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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FNX returned +12.4% and NUSC +12.2%.

Which is cheaper, FNX or NUSC?

NUSC is cheaper, by 0.31 percentage points a year. That is about $31 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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

By their latest filed holdings, 8% of FNX and 6% of NUSC by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

FNX vs NUSC: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, FNX returned +12.4% to NUSC's +12.2%; 21% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets: $1.4bn on Oct 27, 2026 for First Trust Mid Cap Core AlphaDEX Fund, and $1.3bn on Jul 31, 2026 for Nuveen ESG Small-Cap ETF.

FNX on its own →NUSC on its own →

At a glance

+12.4%

FNX total return, 1 year

+12.2%

NUSC total return, 1 year

0.62%

FNX expense ratio

0.31%

NUSC expense ratio

Pair scorecard

NUSC costs 0.31 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.2 points.

FNX vs NUSC: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	FNX	NUSC
Return
Measure	FNX	NUSC
Total return, 1 year	+12.4%	+12.2%
Drawdown
Measure	FNX	NUSC
Below its high	4.9%, high on Aug 14, 2026	5.7%, high on Aug 14, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	FNX	NUSC
What it tracks	Nasdaq AlphaDEX Mid Cap Core Index	Nuveen ESG USA Small-Cap Index
Cost and size
Measure	FNX	NUSC
Expense ratio	0.62%	0.31%
Net assets, FNX as of Oct 27, 2026 and NUSC as of Jul 31, 2026	$1.4bn	$1.3bn
Holdings
Measure	FNX	NUSC
Holdings in common	21%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	4.4%	10.2%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method

Risk and return

Dec 23, 2016 to Oct 23, 2026 · 513 weekly returns

FNX NUSC

Return

Total return edge FNX +171.6% +139.1%

Annualized edge FNX +10.7% +9.2%

Price return edge FNX +144.1% +100.1%

Risk

Volatility edge NUSC (slight) 22.1% 21.6%

Max drawdown edge NUSC (slight) −41.9% −40.5%

Downside capture 107.9% 103.0%

Beta 1.15 1.07

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge FNX 0.45 0.40

Sortino edge FNX 0.65 0.57

Treynor 0.086 0.081

Calmar edge FNX 0.25 0.23

Against the benchmark

Alpha −1.5% a year −4.5% a year

Alpha t-stat −0.77 −1.33

Information ratio −0.01 −0.34

Tracking error 9.1% 10.5%

Each against its own benchmark: FNX against IWV, May 18, 2007 to Oct 23, 2026; NUSC against MLRG, Dec 23, 2016 to Oct 23, 2026.

Reading

FNX returned more: +171.6% to +139.1%. NUSC swung slightly less: 21.6% to 22.1%. NUSC fell slightly less at its worst: −40.5% to −41.9%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: FNX vs NUSC: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	FNX	NUSC	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+171.6%	+139.1%	FNX	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+10.7%	+9.2%	FNX	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+144.1%	+100.1%	FNX	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	22.1%	21.6%	NUSC (slight)	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	15.4%	15.1%	Tie	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−41.9%	−40.5%	NUSC (slight)	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture	115.8%	93.6%		Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture	107.9%	103.0%		Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta	1.15	1.07	Not an edge	How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared	0.85	0.77	Not an edge	Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.45	0.40	FNX	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.65	0.57	FNX	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor	0.086	0.081		Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar	0.25	0.23	FNX	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
Benchmark	IWV	MLRG		The ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha	−1.5% a year	−4.5% a year	Not significant	Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat	−0.77	−1.33	Not an edge	How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range	−5.4% to +2.4%	−11.0% to +2.1%	Includes zero	The 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio	−0.01	−0.34		Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error	9.1%	10.5%	Not an edge	How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 513 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

21%

By the books each fund has filed, FNX and NUSC hold 21% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

21% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first FNX NUSC

Axis Capital Holdings Limited 0.39% 0.55%

Glaukos Corporation 0.39% 0.47%

UGI Corporation 0.39% 0.58%

RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. 0.38% 0.96%

Commercial Metals Company 0.37% 0.57%

Victoria's Secret & Co. 0.37% 0.38%

Spire Inc. 0.40% 0.35%

Ingredion Incorporated 0.35% 0.36%

Southwest Gas Holdings, Inc. 0.41% 0.35%

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (Class A) 0.35% 0.33%

Darling Ingredients Inc. 0.33% 0.69%

Frontdoor, Inc. 0.33% 0.38%

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%

Amentum Holdings, Inc. 0.43%

Qualys, Inc. 0.43%

Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. 0.42%

Murphy Oil Corporation 0.42%

Only in NUSC

ATI Inc 1.26%

TD SYNNEX Corp 1.08%

Viatris Inc 1.07%

nVent Electric PLC 1.06%

East West Bancorp Inc 1.04%

Service Corp International 0.87%

Medpace Holdings Inc 0.75%

Lattice Semiconductor Corp 0.69%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

FNX First Trust Mid Cap Core AlphaDEX Fund NUSC Nuveen ESG Small-Cap ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer First Trust Nuveen

What it is Tracks an index Tracks an index

Total return, 1 year +12.4% +12.2%

Its benchmark over the same days +13.3% (IWV) +13.6% (MLRG)

Gap to its benchmark −0.9 pts vs IWV −1.4 pts vs MLRG

Expense ratio 0.62% 0.31%

Already in the S&P 500 8.2% 6.1%

Holdings 451 405

Net assets, FNX as of Oct 27, 2026 and NUSC as of Jul 31, 2026 $1.4bn $1.3bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-C1AE1F738C

FNX and NUSC 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 NUSC follows Nuveen ESG USA Small-Cap Index.
Holdings in common. 21% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026 and Jul 31, 2026).
Cost. FNX charges 0.62% of assets a year and NUSC 0.31%, a gap of 0.31 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.

NUSC

NUSC tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +12.2% with distributions reinvested, against +13.6% for its benchmark, the MSCI USA Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.31% a year. By its holdings filed for Jul 31, 2026, 6% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 405 positions, with the top ten at 10.2%. It sat 5.7% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, FNX or NUSC?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FNX returned +12.4% and NUSC +12.2%.
Which is cheaper, FNX or NUSC?: NUSC is cheaper, by 0.31 percentage points a year. That is about $31 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do FNX and NUSC overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 8% of FNX and 6% of NUSC by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

FNX vs IWC FNX vs GSSC FNX vs VIOG FNX vs PSC NUSC vs RSSL NUSC vs VIOG NUSC vs PSC NUSC vs XSMO

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

FNX filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

FNX prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

First Trust page for FNX ↗

NUSC filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

NUSC prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Nuveen website ↗

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 NUSC, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/fnx-vs-nusc

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