Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
IJT vs NUSC: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IJT returned +15.4% to NUSC's +12.2%; 16% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets: $7.5bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Growth ETF, and $1.3bn on Jul 31, 2026 for Nuveen ESG Small-Cap ETF.
Pair scorecard
IJT costs 0.13 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 3.2 points.
| Measure | IJT | NUSC |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +15.4% | +12.2% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 8.2%, high on Aug 4, 2026 | 5.7%, high on Aug 14, 2026 |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | S&P SmallCap 600 Growth Index | Nuveen ESG USA Small-Cap Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.18% | 0.31% |
| Net assets, IJT as of Oct 27, 2026 and NUSC as of Jul 31, 2026 | $7.5bn | $1.3bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 16% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 9.6% | 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 returnsEach against its own benchmark: IJT against SLYG, Oct 13, 2000 to Oct 23, 2026; NUSC against MLRG, Dec 23, 2016 to Oct 23, 2026.
NUSC returned slightly more: +139.1% to +133.5%. NUSC swung slightly less: 21.6% to 22.3%. NUSC fell slightly less at its worst: −40.5% to −41.6%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | IJT | NUSC | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +133.5% | +139.1% | NUSC (slight) | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +9.0% | +9.2% | NUSC (slight) | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +113.3% | +100.1% | IJT | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 22.3% | 21.6% | NUSC (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 15.5% | 15.1% | NUSC (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −41.6% | −40.5% | NUSC (slight) | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 90.0% | 93.6% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 95.0% | 103.0% | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. | |
| Beta | 0.91 | 1.07 | Not an edge | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.92 | 0.77 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.38 | 0.40 | NUSC (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.55 | 0.57 | NUSC (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | 0.105 | 0.081 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | 0.22 | 0.23 | NUSC (slight) | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | SLYG | MLRG | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | +2.0% a year | −4.5% a year | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | 1.64 | −1.33 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | −0.4% to +4.4% | −11.0% to +2.1% | Includes zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. |
| Information ratio | 0.19 | −0.34 | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 6.6% | 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, IJT and NUSC hold 16% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.
half
16% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
IJT and NUSC on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
IJT and NUSC are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- What each follows. IJT follows S&P SmallCap 600 Growth Index and NUSC follows Nuveen ESG USA Small-Cap Index.
- Holdings in common. 16% 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 IJT returned +15.4% and NUSC +12.2% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 3.2 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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IJT
IJT tracks the S&P Small-Cap 600 Growth. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +15.4% with distributions reinvested, against +15.6% for its benchmark, the S&P SmallCap 600 Growth Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.18% 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 369 positions, with the top ten at 9.6%. It sat 8.2% below its high of Aug 4, 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, IJT or NUSC?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IJT returned +15.4% and NUSC +12.2%.
- Which is cheaper, IJT or NUSC?
- IJT is cheaper, by 0.13 percentage points a year. That is about $13 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
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.
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ETFIQ, IJT against NUSC, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ijt-vs-nusc
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). IJT against NUSC. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ijt-vs-nusc
[IJT against NUSC (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ijt-vs-nusc)
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