Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
FNX vs IWM: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, FNX returned +12.4% to IWM's +14.1%; 23% 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 $75.5bn for iShares Russell 2000 ETF.
Pair scorecard
IWM costs 0.43 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.7 points; IWM is far larger, $75.5bn against $1.4bn.
| Measure | FNX | IWM |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +12.4% | +14.1% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 4.9%, high on Aug 14, 2026 | 7.6%, high on Aug 14, 2026 |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Nasdaq AlphaDEX Mid Cap Core Index | Russell 2000 Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.62% | 0.19% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $1.4bn | $75.5bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 23% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 4.4% | 3.3% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
May 18, 2007 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,014 weekly returnsEach against its own benchmark: FNX against IWV, May 18, 2007 to Oct 23, 2026; IWM against VTWO, Oct 1, 2010 to Oct 23, 2026.
FNX returned more: +455.7% to +338.2%. FNX swung slightly less: 22.8% to 23.4%. FNX and IWM fell about the same at their worst: −57.0% and −57.7%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | FNX | IWM | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +455.7% | +338.2% | FNX | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +9.2% | +7.9% | FNX | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +360.2% | +237.4% | FNX | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 22.8% | 23.4% | FNX (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 16.2% | 16.4% | Tie | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −57.0% | −57.7% | Tie | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 115.8% | 101.0% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 107.9% | 100.5% | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. | |
| Beta | 1.15 | 1.01 | Not an edge | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.85 | 1.00 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.43 | 0.38 | FNX | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.61 | 0.54 | FNX | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | 0.086 | 0.106 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | 0.16 | 0.14 | FNX | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | IWV | VTWO | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | −1.5% a year | −0.1% a year | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | −0.77 | −0.36 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | −5.4% to +2.4% | −0.6% to +0.4% | Includes zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. |
| Information ratio | −0.01 | −0.02 | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 9.1% | 1.0% | 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 IWM hold 23% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.
half
23% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
FNX and IWM on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
FNX and IWM 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 IWM follows Russell 2000 Index.
- Holdings in common. 23% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
- Number of holdings. FNX holds 451 positions and IWM holds 1977.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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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.
IWM
IWM tracks the Russell 2000. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +14.1% with distributions reinvested, against +14.3% for its benchmark, the Russell 2000 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.19% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 1,977 positions, with the top ten at 3.3%. 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, FNX or IWM?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FNX returned +12.4% and IWM +14.1%.
- Which is cheaper, FNX or IWM?
- IWM is cheaper, by 0.43 percentage points a year. That is about $43 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, FNX against IWM, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/fnx-vs-iwm
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). FNX against IWM. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/fnx-vs-iwm
[FNX against IWM (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/fnx-vs-iwm)
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