Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
FTGS vs IWR: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, FTGS returned +5.6% to IWR's +15.7%; 5% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $1.3bn for First Trust Growth Strength ETF and $57.8bn for iShares Russell Mid-Cap ETF.
Pair scorecard
IWR costs 0.42 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 10.1 points; IWR is far larger, $57.8bn against $1.3bn.
| Measure | FTGS | IWR |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +5.6% | +15.7% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 4.1%, high on Aug 13, 2026 | 3.5%, high on Aug 14, 2026 |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Growth Strength Index | Russell Midcap Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.60% | 0.18% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $1.3bn | $57.8bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 5% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 21.4% | 6.7% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Nov 4, 2022 to Oct 23, 2026 · 207 weekly returnsEach against its own benchmark: FTGS against VOO, Nov 4, 2022 to Oct 23, 2026; IWR against IWV, Jul 27, 2001 to Oct 23, 2026.
FTGS returned more: +90.1% to +74.1%. IWR swung slightly less: 15.3% to 16.0%. FTGS and IWR fell about the same at their worst: −18.7% and −18.9%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | FTGS | IWR | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +90.1% | +74.1% | FTGS | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +17.5% | +14.9% | FTGS | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +87.3% | +64.7% | FTGS | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 16.0% | 15.3% | IWR (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 10.2% | 10.2% | Tie | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −18.7% | −18.9% | Tie | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 98.4% | 105.9% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 105.3% | 102.2% | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. | |
| Beta | 1.05 | 1.07 | Not an edge | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.85 | 0.94 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.80 | 0.69 | FTGS | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 1.26 | 1.03 | FTGS | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | 0.123 | 0.089 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | 0.94 | 0.79 | FTGS | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | VOO | IWV | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | −3.3% a year | +0.1% a year | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | −1.06 | 0.12 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | −9.5% to +2.9% | −1.8% to +2.0% | Includes zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. |
| Information ratio | −0.42 | 0.14 | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 6.2% | 5.0% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 207 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, FTGS and IWR hold 5% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.
half
5% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
FTGS and IWR on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
FTGS and IWR are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- What each follows. FTGS follows Growth Strength Index and IWR follows Russell Midcap 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 FTGS returned +5.6% and IWR +15.7% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 10.1 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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FTGS
FTGS tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +5.6% with distributions reinvested, against +13.7% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.60% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 94% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 50 positions, with the top ten at 21.4%. It sat 4.1% below its high of Aug 13, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +15.7% with distributions reinvested, against +13.3% for its benchmark, the Russell 3000 Index.
IWR tracks an index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.18% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 62% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 826 positions, with the top ten at 6.7%. It sat 3.5% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, FTGS or IWR?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FTGS returned +5.6% and IWR +15.7%.
- Which is cheaper, FTGS or IWR?
- IWR is cheaper, by 0.42 percentage points a year. That is about $42 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, FTGS against IWR, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ftgs-vs-iwr
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). FTGS against IWR. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ftgs-vs-iwr
[FTGS against IWR (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ftgs-vs-iwr)
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