Which returned more over the last year, FTCS or IWS?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FTCS returned +9.5% and IWS +22.7%.

Which is cheaper, FTCS or IWS?

IWS is cheaper, by 0.30 percentage points a year. That is about $30 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

How much do FTCS and IWS overlap with the S&P 500?

By their latest filed holdings, 100% of FTCS and 66% of IWS by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

FTCS vs IWS: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, FTCS returned +9.5% to IWS's +22.7%; 5% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $7.8bn for First Trust Capital Strength ETF and $15.2bn for iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF.

FTCS on its own →IWS on its own →

At a glance

+9.5%

FTCS total return, 1 year

+22.7%

IWS total return, 1 year

0.53%

FTCS expense ratio

0.23%

IWS expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IWS costs 0.30 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 13.2 points; IWS is 1.9 times larger.

FTCS vs IWS: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	FTCS	IWS
Return
Measure	FTCS	IWS
Total return, 1 year	+9.5%	+22.7%
Benchmark
Measure	FTCS	IWS
What it tracks	Capital Strength Index	Russell Midcap Value Index
Cost and size
Measure	FTCS	IWS
Expense ratio	0.53%	0.23%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$7.8bn	$15.2bn
Holdings
Measure	FTCS	IWS
Holdings in common	5%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	21.0%	6.8%

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

Risk and return

Jul 21, 2006 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,057 weekly returns

FTCS IWS

Return

Total return edge FTCS +596.7% +491.9%

Annualized edge FTCS (slight) +10.0% +9.1%

Price return edge FTCS +422.7% +293.2%

Risk

Volatility edge FTCS 18.1% 20.5%

Max drawdown edge FTCS −52.7% −62.0%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge FTCS 0.53 0.45

Sortino edge FTCS 0.75 0.63

Calmar edge FTCS 0.19 0.15

Reading

FTCS returned more: +596.7% to +491.9%. FTCS swung less: 18.1% to 20.5%. FTCS fell less at its worst: −52.7% to −62.0%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: FTCS vs IWS: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	FTCS	IWS	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+596.7%	+491.9%	FTCS	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+10.0%	+9.1%	FTCS (slight)	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+422.7%	+293.2%	FTCS	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	18.1%	20.5%	FTCS	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	12.8%	14.6%	FTCS	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−52.7%	−62.0%	FTCS	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.53	0.45	FTCS	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.75	0.63	FTCS	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.19	0.15	FTCS	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,057 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, FTCS and IWS hold 5% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

5% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first FTCS IWS

Phillips 66 1.81% 0.98%

Agilent Technologies, Inc. 2.03% 0.49%

Ameriprise Financial, Inc. 1.95% 0.39%

Arch Capital Group Ltd. 1.97% 0.32%

Northern Trust Corporation 2.03% 0.28%

Cincinnati Financial Corporation 2.11% 0.27%

Raymond James Financial, Inc. 2.00% 0.26%

Expeditors International of Washington, Inc. 2.01% 0.25%

PPG Industries, Inc. 2.08% 0.25%

Veralto Corporation 2.03% 0.25%

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. 1.98% 0.24%

T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. 2.04% 0.21%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in FTCS

Lockheed Martin Corporation 2.25%

CSX Corporation 2.13%

Northrop Grumman Corporation 2.12%

Johnson & Johnson 2.08%

3M Company 2.06%

Union Pacific Corporation 2.06%

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated 2.06%

Amgen Inc. 2.04%

Only in IWS

HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE 0.78%

MODERNA 0.73%

ALLSTATE CORP 0.64%

DIGITAL REALTY TRUST REIT 0.64%

KINDER MORGAN 0.64%

MARATHON PETROLEUM 0.61%

ONEOK 0.59%

NUCOR 0.58%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

FTCS First Trust Capital Strength ETF IWS iShares Russell Mid-Cap Value ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer First Trust iShares

What it is Tracks an index Tracks an index

Total return, 1 year +9.5% +22.7%

Its benchmark over the same days not measured +13.3% (IWV)

Gap to its benchmark not measured +9.4 pts vs IWV

Expense ratio 0.53% 0.23%

Already in the S&P 500 99.9% 66.1%

Holdings 50 719

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $7.8bn $15.2bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-0F875CBAA2

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

What each follows. FTCS follows Capital Strength Index and IWS follows Russell Midcap Value Index.
Holdings in common. 5% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 FTCS returned +9.5% and IWS +22.7% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 13.2 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund

FTCS

FTCS tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +9.5% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.53% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 50 positions, with the top ten at 21.0%.

IWS

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +22.7% with distributions reinvested, against +13.3% for its benchmark, the Russell 3000 Index.

IWS tracks an index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.23% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 66% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 719 positions, with the top ten at 6.8%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, FTCS or IWS?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FTCS returned +9.5% and IWS +22.7%.
Which is cheaper, FTCS or IWS?: IWS is cheaper, by 0.30 percentage points a year. That is about $30 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do FTCS and IWS overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 100% of FTCS and 66% of IWS by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

FTCS vs SDY FTCS vs VOE FTCS vs IJJ FTCS vs RSP IWS vs NOBL IWS vs MDYV IWS vs SDY IWS vs VOE

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

FTCS filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

FTCS prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

First Trust page for FTCS ↗

IWS filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IWS prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IWS ↗

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, FTCS against IWS, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ftcs-vs-iws

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