filed for Jul 31, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 1,960 positions, with the top ten at 3.2%. It sat 7.6% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, ESML or RSSL?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, ESML returned +17.7% and RSSL +14.1%.
- Which is cheaper, ESML or RSSL?
- RSSL is cheaper, by 0.09 percentage points a year. That is about $9 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
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 RSSL, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/esml-vs-rssl
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). ESML against RSSL. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/esml-vs-rssl
[ESML against RSSL (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/esml-vs-rssl)
Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.