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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FYX returned +26.2% and SPSM +17.6%.

Which is cheaper, FYX or SPSM?

SPSM is cheaper, by 0.55 percentage points a year. That is about $55 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

How much do FYX and SPSM overlap with the S&P 500?

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

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

FYX vs SPSM: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, FYX returned +26.2% to SPSM's +17.6%; 35% 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 $16.0bn for State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 600 Small Cap ETF.

FYX on its own →SPSM on its own →

At a glance

+26.2%

FYX total return, 1 year

+17.6%

SPSM total return, 1 year

0.58%

FYX expense ratio

0.03%

SPSM expense ratio

Pair scorecard

SPSM costs 0.55 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 8.6 points; SPSM is 11.4 times larger.

FYX vs SPSM: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	FYX	SPSM
Return
Measure	FYX	SPSM
Total return, 1 year	+26.2%	+17.6%
Drawdown
Measure	FYX	SPSM
Below its high	5.0%, high on Aug 4, 2026	6.7%, high on Aug 14, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	FYX	SPSM
What it tracks	Nasdaq AlphaDEX Small Cap Core Index	S&P SmallCap 600 Index
Cost and size
Measure	FYX	SPSM
Expense ratio	0.58%	0.03%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$1.4bn	$16.0bn
Holdings
Measure	FYX	SPSM
Holdings in common	35%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	3.9%	5.3%

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

Risk and return

Jul 19, 2013 to Oct 23, 2026 · 692 weekly returns

FYX SPSM

Return

Total return edge FYX +267.5% +222.7%

Annualized edge FYX +10.3% +9.2%

Price return edge FYX +223.9% +158.2%

Risk

Volatility edge SPSM (slight) 22.5% 21.2%

Max drawdown edge SPSM −47.6% −41.9%

Downside capture 110.3% 100.3%

Beta 1.19 1.00

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge FYX (slight) 0.46 0.43

Sortino edge FYX (slight) 0.68 0.63

Treynor 0.086 0.091

Calmar edge Tie 0.22 0.22

Against the benchmark

Alpha −1.6% a year −0.5% a year

Alpha t-stat −0.62 −0.73

Information ratio 0.02 −0.20

Tracking error 12.0% 2.4%

Each against its own benchmark: FYX against IWV, May 18, 2007 to Oct 23, 2026; SPSM against IJR, Jul 19, 2013 to Oct 23, 2026.

Reading

FYX returned more: +267.5% to +222.7%. SPSM swung slightly less: 21.2% to 22.5%. SPSM fell less at its worst: −41.9% to −47.6%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: FYX vs SPSM: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	FYX	SPSM	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+267.5%	+222.7%	FYX	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+10.3%	+9.2%	FYX	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+223.9%	+158.2%	FYX	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	22.5%	21.2%	SPSM (slight)	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	15.2%	14.6%	SPSM (slight)	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−47.6%	−41.9%	SPSM	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture	122.6%	99.1%		Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture	110.3%	100.3%		Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta	1.19	1.00	Not an edge	How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared	0.78	0.99	Not an edge	Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.46	0.43	FYX (slight)	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.68	0.63	FYX (slight)	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor	0.086	0.091		Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar	0.22	0.22	Tie	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
Benchmark	IWV	IJR		The ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha	−1.6% a year	−0.5% a year	Not significant	Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat	−0.62	−0.73	Not an edge	How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range	−6.7% to +3.5%	−1.8% to +0.8%	Includes zero	The 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio	0.02	−0.20		Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error	12.0%	2.4%	Not an edge	How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 692 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

35%

By the books each fund has filed, FYX and SPSM hold 35% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

35% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first FYX SPSM

Tenable Holdings, Inc. 0.33% 0.31%

RXO, Inc. 0.26% 0.28%

Signet Jewelers Limited 0.28% 0.26%

United Community Banks, Inc. 0.27% 0.25%

Delek US Holdings, Inc. 0.30% 0.25%

BGC Group Inc. (Class A) 0.30% 0.24%

MDU Resources Group, Inc. 0.26% 0.24%

Apple Hospitality REIT, Inc. 0.28% 0.23%

Cinemark Holdings, Inc. 0.26% 0.23%

Workiva Inc. 0.23% 0.24%

Bread Financial Holdings, Inc. 0.32% 0.23%

Korn Ferry 0.26% 0.22%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in FYX

Appian Corporation 0.43%

Slide Insurance Holdings, Inc. 0.39%

Amplitude, Inc. (Class A) 0.38%

Harley-Davidson, Inc. 0.37%

Mattel, Inc. 0.37%

FIGS, Inc. (Class A) 0.36%

Heartflow, Inc. 0.36%

MAXIMUS, Inc. 0.36%

Only in SPSM

GLAUKOS CORP 0.61%

PAYCOM SOFTWARE INC 0.58%

MATCH GROUP INC 0.57%

VIASAT INC 0.56%

SM ENERGY CO 0.53%

PROTAGONIST THERAPEUTICS INC 0.52%

RYMAN HOSPITALITY PROPERTIES 0.52%

JACKSON FINANCIAL INC A 0.48%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

FYX First Trust Small Cap Core AlphaDEX Fund SPSM State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 600 Small Cap ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer First Trust State Street

What it is Tracks an index Tracks an index

Total return, 1 year +26.2% +17.6%

Its benchmark over the same days +13.3% (IWV) +17.5% (IJR)

Gap to its benchmark +12.9 pts vs IWV +0.1 pts vs IJR

Expense ratio 0.58% 0.03%

Already in the S&P 500 0.0% 0.0%

Holdings 525 609

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $1.4bn $16.0bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-BF3E8C98D7

FYX and SPSM 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 SPSM follows S&P SmallCap 600 Index.
Holdings in common. 35% 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 SPSM +17.6% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 8.6 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.

SPSM

SPSM tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +17.6% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for its benchmark, the S&P SmallCap 600 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% 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 609 positions, with the top ten at 5.3%. It sat 6.7% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, FYX or SPSM?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, FYX returned +26.2% and SPSM +17.6%.
Which is cheaper, FYX or SPSM?: SPSM is cheaper, by 0.55 percentage points a year. That is about $55 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do FYX and SPSM overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 0% of FYX and 0% of SPSM by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

FYX vs SCHA FYX vs IWM FYX vs VB FYX vs IJR IWM vs SPSM SPSM vs VB IJR vs SPSM RSSL vs SPSM

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

FYX filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

FYX prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

First Trust page for FYX ↗

SPSM filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

SPSM prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

State Street 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, FYX against SPSM, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/fyx-vs-spsm

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