Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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FXL vs IXN: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, FXL returned +29.0% to IXN's +30.8%; 22% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets: $2.8bn on Oct 27, 2026 for First Trust Technology AlphaDEX Fund, and $9.5bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares Global Tech ETF.

At a glance
+29.0%
FXL total return, 1 year
+30.8%
IXN total return, 1 year
0.60%
FXL expense ratio
0.37%
IXN expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IXN costs 0.23 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.8 points; IXN is 3.3 times larger.

FXL vs IXN: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureFXLIXN
Return
Total return, 1 year+29.0%+30.8%
Drawdown
Below its high5.9%, high on Oct 6, 2026
Benchmark
What it tracksStrataQuant Technology IndexS&P Global 1200 Information Technology 4
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.60%0.37%
Net assets, as of Oct 26, 2026$2.8bn$9.2bn
Holdings
Holdings in common22%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund17.0%60.1%

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

Risk and return

May 18, 2007 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,014 weekly returns
FXL IXN
Return
Total return edge IXN +1,055.5% +1,486.5%
Annualized edge IXN +13.4% +15.2%
Price return edge IXN +995.5% +1,241.5%
Risk
Volatility edge IXN (slight) 23.7% 21.7%
Max drawdown edge IXN −60.5% −54.0%
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe edge IXN 0.58 0.69
Sortino edge IXN 0.85 1.01
Calmar edge IXN 0.22 0.28
Reading

IXN returned more: +1,486.5% to +1,055.5%. IXN swung slightly less: 21.7% to 23.7%. IXN fell less at its worst: −54.0% to −60.5%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured
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Risk and return: FXL vs IXN: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureFXLIXNEdgeHow it is measured
Return
Total return+1,055.5%+1,486.5%IXNPrice change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized+13.4%+15.2%IXNTotal return as a yearly rate.
Price return+995.5%+1,241.5%IXNPrice change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility23.7%21.7%IXN (slight)Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation16.4%14.9%IXN (slight)Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown−60.5%−54.0%IXNDeepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe0.580.69IXNReturn above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino0.851.01IXNReturn above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar0.220.28IXNAnnualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,014 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

22%

By the books each fund has filed, FXL and IXN hold 22% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

0 half 100%

half

22% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first FXL IXN
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. 1.36% 3.51%
Palantir Technologies Inc. (Class A) 1.26% 1.76%
Palo Alto Networks, Inc. 1.50% 1.26%
Apple Inc. 1.24% 12.86%
NVIDIA Corporation 1.14% 13.39%
CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (Class A) 1.51% 1.05%
Micron Technology, Inc. 1.04% 4.03%
Texas Instruments Incorporated 0.98% 1.08%
Microsoft Corporation 0.92% 10.02%
Marvell Technology, Inc. 1.10% 0.82%
Analog Devices, Inc. 1.28% 0.80%
Amphenol Corporation 1.10% 0.74%
Only in one fund ↓
Only in FXL
EPAM Systems, Inc. 1.83%
Atlassian Corporation (Class A) 1.82%
Rubrik, Inc. (Class A) 1.76%
NIQ Global Intelligence Plc 1.73%
RingCentral, Inc. (Class A) 1.70%
SentinelOne, Inc. (Class A) 1.61%
Zoom Communications, Inc. (Class A) 1.60%
Mobility Global Inc. 1.58%
Only in IXN
TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING 4.52%
SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS LTD 2.94%
ASML HOLDING 2.43%
SK HYNIX 2.28%
INTEL CORPORATION 1.79%
CISCO SYSTEMS INC 1.69%
SAP 0.93%
ORACLE 0.87%
Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

FXL First Trust Technology AlphaDEX Fund IXN iShares Global Tech ETF
Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF
What it is Tracks an index Tracks an index
Total return, 1 year +29.0% +30.8%
Its benchmark over the same days +13.1% (IWB) not measured
Gap to its benchmark +15.9 pts vs IWB not measured
Expense ratio 0.60% 0.37%
Already in the S&P 500 50.0% 75.1%
Holdings 110 133
Net assets, FXL as of Oct 27, 2026 and IXN as of Oct 28, 2026 $2.8bn $9.5bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-CA0CB470F5

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

  1. What each follows. FXL follows StrataQuant Technology Index and IXN follows S&P Global 1200 Information Technology 4.
  2. Holdings in common. 22% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
  3. Cost. FXL charges 0.60% of assets a year and IXN 0.37%, a gap of 0.23 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund
FXL

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +29.0% with distributions reinvested, against +13.1% for its benchmark, the Russell 1000 Index.

FXL tracks an index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.60% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 50% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 110 positions, with the top ten at 17.0%.

IXN

IXN tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +30.8% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.37% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 75% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 133 positions, with the top ten at 60.1%. It sat 5.9% below its high of Oct 6, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, FXL or IXN?
In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FXL returned +29.0% and IXN +30.8%.
Which is cheaper, FXL or IXN?
IXN is cheaper, by 0.23 percentage points a year. That is about $23 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do FXL and IXN overlap with the S&P 500?
By their latest filed holdings, 50% of FXL and 75% of IXN by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.
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ETFIQ, FXL against IXN, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/fxl-vs-ixn

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