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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FYC returned +21.7% and NUSC +12.2%.

Which is cheaper, FYC or NUSC?

NUSC is cheaper, by 0.39 percentage points a year. That is about $39 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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

By their latest filed holdings, 0% of FYC and 6% of NUSC by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

FYC vs NUSC: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, FYC returned +21.7% to NUSC's +12.2%; 8% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets: $1.3bn on Oct 27, 2026 for First Trust Small Cap Growth AlphaDEX Fund, and $1.3bn on Jul 31, 2026 for Nuveen ESG Small-Cap ETF.

FYC on its own →NUSC on its own →

At a glance

+21.7%

FYC total return, 1 year

+12.2%

NUSC total return, 1 year

0.70%

FYC expense ratio

0.31%

NUSC expense ratio

Pair scorecard

NUSC costs 0.39 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 9.5 points.

FYC vs NUSC: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	FYC	NUSC
Return
Measure	FYC	NUSC
Total return, 1 year	+21.7%	+12.2%
Drawdown
Measure	FYC	NUSC
Below its high	8.6%, high on Jun 30, 2026	5.7%, high on Aug 14, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	FYC	NUSC
What it tracks	Nasdaq AlphaDEX Small Cap Growth Index	Nuveen ESG USA Small-Cap Index
Cost and size
Measure	FYC	NUSC
Expense ratio	0.70%	0.31%
Net assets, FYC as of Oct 27, 2026 and NUSC as of Jul 31, 2026	$1.3bn	$1.3bn
Holdings
Measure	FYC	NUSC
Holdings in common	8%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	7.7%	10.2%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method

Risk and return

Dec 23, 2016 to Oct 23, 2026 · 513 weekly returns

FYC NUSC

Return

Total return edge FYC +231.7% +139.1%

Annualized edge FYC +12.9% +9.2%

Price return edge FYC +222.2% +100.1%

Risk

Volatility edge NUSC 24.2% 21.6%

Max drawdown edge NUSC −46.4% −40.5%

Downside capture 112.5% 103.0%

Beta 1.19 1.07

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge FYC 0.52 0.40

Sortino edge FYC 0.76 0.57

Treynor 0.100 0.081

Calmar edge FYC 0.28 0.23

Against the benchmark

Alpha −2.4% a year −4.5% a year

Alpha t-stat −0.92 −1.33

Information ratio −0.02 −0.34

Tracking error 10.8% 10.5%

Each against its own benchmark: FYC against IWV, Apr 29, 2011 to Oct 23, 2026; NUSC against MLRG, Dec 23, 2016 to Oct 23, 2026.

Reading

FYC returned more: +231.7% to +139.1%. NUSC swung less: 21.6% to 24.2%. NUSC fell less at its worst: −40.5% to −46.4%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: FYC vs NUSC: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	FYC	NUSC	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+231.7%	+139.1%	FYC	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+12.9%	+9.2%	FYC	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+222.2%	+100.1%	FYC	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	24.2%	21.6%	NUSC	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	16.6%	15.1%	NUSC (slight)	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−46.4%	−40.5%	NUSC	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture	122.2%	93.6%		Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture	112.5%	103.0%		Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta	1.19	1.07	Not an edge	How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared	0.78	0.77	Not an edge	Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.52	0.40	FYC	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.76	0.57	FYC	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor	0.100	0.081		Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar	0.28	0.23	FYC	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
Benchmark	IWV	MLRG		The ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha	−2.4% a year	−4.5% a year	Not significant	Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat	−0.92	−1.33	Not an edge	How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range	−7.6% to +2.7%	−11.0% to +2.1%	Includes zero	The 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio	−0.02	−0.34		Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error	10.8%	10.5%	Not an edge	How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 513 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, FYC and NUSC hold 8% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

8% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first FYC NUSC

Cinemark Holdings, Inc. 0.54% 0.28%

OPENLANE Inc. 0.28% 0.32%

Veracyte, Inc. 0.41% 0.28%

Palomar Holdings, Inc. 0.55% 0.27%

SL Green Realty Corp. 0.26% 0.28%

Fastly, Inc. (Class A) 0.54% 0.23%

Arcutis Biotherapeutics, Inc. 0.61% 0.22%

Adeia Inc. 0.22% 0.22%

Freshpet, Inc. 0.42% 0.21%

Benchmark Electronics, Inc. 0.43% 0.21%

StepStone Group Inc. (Class A) 0.36% 0.20%

Agilysys, Inc. 0.30% 0.20%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in FYC

Appian Corporation 0.90%

Slide Insurance Holdings, Inc. 0.81%

Amplitude, Inc. (Class A) 0.79%

Netskope, Inc. (Class A) 0.76%

FIGS, Inc. (Class A) 0.75%

Septerna, Inc. 0.72%

Vestis Corporation 0.72%

agilon health, inc. 0.72%

Only in NUSC

ATI Inc 1.26%

TD SYNNEX Corp 1.08%

Host Hotels & Resorts Inc 1.07%

Viatris Inc 1.07%

nVent Electric PLC 1.06%

East West Bancorp Inc 1.04%

RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd 0.96%

AGNC Investment Corp 0.90%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

FYC First Trust Small Cap Growth AlphaDEX Fund NUSC Nuveen ESG Small-Cap ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer First Trust Nuveen

What it is Tracks an index Tracks an index

Total return, 1 year +21.7% +12.2%

Its benchmark over the same days +13.3% (IWV) +13.6% (MLRG)

Gap to its benchmark +8.4 pts vs IWV −1.4 pts vs MLRG

Expense ratio 0.70% 0.31%

Already in the S&P 500 0.0% 6.1%

Holdings 264 405

Net assets, FYC as of Oct 27, 2026 and NUSC as of Jul 31, 2026 $1.3bn $1.3bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-0E8FA81375

FYC and NUSC 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 NUSC follows Nuveen ESG USA Small-Cap Index.
Holdings in common. 8% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026 and Jul 31, 2026).
One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 FYC returned +21.7% and NUSC +12.2% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 9.5 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.

NUSC

NUSC tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +12.2% with distributions reinvested, against +13.6% for its benchmark, the MSCI USA Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.31% a year. By its holdings filed for Jul 31, 2026, 6% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 405 positions, with the top ten at 10.2%. It sat 5.7% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, FYC or NUSC?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FYC returned +21.7% and NUSC +12.2%.
Which is cheaper, FYC or NUSC?: NUSC is cheaper, by 0.39 percentage points a year. That is about $39 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do FYC and NUSC overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 0% of FYC and 6% of NUSC by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

FYC vs IWC FYC vs FYX FYC vs RSSL FYC vs GSSC NUSC vs VB NUSC vs RSSL IWC vs NUSC GSSC vs NUSC

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

FYC filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

FYC prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

First Trust page for FYC ↗

NUSC filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

NUSC prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Nuveen website ↗

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 NUSC, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/fyc-vs-nusc

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