Which returned more over the last year, FYX or IWM?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FYX returned +26.2% and IWM +14.1%.

Which is cheaper, FYX or IWM?

IWM 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 FYX and IWM overlap with the S&P 500?

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

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

FYX vs IWM: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, FYX returned +26.2% to IWM's +14.1%; 33% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $1.4bn for First Trust Small Cap Core AlphaDEX Fund and $75.5bn for iShares Russell 2000 ETF.

FYX on its own →IWM on its own →

At a glance

+26.2%

FYX total return, 1 year

+14.1%

IWM total return, 1 year

0.58%

FYX expense ratio

0.19%

IWM expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IWM costs 0.39 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 12.1 points; IWM is far larger, $75.5bn against $1.4bn.

FYX vs IWM: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	FYX	IWM
Return
Measure	FYX	IWM
Total return, 1 year	+26.2%	+14.1%
Drawdown
Measure	FYX	IWM
Below its high	5.0%, high on Aug 4, 2026	7.6%, high on Aug 14, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	FYX	IWM
What it tracks	Nasdaq AlphaDEX Small Cap Core Index	Russell 2000 Index
Cost and size
Measure	FYX	IWM
Expense ratio	0.58%	0.19%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$1.4bn	$75.5bn
Holdings
Measure	FYX	IWM
Holdings in common	33%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	3.9%	3.3%

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

Risk and return

May 18, 2007 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,014 weekly returns

FYX IWM

Return

Total return edge FYX +445.9% +338.2%

Annualized edge FYX +9.1% +7.9%

Price return edge FYX +363.4% +237.4%

Risk

Volatility edge IWM (slight) 24.6% 23.4%

Max drawdown edge IWM (slight) −60.9% −57.7%

Downside capture 110.3% 100.5%

Beta 1.19 1.01

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge FYX (slight) 0.41 0.38

Sortino edge FYX 0.60 0.54

Treynor 0.086 0.106

Calmar edge FYX (slight) 0.15 0.14

Against the benchmark

Alpha −1.6% a year −0.1% a year

Alpha t-stat −0.62 −0.36

Information ratio 0.02 −0.02

Tracking error 12.0% 1.0%

Each against its own benchmark: FYX against IWV, May 18, 2007 to Oct 23, 2026; IWM against VTWO, Oct 1, 2010 to Oct 23, 2026.

Reading

FYX returned more: +445.9% to +338.2%. IWM swung slightly less: 23.4% to 24.6%. IWM fell slightly less at its worst: −57.7% to −60.9%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: FYX vs IWM: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	FYX	IWM	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+445.9%	+338.2%	FYX	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+9.1%	+7.9%	FYX	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+363.4%	+237.4%	FYX	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	24.6%	23.4%	IWM (slight)	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	17.0%	16.4%	IWM (slight)	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−60.9%	−57.7%	IWM (slight)	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture	122.6%	101.0%		Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture	110.3%	100.5%		Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta	1.19	1.01	Not an edge	How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared	0.78	1.00	Not an edge	Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.41	0.38	FYX (slight)	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.60	0.54	FYX	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor	0.086	0.106		Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar	0.15	0.14	FYX (slight)	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
Benchmark	IWV	VTWO		The ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha	−1.6% a year	−0.1% a year	Not significant	Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat	−0.62	−0.36	Not an edge	How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range	−6.7% to +3.5%	−0.6% to +0.4%	Includes zero	The 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio	0.02	−0.02		Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error	12.0%	1.0%	Not an edge	How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

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

What they share

33%

By the books each fund has filed, FYX and IWM hold 33% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

33% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first FYX IWM

GRAIL, Inc. 0.26% 0.21%

Iovance Biotherapeutics, Inc. 0.24% 0.19%

Tenable Holdings, Inc. 0.33% 0.18%

Option Care Health, Inc. 0.17% 0.17%

RXO, Inc. 0.26% 0.16%

Adaptive Biotechnologies Corporation 0.29% 0.15%

Braze, Inc. (Class A) 0.33% 0.15%

Heartflow, Inc. 0.36% 0.15%

Patterson-UTI Energy, Inc. 0.21% 0.15%

Q2 Holdings, Inc. 0.15% 0.15%

Signet Jewelers Limited 0.28% 0.15%

Texas Capital Bancshares, Inc. 0.20% 0.15%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in FYX

Mattel, Inc. 0.37%

Post Holdings, Inc. 0.33%

Assured Guaranty Ltd. 0.32%

Thor Industries, Inc. 0.31%

Seaboard Corporation 0.30%

Array Digital Infrastructure Inc 0.29%

Graphic Packaging Holding Company 0.29%

Netskope, Inc. (Class A) 0.28%

Only in IWM

JFROG 0.37%

GLAUKOS 0.35%

TWIST BIOSCIENCE 0.35%

MOOG INC CLASS A 0.34%

BRIGHTSPRING HEALTH SERVICES INC 0.33%

UMB FINANCIAL 0.33%

SM ENERGY 0.32%

10X GENOMICS CLASS A 0.31%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

FYX First Trust Small Cap Core AlphaDEX Fund IWM iShares Russell 2000 ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer First Trust iShares

What it is Tracks an index Tracks the Russell 2000

Total return, 1 year +26.2% +14.1%

Its benchmark over the same days +13.3% (IWV) +14.3% (VTWO)

Gap to its benchmark +12.9 pts vs IWV −0.2 pts vs VTWO

Expense ratio 0.58% 0.19%

Already in the S&P 500 0.0% 0.0%

Holdings 525 1977

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $1.4bn $75.5bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-788A151B53

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

What each follows. FYX follows Nasdaq AlphaDEX Small Cap Core Index and IWM follows Russell 2000 Index.
Holdings in common. 33% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 FYX returned +26.2% and IWM +14.1% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 12.1 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund

FYX

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +26.2% with distributions reinvested, against +13.3% for its benchmark, the Russell 3000 Index.

FYX tracks an index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.58% 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 525 positions, with the top ten at 3.9%. It sat 5.0% below its high of Aug 4, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

IWM

IWM tracks the Russell 2000. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +14.1% with distributions reinvested, against +14.3% for its benchmark, the Russell 2000 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.19% 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 1,977 positions, with the top ten at 3.3%. It sat 7.6% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, FYX or IWM?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FYX returned +26.2% and IWM +14.1%.
Which is cheaper, FYX or IWM?: IWM 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 FYX and IWM overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 0% of FYX and 0% of IWM by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

FYX vs VB FYX vs IJR FYX vs SCHA FYX vs VTWO IWM vs PSC IWM vs SMLF IWM vs SLYG IWM vs SDVY

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

FYX filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

FYX prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

First Trust page for FYX ↗

IWM filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IWM prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IWM ↗

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, FYX against IWM, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/fyx-vs-iwm

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