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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FESM returned +23.0% and IWC +16.5%.

Which is cheaper, FESM or IWC?

FESM is cheaper, by 0.32 percentage points a year. That is about $32 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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

By their latest filed holdings, 1% of FESM and 92% of IWC by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

FESM vs IWC: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, FESM returned +23.0% to IWC's +16.5%; 8% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets: $6.4bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Fidelity Enhanced Small Cap Core ETF, and $1.2bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares Micro-Cap ETF.

FESM on its own →IWC on its own →

At a glance

+23.0%

FESM total return, 1 year

+16.5%

IWC total return, 1 year

0.28%

FESM expense ratio

0.60%

IWC expense ratio

Pair scorecard

FESM costs 0.32 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 6.5 points; FESM is 4.6 times larger.

FESM vs IWC: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	FESM	IWC
Return
Measure	FESM	IWC
Total return, 1 year	+23.0%	+16.5%
Drawdown
Measure	FESM	IWC
Below its high	5.9%, high on Aug 14, 2026	9.5%, high on Aug 14, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	FESM	IWC
What it tracks	No index, actively managed	Russell Microcap Index
Cost and size
Measure	FESM	IWC
Expense ratio	0.28%	0.60%
Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026	$6.4bn	$1.4bn
Holdings
Measure	FESM	IWC
Holdings in common	8%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	8.0%	5.9%

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

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, FESM and IWC hold 8% 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

8% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first FESM IWC

BANDWIDTH INC 0.37% 0.36%

BUTTERFLY NETWORK INC 0.23% 0.40%

USA TODAY CO INC 0.24% 0.22%

REALREAL (THE) 0.20% 0.30%

ARTERIS INC 0.19% 0.19%

AVEANNA HEALTHCARE HOLDINGS INC 0.19% 0.27%

CENTRAL PACIFIC FINANCIAL CORP 0.16% 0.19%

INTERFACE INC 0.15% 0.52%

YEXT INC 0.15% 0.15%

NB BANCORP INC 0.14% 0.22%

PREFORMED LINE PRODUCTS CO 0.14% 0.22%

GREEN PLAINS INC 0.13% 0.23%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in FESM

GUARDANT HEALTH INC 1.09%

MAXLINEAR INC 0.96%

ACM RESEARCH INC 0.90%

KULICKE and SOFFA INDUSTRIES INC 0.78%

ENERSYS 0.77%

TENABLE HOLDINGS INC 0.76%

PLEXUS CORP 0.72%

KODIAK GAS SERVICES INC 0.71%

Only in IWC

PENGUIN SOLUTIONS INC 0.73%

SELLAS LIFE SCIENCES GROUP INC 0.60%

VIRIDIAN THERAPEUTICS ORS 0.59%

STRIVE INC CLASS A 0.50%

HYPERLIQUID STRATEGIES INC 0.46%

PORCH GROUP 0.44%

DIME COMMERCIAL BANCSHARES 0.43%

QCR HOLDINGS INC 0.41%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

FESM Fidelity Enhanced Small Cap Core ETF IWC iShares Micro-Cap ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer Fidelity iShares

What it is Actively managed Tracks the Russell Microcap

Total return, 1 year +23.0% +16.5%

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

Gap to its benchmark not measured +3.2 pts vs IWV

Expense ratio 0.28% 0.60%

Already in the S&P 500 1.1% 91.7%

Holdings 779 1365

Net assets, FESM as of Sep 30, 2026 and IWC as of Oct 27, 2026 $6.4bn $1.2bn

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

Alert

About each fund

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.

IWC

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +16.5% with distributions reinvested, against +13.3% for its benchmark, the Russell 3000 Index.

IWC tracks the Russell Microcap. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.60% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 92% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 1,365 positions, with the top ten at 5.9%. It sat 9.5% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, FESM or IWC?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FESM returned +23.0% and IWC +16.5%.
Which is cheaper, FESM or IWC?: FESM is cheaper, by 0.32 percentage points a year. That is about $32 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do FESM and IWC overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 1% of FESM and 92% of IWC by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

FESM vs NUSC FESM vs FYC FESM vs FNX FESM vs FYX FNDA vs IWC IWC vs SDVY IWC vs SCHA IWC vs IWM

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

FESM filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

FESM prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Fidelity website ↗

IWC filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IWC prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IWC ↗

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

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