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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FNX returned +12.4% and SPSM +17.6%.

Which is cheaper, FNX or SPSM?

SPSM is cheaper, by 0.59 percentage points a year. That is about $59 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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

By their latest filed holdings, 8% of FNX and 0% of SPSM by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

FNX vs SPSM: Differences, Returns & Fees

Share on X Download as PDF

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, FNX returned +12.4% to SPSM's +17.6%; 24% of their weight is in the same names.

askIQ about this page

askIQ about FNX and SPSM

Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $1.4bn for First Trust Mid Cap Core AlphaDEX Fund and $16.0bn for State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 600 Small Cap ETF.

FNX on its own →SPSM on its own →

At a glance

+12.4%

FNX total return, 1 year

+17.6%

SPSM total return, 1 year

0.62%

FNX expense ratio

0.03%

SPSM expense ratio

Pair scorecard

SPSM costs 0.59 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 5.2 points; SPSM is 11.4 times larger.

FNX vs SPSM: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	FNX	SPSM
Return
Measure	FNX	SPSM
Total return, 1 year	+12.4%	+17.6%
Drawdown
Measure	FNX	SPSM
Below its high	4.9%, high on Aug 14, 2026	6.7%, high on Aug 14, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	FNX	SPSM
What it tracks	Nasdaq AlphaDEX Mid Cap Core Index	S&P SmallCap 600 Index
Cost and size
Measure	FNX	SPSM
Expense ratio	0.62%	0.03%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$1.4bn	$16.0bn
Holdings
Measure	FNX	SPSM
Holdings in common	24%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	4.4%	5.3%

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

Risk and return

Jul 19, 2013 to Oct 23, 2026 · 692 weekly returns

FNX SPSM

Return

Total return edge FNX +256.0% +222.7%

Annualized edge FNX (slight) +10.0% +9.2%

Price return edge FNX +209.3% +158.2%

Risk

Volatility edge FNX (slight) 20.4% 21.2%

Max drawdown edge Tie −41.9% −41.9%

Downside capture 107.9% 100.3%

Beta 1.15 1.00

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge FNX (slight) 0.48 0.43

Sortino edge FNX (slight) 0.69 0.63

Treynor 0.086 0.091

Calmar edge FNX (slight) 0.24 0.22

Against the benchmark

Alpha −1.5% a year −0.5% a year

Alpha t-stat −0.77 −0.73

Information ratio −0.01 −0.20

Tracking error 9.1% 2.4%

Each against its own benchmark: FNX against IWV, May 18, 2007 to Oct 23, 2026; SPSM against IJR, Jul 19, 2013 to Oct 23, 2026.

Reading

FNX returned more: +256.0% to +222.7%. FNX swung slightly less: 20.4% to 21.2%. FNX and SPSM fell about the same at their worst: −41.9% and −41.9%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: FNX vs SPSM: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	FNX	SPSM	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+256.0%	+222.7%	FNX	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+10.0%	+9.2%	FNX (slight)	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+209.3%	+158.2%	FNX	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	20.4%	21.2%	FNX (slight)	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	14.2%	14.6%	FNX (slight)	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−41.9%	−41.9%	Tie	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture	115.8%	99.1%		Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture	107.9%	100.3%		Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta	1.15	1.00	Not an edge	How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared	0.85	0.99	Not an edge	Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.48	0.43	FNX (slight)	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.69	0.63	FNX (slight)	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor	0.086	0.091		Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar	0.24	0.22	FNX (slight)	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
Benchmark	IWV	IJR		The ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha	−1.5% a year	−0.5% a year	Not significant	Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat	−0.77	−0.73	Not an edge	How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range	−5.4% to +2.4%	−1.8% to +0.8%	Includes zero	The 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio	−0.01	−0.20		Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error	9.1%	2.4%	Not an edge	How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 692 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

24%

By the books each fund has filed, FNX and SPSM hold 24% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

24% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first FNX SPSM

SM Energy Company 0.41% 0.53%

EPAM Systems, Inc. 0.44% 0.39%

Glaukos Corporation 0.39% 0.61%

Matson, Inc. 0.38% 0.40%

Victoria's Secret & Co. 0.37% 0.42%

Lyft, Inc. (Class A) 0.40% 0.36%

RingCentral, Inc. (Class A) 0.41% 0.36%

Lincoln National Corporation 0.36% 0.40%

Mohawk Industries, Inc. 0.36% 0.36%

Protagonist Therapeutics, Inc. 0.36% 0.52%

TG Therapeutics, Inc. 0.36% 0.46%

Magnolia Oil & Gas Corporation (Class A) 0.40% 0.36%

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%

Genpact Limited 0.43%

Qualys, Inc. 0.43%

Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc. 0.42%

Hinge Health, Inc. (Class A) 0.42%

Only in SPSM

CONAGRA BRANDS INC 0.39%

MOLSON COORS BEVERAGE CO B 0.36%

CASELLA WASTE SYSTEMS INC A 0.34%

TELEFLEX INC 0.34%

CAESARS ENTERTAINMENT INC 0.34%

Essential Properties Realty Trust Inc 0.33%

MARKETAXESS HOLDINGS INC 0.33%

NOBLE CORP PLC 0.33%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

FNX First Trust Mid Cap Core AlphaDEX Fund SPSM State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 600 Small Cap ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer First Trust State Street

What it is Tracks an index Tracks an index

Total return, 1 year +12.4% +17.6%

Its benchmark over the same days +13.3% (IWV) +17.5% (IJR)

Gap to its benchmark −0.9 pts vs IWV +0.1 pts vs IJR

Expense ratio 0.62% 0.03%

Already in the S&P 500 8.2% 0.0%

Holdings 451 609

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $1.4bn $16.0bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-70E3C85391

FNX and SPSM 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 SPSM follows S&P SmallCap 600 Index.
Holdings in common. 24% 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 SPSM +17.6% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 5.2 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

The two-page PDF for this pair is coming. Save the comparison to follow its changes. Free. It needs an email sign-in, once.

Your saved page · Privacy.

Alert

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.

SPSM

SPSM tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +17.6% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for its benchmark, the S&P SmallCap 600 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% 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 609 positions, with the top ten at 5.3%. It sat 6.7% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, FNX or SPSM?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FNX returned +12.4% and SPSM +17.6%.
Which is cheaper, FNX or SPSM?: SPSM is cheaper, by 0.59 percentage points a year. That is about $59 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do FNX and SPSM overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 8% of FNX and 0% of SPSM by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

FNX vs IWM FNX vs VB FNX vs IJR FNX vs GSSC FYC vs SPSM NUSC vs SPSM IWC vs SPSM GSSC vs SPSM

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

FNX filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

FNX prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

First Trust page for FNX ↗

SPSM filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

SPSM prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

State Street 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 SPSM, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/fnx-vs-spsm

Open data →

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