Which returned more over the last year, FDL or IWS?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FDL returned +26.0% and IWS +22.7%.

Which is cheaper, FDL or IWS?

IWS is cheaper, by 0.20 percentage points a year. That is about $20 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

How much do FDL and IWS overlap with the S&P 500?

By their latest filed holdings, 93% of FDL and 66% of IWS by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

FDL vs IWS: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, FDL returned +26.0% to IWS's +22.7%; 11% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $8.2bn for First Trust Morningstar ETF and $15.2bn for iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF.

FDL on its own →IWS on its own →

At a glance

+26.0%

FDL total return, 1 year

+22.7%

IWS total return, 1 year

0.43%

FDL expense ratio

0.23%

IWS expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IWS costs 0.20 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 3.3 points; IWS is 1.9 times larger.

FDL vs IWS: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	FDL	IWS
Return
Measure	FDL	IWS
Total return, 1 year	+26.0%	+22.7%
Benchmark
Measure	FDL	IWS
What it tracks	Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index	Russell Midcap Value Index
Cost and size
Measure	FDL	IWS
Expense ratio	0.43%	0.23%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$8.2bn	$15.2bn
Holdings
Measure	FDL	IWS
Holdings in common	11%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	50.6%	6.8%

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

Risk and return

Mar 24, 2006 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,074 weekly returns

FDL IWS

Return

Total return edge FDL (slight) +488.5% +472.8%

Annualized edge Tie +9.0% +8.8%

Price return edge IWS +157.9% +278.9%

Risk

Volatility edge FDL (slight) 18.5% 20.3%

Max drawdown edge IWS (slight) −65.7% −62.0%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge FDL (slight) 0.46 0.43

Sortino edge FDL (slight) 0.66 0.61

Calmar edge IWS (slight) 0.14 0.14

Reading

FDL returned slightly more: +488.5% to +472.8%. FDL swung slightly less: 18.5% to 20.3%. IWS fell slightly less at its worst: −62.0% to −65.7%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: FDL vs IWS: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	FDL	IWS	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+488.5%	+472.8%	FDL (slight)	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+9.0%	+8.8%	Tie	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+157.9%	+278.9%	IWS	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	18.5%	20.3%	FDL (slight)	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	13.0%	14.5%	FDL	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−65.7%	−62.0%	IWS (slight)	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.46	0.43	FDL (slight)	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.66	0.61	FDL (slight)	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.14	0.14	IWS (slight)	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,074 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

11%

By the books each fund has filed, FDL and IWS hold 11% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

11% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first FDL IWS

Kinder Morgan, Inc. 1.61% 0.64%

ONEOK, Inc. 1.72% 0.59%

Exelon Corporation 1.12% 0.44%

Consolidated Edison, Inc. 0.90% 0.41%

Prudential Financial, Inc. 1.16% 0.39%

Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated 0.84% 0.35%

WEC Energy Group, Inc. 0.83% 0.35%

Paychex, Inc. 0.87% 0.34%

Huntington Bancshares Incorporated 0.71% 0.31%

HP Inc. 0.72% 0.30%

DTE Energy Company 0.60% 0.27%

Eversource Energy 0.72% 0.25%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in FDL

Chevron Corporation 9.28%

Verizon Communications Inc. 6.58%

Pfizer Inc. 6.55%

Philip Morris International Inc. 6.48%

PepsiCo, Inc. 5.00%

Altria Group, Inc. 4.82%

United Parcel Service, Inc. (Class B) 3.24%

Accenture plc 3.20%

Only in IWS

PHILLIPS 66 0.98%

HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE 0.78%

MODERNA 0.73%

ALLSTATE CORP 0.64%

DIGITAL REALTY TRUST REIT 0.64%

MARATHON PETROLEUM 0.61%

NUCOR 0.58%

BAKER HUGHES CLASS A 0.57%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

FDL First Trust Morningstar ETF IWS iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer First Trust iShares

What it is Tracks an index Tracks an index

Total return, 1 year +26.0% +22.7%

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

Gap to its benchmark not measured +9.4 pts vs IWV

Expense ratio 0.43% 0.23%

Already in the S&P 500 93.3% 66.1%

Holdings 100 719

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $8.2bn $15.2bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-C461273C7D

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

What each follows. FDL follows Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index and IWS follows Russell Midcap Value Index.
Holdings in common. 11% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 FDL returned +26.0% and IWS +22.7% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 3.3 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund

FDL

FDL tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +26.0% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.43% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 93% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 100 positions, with the top ten at 50.6%.

IWS

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +22.7% with distributions reinvested, against +13.3% for its benchmark, the Russell 3000 Index.

IWS tracks an index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.23% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 66% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 719 positions, with the top ten at 6.8%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, FDL or IWS?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FDL returned +26.0% and IWS +22.7%.
Which is cheaper, FDL or IWS?: IWS is cheaper, by 0.20 percentage points a year. That is about $20 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do FDL and IWS overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 93% of FDL and 66% of IWS by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

FDL vs NOBL FDL vs SDY FDL vs VOE FDL vs IJJ IWS vs RSPA IWS vs PEY IWS vs VFMF IWS vs RSP

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

FDL filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

FDL prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

First Trust page for FDL ↗

IWS filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IWS prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IWS ↗

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, FDL against IWS, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/fdl-vs-iws

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