{"url":"https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ijr-vs-smay","section":"compare","title":"IJR vs SMAY: ETF Differences, Returns & Fees | ETFIQ","description":"IJR vs SMAY to Oct 28, 2026: one-year total return +17.5% against +8.8%, expense ratio 0.06% against 0.90%. One stock ETF and one buffer ETF.","as_of":"Oct 28, 2026","structured_data":[{"@type":"FAQPage","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"Are IJR and SMAY in the same category?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"IJR is a stock ETF and SMAY is a buffer ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Which returned more over the last year, IJR or SMAY?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IJR returned +17.5% and SMAY +8.8%."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Which is cheaper, IJR or SMAY?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"IJR is cheaper, by 0.84 percentage points a year. That is about $84 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus."}}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"ETFIQ","item":"https://etfiq.com/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Compare ETFs","item":"https://etfiq.com/compare/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"IJR vs SMAY","item":"https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ijr-vs-smay"}]},{"@type":"WebPage","name":"IJR vs SMAY: ETF Differences, Returns & Fees","description":"IJR vs SMAY to Oct 28, 2026: one-year total return +17.5% against +8.8%, expense ratio 0.06% against 0.90%. One stock ETF and one buffer ETF.","url":"https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ijr-vs-smay","dateModified":"2026-10-28","speakable":{"@type":"SpeakableSpecification","cssSelector":[".verdict",".lede",".faq"]},"isPartOf":{"@type":"WebSite","name":"ETFIQ","url":"https://etfiq.com"}},{"@type":"Dataset","name":"ETFIQ comparison of IJR and SMAY","description":"IJR vs SMAY to Oct 28, 2026: one-year total return +17.5% against +8.8%, expense ratio 0.06% against 0.90%. One stock ETF and one buffer ETF.","dateModified":"2026-10-28","creator":{"@id":"https://etfiq.com/#org"},"license":"https://etfiq.com/license/","isAccessibleForFree":true,"url":"https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ijr-vs-smay","publisher":{"@id":"https://etfiq.com/#org"},"inLanguage":"en","creativeWorkStatus":"Published","distribution":[{"@type":"DataDownload","encodingFormat":"application/json","contentUrl":"https://etfiq.com/data/alternatives.json"},{"@type":"DataDownload","encodingFormat":"application/json","contentUrl":"https://etfiq.com/data/core.json"},{"@type":"DataDownload","encodingFormat":"application/json","contentUrl":"https://etfiq.com/data/crypto.json"},{"@type":"DataDownload","encodingFormat":"application/json","contentUrl":"https://etfiq.com/data/funds.json"},{"@type":"DataDownload","encodingFormat":"application/json","contentUrl":"https://etfiq.com/data/income.json"},{"@type":"DataDownload","encodingFormat":"application/json","contentUrl":"https://etfiq.com/data/leverage.json"},{"@type":"DataDownload","encodingFormat":"application/json","contentUrl":"https://etfiq.com/data/thematic.json"}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"ETFIQ","item":"https://etfiq.com/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Compare ETFs","item":"https://etfiq.com/compare/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"IJR vs SMAY","item":"https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ijr-vs-smay"}]},{"@type":"WebPage","name":"IJR vs SMAY: ETF Differences, Returns & Fees","description":"IJR vs SMAY to Oct 28, 2026: one-year total return +17.5% against +8.8%, expense ratio 0.06% against 0.90%. One stock ETF and one buffer ETF.","url":"https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ijr-vs-smay","dateModified":"2026-10-28","isPartOf":{"@type":"WebSite","name":"ETFIQ","url":"https://etfiq.com"},"speakable":{"@type":"SpeakableSpecification","cssSelector":[".verdict",".lede",".faq"]},"publisher":{"@id":"https://etfiq.com/#org"}}],"characters":4137,"truncated":true,"content":"ETFIQ / Compare ETFs / IJR vs SMAY \n \n Data as of Oct 28, 2026.\n ETFIQ etfiq.com \u00b7 independent ETF data \n IJR vs SMAY: Differences, Returns & Fees\n Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IJR returned +17.5% to SMAY's +8.8%, and IJR charges 0.06% to SMAY's 0.90%.\n Copy this for sharing \n IJR costs 0.84 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 8.7 points; IJR is far larger, $104.6bn against $111m.\n IJR and SMAY at a glance. As of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ. IJR SMAY \n Expense ratio 0.06% 0.90% \n Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $104.6bn $111m \n Total return, 1 year +17.5% +8.8% \n What it trac","source":"ETFIQ, independent ETF data. Recomputed nightly from public filings and prices.","publisher":{"@id":"https://etfiq.com/#org","name":"ETFIQ","url":"https://etfiq.com"},"license":"https://etfiq.com/license/","license_text":"Data ETFIQ computes is free to use with attribution: ETFIQ (etfiq.com). Issuer data stays under its owner's terms.","citation":"ETFIQ, IJR against SMAY, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ijr-vs-smay","a":{"ticker":"IJR","name":"iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF","issuer":"iShares","desk":"core","as_of":"2026-10-28","verdict":"IJR tracks the S&P SmallCap 600 and returned +17.5% over the past year.","url":"https://etfiq.com/funds/ijr","key_facts":[{"label":"Total return, 1 year","value":"+17.5%","as_of":"2026-10-28","source":"computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices"},{"label":"Expense ratio","value":"0.06%","as_of":"2026-07-27","source":"485BPOS XBRL, Jul 27, 2026"},{"label":"Holdings","value":"642","as_of":"2026-10-27","source":"the issuer\u2019s daily holdings file"},{"label":"Below its high","value":"\u22126.8%","as_of":"2026-10-28","source":"ETFIQ"},{"label":"12-month yield, capital gains included, on its starting price","value":"1.4%","as_of":"2026-10-28","source":"computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and distributions"},{"label":"Last payment (paid quarterly), ex-date Sep 15, 2026","value":"$0.5094","as_of":"2026-09-15","source":"Tiingo end-of-day distributions"},{"label":"Net assets","value":"$104.6bn","as_of":"2026-10-27","source":"the issuer\u2019s own daily fund list, as of Oct 27, 2026"}]},"b":{"ticker":"SMAY","name":"FT Vest U.S. Small Cap Moderate Buffer ETF - May","issuer":"First Trust","desk":"buffer","as_of":"2026-10-28","verdict":"Since May 18, 2026, SMAY returned 2.6%, against IWM's 1.3% price return. It can gain 15.2% more before its cap.","url":"https://etfiq.com/funds/smay","key_facts":[{"label":"Can still gain from today\u2019s fund price","value":"15.2%","as_of":"2026-10-28","source":null},{"label":"Fall before the buffer from today\u2019s fund price","value":"3.5%","as_of":"2026-10-28","source":null},{"label":"Protection left, index points","value":"15.0%","as_of":"2026-10-28","source":null},{"label":"Days to reset","value":"205","as_of":"2026-10-28","source":null},{"label":"Net assets","value":"$111m","as_of":"2026-10-27","source":"issuer page, as of Oct 27, 2026"},{"label":"Expense ratio","value":"0.90%","as_of":"2026-10-28","source":"issuer page, Oct 28, 2026"}]},"overlap_pct":null,"overlap_note":"ETFIQ does not publish a holdings overlap for this pair. Either the funds are not compared on holdings, or one book is incomplete.","full_text_at":"https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ijr-vs-smay"}