Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
FESM vs SCHA: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, FESM returned +23.0% to SCHA's +17.8%; 27% 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 $22.6bn on Aug 31, 2026 for Schwab U.S. Small-Cap ETF.
Pair scorecard
SCHA costs 0.25 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 5.2 points.
| Measure | FESM | SCHA |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +23.0% | +17.8% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 5.9%, high on Aug 14, 2026 | 7.9%, high on Jun 30, 2026 |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | No index, actively managed | Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Total Stock Market Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.28% | 0.03% |
| Net assets, FESM as of Sep 30, 2026 and SCHA as of Aug 31, 2026 | $6.4bn | $22.6bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 27% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 8.0% | 10.1% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Dec 1, 2023 to Oct 23, 2026 · 151 weekly returnsFESM returned more: +80.6% to +54.9%. SCHA swung slightly less: 18.5% to 19.4%. FESM and SCHA fell about the same at their worst: −24.5% and −24.2%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | FESM | SCHA | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +80.6% | +54.9% | FESM | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +22.6% | +16.3% | FESM | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +75.5% | +48.7% | FESM | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 19.4% | 18.5% | SCHA (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 12.7% | 12.4% | SCHA (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −24.5% | −24.2% | Tie | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.92 | 0.67 | FESM | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 1.41 | 1.00 | FESM | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.92 | 0.67 | FESM | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 151 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, FESM and SCHA hold 27% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026.
half
27% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
FESM and SCHA on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
FESM and SCHA are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- What each follows. FESM follows No index, actively managed and SCHA follows Dow Jones U.S. Small-Cap Total Stock Market Index.
- Holdings in common. 27% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and Aug 31, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 FESM returned +23.0% and SCHA +17.8% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 5.2 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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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.
SCHA
SCHA tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +17.8% with distributions reinvested, against +13.7% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. By its holdings filed for Aug 31, 2026, 7% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 1,705 positions, with the top ten at 10.1%. It sat 7.9% below its high of Jun 30, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, FESM or SCHA?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FESM returned +23.0% and SCHA +17.8%.
- Which is cheaper, FESM or SCHA?
- SCHA is cheaper, by 0.25 percentage points a year. That is about $25 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.
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ETFIQ, FESM against SCHA, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/fesm-vs-scha
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). FESM against SCHA. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/fesm-vs-scha
[FESM against SCHA (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/fesm-vs-scha)
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