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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FNX returned +12.4% and IWC +16.5%.

Which is cheaper, FNX or IWC?

IWC is cheaper, by 0.02 percentage points a year. That is about $2 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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

By their latest filed holdings, 8% of FNX and 92% of IWC by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

FNX vs IWC: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, FNX returned +12.4% to IWC's +16.5%; 0% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $1.4bn for First Trust Mid Cap Core AlphaDEX Fund and $1.2bn for iShares Micro-Cap ETF.

FNX on its own →IWC on its own →

At a glance

+12.4%

FNX total return, 1 year

+16.5%

IWC total return, 1 year

0.62%

FNX expense ratio

0.60%

IWC expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IWC costs 0.02 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 4.1 points; FNX is 1.2 times larger.

FNX vs IWC: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	FNX	IWC
Return
Measure	FNX	IWC
Total return, 1 year	+12.4%	+16.5%
Drawdown
Measure	FNX	IWC
Below its high	4.9%, high on Aug 14, 2026	9.5%, high on Aug 14, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	FNX	IWC
What it tracks	Nasdaq AlphaDEX Mid Cap Core Index	Russell Microcap Index
Cost and size
Measure	FNX	IWC
Expense ratio	0.62%	0.60%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$1.4bn	$1.2bn
Holdings
Measure	FNX	IWC
Holdings in common	0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	4.4%	5.9%

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

Risk and return

May 18, 2007 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,014 weekly returns · each against IWV

FNX IWC

Return

Total return edge FNX +455.7% +271.4%

Annualized edge FNX +9.2% +7.0%

Price return edge FNX +360.2% +196.3%

Risk

Volatility edge FNX (slight) 22.8% 24.4%

Max drawdown edge FNX −57.0% −63.8%

Downside capture 107.9% 111.1%

Beta 1.15 1.16

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge FNX 0.43 0.34

Sortino edge FNX 0.61 0.48

Treynor 0.086 0.071

Calmar edge FNX 0.16 0.11

Against the benchmark

Alpha −1.5% a year −3.3% a year

Alpha t-stat −0.77 −1.23

Information ratio −0.01 −0.14

Tracking error 9.1% 12.3%

Reading

FNX returned more: +455.7% to +271.4%. FNX swung slightly less: 22.8% to 24.4%. FNX fell less at its worst: −57.0% to −63.8%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: FNX vs IWC: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	FNX	IWC	IWV	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+455.7%	+271.4%		FNX	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+9.2%	+7.0%		FNX	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+360.2%	+196.3%		FNX	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	22.8%	24.4%		FNX (slight)	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	16.2%	17.2%		FNX (slight)	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−57.0%	−63.8%		FNX	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture	115.8%	118.2%	100.0%	IWC (slight)	Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture	107.9%	111.1%	100.0%	FNX (slight)	Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta	1.15	1.16	1.00	Tie	How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared	0.85	0.76	1.00	Not an edge	Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.43	0.34		FNX	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.61	0.48		FNX	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor	0.086	0.071	0.099	FNX	Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar	0.16	0.11		FNX	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
Benchmark	IWV	IWV	IWV		The ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha	−1.5% a year	−3.3% a year	0.0%	Not significant	Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat	−0.77	−1.23		Not an edge	How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range	−5.4% to +2.4%	−8.7% to +2.0%		Both include zero	The 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio	−0.01	−0.14		FNX	Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error	9.1%	12.3%	0.0%	Not an edge	How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,014 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, FNX and IWC hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first FNX IWC

Only in one fund ↓

Only in FNX

Range Resources Corporation 0.54%

Antero Resources Corporation 0.45%

APA Corporation 0.44%

CNX Resources Corporation 0.44%

EPAM Systems, Inc. 0.44%

Amentum Holdings, Inc. 0.43%

Genpact Limited 0.43%

Qualys, Inc. 0.43%

Only in IWC

CAREDX 0.88%

PENGUIN SOLUTIONS INC 0.73%

NURIX THERAPEUTICS 0.63%

SELLAS LIFE SCIENCES GROUP INC 0.60%

VIRIDIAN THERAPEUTICS ORS 0.59%

OUSTER 0.53%

INTERFACE 0.52%

STRIVE INC CLASS A 0.50%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

FNX First Trust Mid Cap Core AlphaDEX Fund IWC iShares Micro-Cap ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer First Trust iShares

What it is Tracks an index Tracks the Russell Microcap

Total return, 1 year +12.4% +16.5%

Its benchmark over the same days +13.3% (IWV) +13.3% (IWV)

Gap to its benchmark −0.9 pts vs IWV +3.2 pts vs IWV

Expense ratio 0.62% 0.60%

Already in the S&P 500 8.2% 91.7%

Holdings 451 1365

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $1.4bn $1.2bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-619D5E533A

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

What each follows. FNX follows Nasdaq AlphaDEX Mid Cap Core Index and IWC follows Russell Microcap Index.
Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 FNX returned +12.4% and IWC +16.5% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 4.1 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund

FNX

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +12.4% with distributions reinvested, against +13.3% for its benchmark, the Russell 3000 Index.

FNX tracks an index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.62% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 8% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 451 positions, with the top ten at 4.4%. It sat 4.9% 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, FNX or IWC?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FNX returned +12.4% and IWC +16.5%.
Which is cheaper, FNX or IWC?: IWC is cheaper, by 0.02 percentage points a year. That is about $2 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do FNX and IWC overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 8% of FNX and 92% of IWC by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

FNX vs NUSC FNX vs FYC FNX vs FYX FNX vs RSSL IWC vs RSSL IWC vs NUSC GSSC vs IWC IWC vs VIOG

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

FNX filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

FNX prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

First Trust page for FNX ↗

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

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