Which returned more over the last year, FYC or IWC?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FYC returned +21.7% and IWC +16.5%.

Which is cheaper, FYC or IWC?

IWC is cheaper, by 0.10 percentage points a year. That is about $10 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

How much do FYC and IWC overlap with the S&P 500?

By their latest filed holdings, 0% of FYC and 92% of IWC by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

FYC vs IWC: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, FYC returned +21.7% to IWC's +16.5%; 12% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $1.3bn for First Trust Small Cap Growth AlphaDEX Fund and $1.2bn for iShares Micro-Cap ETF.

FYC on its own →IWC on its own →

At a glance

+21.7%

FYC total return, 1 year

+16.5%

IWC total return, 1 year

0.70%

FYC expense ratio

0.60%

IWC expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IWC costs 0.10 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 5.2 points; FYC is 1.1 times larger.

FYC vs IWC: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	FYC	IWC
Return
Measure	FYC	IWC
Total return, 1 year	+21.7%	+16.5%
Drawdown
Measure	FYC	IWC
Below its high	8.6%, high on Jun 30, 2026	9.5%, high on Aug 14, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	FYC	IWC
What it tracks	Nasdaq AlphaDEX Small Cap Growth Index	Russell Microcap Index
Cost and size
Measure	FYC	IWC
Expense ratio	0.70%	0.60%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$1.3bn	$1.2bn
Holdings
Measure	FYC	IWC
Holdings in common	12%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	7.7%	5.9%

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

Risk and return

Apr 29, 2011 to Oct 23, 2026 · 808 weekly returns · each against IWV

FYC IWC

Return

Total return edge FYC +452.2% +294.5%

Annualized edge FYC +11.6% +9.2%

Price return edge FYC +430.8% +226.5%

Risk

Volatility edge FYC (slight) 22.1% 22.6%

Max drawdown edge IWC (slight) −46.4% −45.2%

Downside capture 112.5% 112.0%

Beta 1.19 1.15

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge FYC 0.53 0.43

Sortino edge FYC 0.78 0.62

Treynor 0.100 0.085

Calmar edge FYC 0.25 0.20

Against the benchmark

Alpha −2.4% a year −4.1% a year

Alpha t-stat −0.92 −1.29

Information ratio −0.02 −0.18

Tracking error 10.8% 12.6%

Reading

FYC returned more: +452.2% to +294.5%. FYC swung slightly less: 22.1% to 22.6%. IWC fell slightly less at its worst: −45.2% to −46.4%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: FYC vs IWC: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	FYC	IWC	IWV	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+452.2%	+294.5%		FYC	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+11.6%	+9.2%		FYC	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+430.8%	+226.5%		FYC	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	22.1%	22.6%		FYC (slight)	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	15.2%	15.6%		FYC (slight)	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−46.4%	−45.2%		IWC (slight)	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture	122.2%	114.0%	100.0%	FYC (slight)	Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture	112.5%	112.0%	100.0%	Tie	Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta	1.19	1.15	1.00	IWC lower	How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared	0.78	0.70	1.00	Not an edge	Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.53	0.43		FYC	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.78	0.62		FYC	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor	0.100	0.085	0.120	FYC	Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar	0.25	0.20		FYC	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
Benchmark	IWV	IWV	IWV		The ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha	−2.4% a year	−4.1% a year	0.0%	Not significant	Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat	−0.92	−1.29		Not an edge	How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range	−7.6% to +2.7%	−10.2% to +2.1%		Both include zero	The 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio	−0.02	−0.18		FYC	Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error	10.8%	12.6%	0.0%	Not an edge	How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 808 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

12%

By the books each fund has filed, FYC and IWC hold 12% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

12% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first FYC IWC

CareDx, Inc. 0.69% 0.88%

Penguin Solutions Inc. 0.68% 0.73%

Porch Group, Inc. 0.54% 0.44%

Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. 0.44% 0.59%

Xeris Biopharma Holdings, Inc. 0.69% 0.44%

Lindblad Expeditions Holdings, Inc. 0.71% 0.43%

Nurix Therapeutics, Inc. 0.42% 0.63%

Butterfly Network, Inc. 0.52% 0.40%

Absci Corporation 0.37% 0.39%

Bandwidth Inc. (Class A) 0.51% 0.36%

The Pennant Group, Inc. 0.68% 0.35%

Allient Inc. 0.53% 0.34%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in FYC

Appian Corporation 0.90%

Slide Insurance Holdings, Inc. 0.81%

Amplitude, Inc. (Class A) 0.79%

Fortrea Holdings Inc. 0.78%

Netskope, Inc. (Class A) 0.76%

FIGS, Inc. (Class A) 0.75%

First Advantage Corporation 0.75%

Heartflow, Inc. 0.74%

Only in IWC

SELLAS LIFE SCIENCES GROUP INC 0.60%

INTERFACE 0.52%

HYPERLIQUID STRATEGIES INC 0.46%

DIME COMMERCIAL BANCSHARES 0.43%

QCR HOLDINGS INC 0.41%

CONNECTONE BANCORP 0.40%

MBX BIOSCIENCES 0.40%

NORDIC AMERICAN TANKERS 0.39%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

FYC First Trust Small Cap Growth AlphaDEX Fund IWC iShares Micro-Cap ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer First Trust iShares

What it is Tracks an index Tracks the Russell Microcap

Total return, 1 year +21.7% +16.5%

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

Gap to its benchmark +8.4 pts vs IWV +3.2 pts vs IWV

Expense ratio 0.70% 0.60%

Already in the S&P 500 0.0% 91.7%

Holdings 264 1365

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $1.3bn $1.2bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-44F985B2F9

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

What each follows. FYC follows Nasdaq AlphaDEX Small Cap Growth Index and IWC follows Russell Microcap Index.
Holdings in common. 12% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 FYC returned +21.7% and IWC +16.5% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 5.2 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund

FYC

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +21.7% with distributions reinvested, against +13.3% for its benchmark, the Russell 3000 Index.

FYC tracks an index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.70% 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 264 positions, with the top ten at 7.7%. It sat 8.6% below its high of Jun 30, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

IWC

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +16.5% with distributions reinvested, against +13.3% for its benchmark, the Russell 3000 Index.

IWC tracks the Russell Microcap. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.60% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 92% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 1,365 positions, with the top ten at 5.9%. It sat 9.5% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, FYC or IWC?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FYC returned +21.7% and IWC +16.5%.
Which is cheaper, FYC or IWC?: IWC is cheaper, by 0.10 percentage points a year. That is about $10 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do FYC and IWC overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 0% of FYC and 92% of IWC by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

FYC vs GSSC FYC vs IJT FYC vs SPSM FYC vs IJR IWC vs SLYG IWC vs VTWO IWC vs SCHA IWC vs IWM

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

FYC filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

FYC prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

First Trust page for FYC ↗

IWC filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IWC prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IWC ↗

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, FYC against IWC, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/fyc-vs-iwc

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