Are FTLS and IVV in the same category?

FTLS is an alternatives ETF and IVV is a stock ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.

Which returned more over the last year, FTLS or IVV?

In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FTLS returned +8.5% and IVV +14.8%.

Which is cheaper, FTLS or IVV?

IVV is cheaper, by 1.35 percentage points a year. That is about $135 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Across categories

FTLS vs IVV: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, FTLS returned +8.5% to IVV's +14.8%, and IVV charges 0.03% to FTLS's 1.38%.

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Net assets on Nov 3, 2026: $2.6bn for First Trust Long/Short Equity and $872.0bn for iShares Core S&P 500 ETF.

FTLS on its own →IVV on its own →

At a glance

+8.5%

FTLS total return, 1 year

+14.8%

IVV total return, 1 year

1.38%

FTLS expense ratio

0.03%

IVV expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IVV costs 1.35 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 6.3 points; IVV is far larger, $872.0bn against $2.6bn.

FTLS vs IVV: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	FTLS	IVV
Return
Measure	FTLS	IVV
Total return, 1 year	+8.5%	+14.8%
Total return, 52 weeks	+7.7%
Against its benchmark
Measure	FTLS	IVV
What it tracks	not published	S&P 500
Treasury bills, 52 weeks	+3.7%
Against cash	4.1 points ahead
Cost and size
Measure	FTLS	IVV
Expense ratio	1.38%	0.03%
Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026	$2.6bn	$872.0bn
Holdings
Measure	FTLS	IVV
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight		100%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund		37.3%
Risk
Measure	FTLS	IVV
Correlation with the S&P 500’s weekly returns	+0.83
Beta to the S&P 500	+0.48: about 0.48% for each 1%
Its average week when the S&P 500 fell	fell 0.48%
Down-week capture	44.7%
Weeks the S&P 500 fell	26 of 52, by 1.07% on average

Method

Side by side

FTLS First Trust Long/Short Equity IVV iShares Core S&P 500 ETF

Where it sits Alternatives ETF Stock ETF

Issuer First Trust iShares

What it is Long-short equity Tracks the S&P 500

Total return, 1 year +8.5% +14.8%

Its benchmark over the same days +14.8% (VOO) +14.8% (SPY)

Gap to its benchmark −6.3 pts vs VOO 0.0 pts vs SPY

Expense ratio 1.38% 0.03%

Holdings not read by ETFIQ 505

Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 $2.6bn $872.0bn

FTLS and IVV on the fields both publish, as of Nov 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Alert

About each fund

FTLS

FTLS is a long-short equity fund. ETFIQ measures what every alternatives fund is sold on: whether it moves differently from the stock market. Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, its weekly returns had a correlation of +0.83 with the S&P 500’s and a beta of +0.48, so for each 1% the index moved it moved about 0.48% the same way. The S&P 500 fell in 26 of those 52 weeks, by 1.07% on average. In the same weeks FTLS fell 0.48% on average, a down-week capture of 44.7%. Over the same 52 weeks FTLS returned +7.7% and a Treasury bill fund +3.7%, so it finished 4.1 percentage points ahead of cash.

IVV

IVV tracks the S&P 500. Over the year to Nov 4, 2026 it returned +14.8% with distributions reinvested, against +14.8% for its benchmark, the S&P 500. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Nov 3, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 505 positions, with the top ten at 37.3%.

Questions people ask

Are FTLS and IVV in the same category?: FTLS is an alternatives ETF and IVV is a stock ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
Which returned more over the last year, FTLS or IVV?: In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FTLS returned +8.5% and IVV +14.8%.
Which is cheaper, FTLS or IVV?: IVV is cheaper, by 1.35 percentage points a year. That is about $135 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

FTLS vs VOO FTLS vs SPY FTLS vs QQQ FTLS vs GLD IVV vs LSEQ CLSE vs IVV IVV vs ORR CBLS vs IVV

Where to next

BIL, the T-bill fund these are measured against →SPY, the S&P 500 fund these are measured against →FTLS on its own →IVV on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →FTLS dividend history →IVV dividend history →IVV holdings →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

FTLS filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

FTLS prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

First Trust page for FTLS ↗

IVV filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IVV prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IVV ↗

Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.

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ETFIQ, FTLS against IVV, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ftls-vs-ivv

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