Which returned more over the last year, IJR or SMLF?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IJR returned +17.5% and SMLF +14.8%.

Which is cheaper, IJR or SMLF?

IJR is cheaper, by 0.09 percentage points a year. That is about $9 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

How much do IJR and SMLF overlap with the S&P 500?

By their latest filed holdings, 0% of IJR and 11% of SMLF by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

IJR vs SMLF: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IJR returned +17.5% to SMLF's +14.8%; 21% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $104.6bn for iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF and $4.2bn for iShares U.S. Small-Cap Equity Factor ETF.

IJR on its own →SMLF on its own →

At a glance

+17.5%

IJR total return, 1 year

+14.8%

SMLF total return, 1 year

0.06%

IJR expense ratio

0.15%

SMLF expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IJR costs 0.09 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 2.7 points; IJR is far larger, $104.6bn against $4.2bn.

IJR vs SMLF: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IJR	SMLF
Return
Measure	IJR	SMLF
Total return, 1 year	+17.5%	+14.8%
Drawdown
Measure	IJR	SMLF
Below its high	6.8%, high on Aug 14, 2026	5.2%, high on Aug 14, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	IJR	SMLF
What it tracks	S&P SmallCap 600	STOXX U.S. Small-Cap Equity Factor Index
Cost and size
Measure	IJR	SMLF
Expense ratio	0.06%	0.15%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$104.6bn	$4.2bn
Holdings
Measure	IJR	SMLF
Holdings in common	21%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	5.3%	6.4%

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

Risk and return

May 8, 2015 to Oct 23, 2026 · 598 weekly returns

IJR SMLF

Return

Total return edge SMLF +181.1% +225.7%

Annualized edge SMLF +9.4% +10.8%

Price return edge SMLF +137.2% +183.9%

Risk

Volatility edge SMLF (slight) 22.1% 21.0%

Max drawdown edge SMLF (slight) −43.6% −40.4%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge SMLF 0.42 0.49

Sortino edge SMLF 0.61 0.70

Calmar edge SMLF 0.22 0.27

Reading

SMLF returned more: +225.7% to +181.1%. SMLF swung slightly less: 21.0% to 22.1%. SMLF fell slightly less at its worst: −40.4% to −43.6%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: IJR vs SMLF: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IJR	SMLF	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+181.1%	+225.7%	SMLF	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+9.4%	+10.8%	SMLF	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+137.2%	+183.9%	SMLF	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	22.1%	21.0%	SMLF (slight)	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	15.2%	14.6%	SMLF (slight)	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−43.6%	−40.4%	SMLF (slight)	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.42	0.49	SMLF	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.61	0.70	SMLF	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.22	0.27	SMLF	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 598 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

21%

By the books each fund has filed, IJR and SMLF hold 21% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

21% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first IJR SMLF

JACKSON FINANCIAL CLASS A 0.48% 0.36%

ETSY 0.43% 0.32%

ALKERMES 0.42% 0.29%

MACERICH REIT 0.39% 0.28%

RINGCENTRAL CLASS A 0.36% 0.27%

SIGNET JEWELERS 0.26% 0.27%

CLEAR SECURE CLASS A 0.25% 0.24%

WORKIVA CLASS A 0.24% 0.23%

AXOS FINANCIAL 0.29% 0.23%

ELEMENT SOLUTIONS INC 0.46% 0.23%

MATSON INC 0.39% 0.22%

TANGER 0.24% 0.22%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in IJR

CARMAX INC 0.43%

EASTMAN CHEMICAL 0.43%

LAMB WESTON HOLDINGS 0.42%

ZURN ELKAY WATER SOLUTIONS CORP 0.41%

TERRENO REALTY REIT 0.40%

POOL 0.40%

EPAM SYSTEMS 0.39%

ARMSTRONG WORLD INDUSTRIES 0.37%

Only in SMLF

EMCOR GROUP 0.81%

EVERPURE INC CLASS A 0.72%

NVENT ELECTRIC PLC 0.72%

JABIL 0.69%

WILLIAMS SONOMA INC 0.68%

RELIANCE STEEL & ALUMINUM 0.61%

FLEX LTD 0.58%

GUARDANT HEALTH 0.55%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

IJR iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF SMLF iShares U.S. Small-Cap Equity Factor ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Tracks the S&P SmallCap 600 Tracks an index

Total return, 1 year +17.5% +14.8%

Its benchmark over the same days +17.6% (SPSM) not measured

Gap to its benchmark −0.1 pts vs SPSM not measured

Expense ratio 0.06% 0.15%

Already in the S&P 500 0.0% 10.6%

Holdings 642 962

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $104.6bn $4.2bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-6A666DB3BA

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

What each follows. IJR follows S&P SmallCap 600 and SMLF follows STOXX U.S. Small-Cap Equity Factor Index.
Holdings in common. 21% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 IJR returned +17.5% and SMLF +14.8% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 2.7 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund

IJR

IJR tracks the S&P SmallCap 600. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +17.5% with distributions reinvested, against +17.6% for its benchmark, the S&P SmallCap 600. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.06% 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 642 positions, with the top ten at 5.3%. It sat 6.8% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

SMLF

SMLF tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +14.8% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 11% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 962 positions, with the top ten at 6.4%. It sat 5.2% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, IJR or SMLF?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IJR returned +17.5% and SMLF +14.8%.
Which is cheaper, IJR or SMLF?: IJR is cheaper, by 0.09 percentage points a year. That is about $9 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do IJR and SMLF overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 0% of IJR and 11% of SMLF by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

IJR vs SLYG IJR vs XSMO AVSC vs IJR IJR vs PSC SMLF vs VB IWM vs SMLF SCHA vs SMLF SMLF vs VTWO

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

IJR and SMLF filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IJR prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IJR ↗

SMLF prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for SMLF ↗

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, IJR against SMLF, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ijr-vs-smlf

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