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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IJT returned +15.4% and SMLF +14.8%.

Which is cheaper, IJT or SMLF?

SMLF is cheaper, by 0.03 percentage points a year. That is about $3 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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

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

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

IJT vs SMLF: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IJT returned +15.4% to SMLF's +14.8%; 15% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $7.5bn for iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Growth ETF and $4.2bn for iShares U.S. Small-Cap Equity Factor ETF.

IJT on its own →SMLF on its own →

At a glance

+15.4%

IJT total return, 1 year

+14.8%

SMLF total return, 1 year

0.18%

IJT expense ratio

0.15%

SMLF expense ratio

Pair scorecard

SMLF costs 0.03 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.6 points; IJT is 1.8 times larger.

IJT vs SMLF: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IJT	SMLF
Return
Measure	IJT	SMLF
Total return, 1 year	+15.4%	+14.8%
Drawdown
Measure	IJT	SMLF
Below its high	8.2%, high on Aug 4, 2026	5.2%, high on Aug 14, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	IJT	SMLF
What it tracks	S&P SmallCap 600 Growth Index	STOXX U.S. Small-Cap Equity Factor Index
Cost and size
Measure	IJT	SMLF
Expense ratio	0.18%	0.15%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$7.5bn	$4.2bn
Holdings
Measure	IJT	SMLF
Holdings in common	15%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	9.6%	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

IJT SMLF

Return

Total return edge SMLF +181.0% +225.7%

Annualized edge SMLF +9.4% +10.8%

Price return edge SMLF +151.6% +183.9%

Risk

Volatility edge SMLF (slight) 21.7% 21.0%

Max drawdown edge SMLF (slight) −41.6% −40.4%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge SMLF 0.42 0.49

Sortino edge SMLF 0.61 0.70

Calmar edge SMLF 0.23 0.27

Reading

SMLF returned more: +225.7% to +181.0%. SMLF swung slightly less: 21.0% to 21.7%. SMLF fell slightly less at its worst: −40.4% to −41.6%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: IJT vs SMLF: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IJT	SMLF	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+181.0%	+225.7%	SMLF	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+9.4%	+10.8%	SMLF	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+151.6%	+183.9%	SMLF	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	21.7%	21.0%	SMLF (slight)	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	15.0%	14.6%	SMLF (slight)	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−41.6%	−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	0.23	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

15%

By the books each fund has filed, IJT and SMLF hold 15% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

15% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first IJT SMLF

ETSY 0.91% 0.32%

ALKERMES 0.90% 0.29%

MACERICH REIT 0.44% 0.28%

RINGCENTRAL CLASS A 0.45% 0.27%

AMERICAN STATES WATER 0.27% 0.26%

CLEAR SECURE CLASS A 0.53% 0.24%

WORKIVA CLASS A 0.41% 0.23%

AXOS FINANCIAL 0.64% 0.23%

ELEMENT SOLUTIONS INC 0.49% 0.23%

HCI GROUP INC 0.25% 0.23%

TANGER 0.34% 0.22%

LYFT CLASS A 0.77% 0.22%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in IJT

ZURN ELKAY WATER SOLUTIONS CORP 0.88%

ARMSTRONG WORLD INDUSTRIES 0.80%

ESCO TECHNOLOGIES 0.75%

CASELLA WASTE SYSTEMS CLASS A 0.71%

JBT MAREL 0.68%

MSG KNICKERBOCKERS CLASS A 0.64%

TERRENO REALTY REIT 0.60%

GRANITE CONSTRUCTION 0.59%

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

IJT iShares S&P Small-Cap 600 Growth 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 Small-Cap 600 Growth Tracks an index

Total return, 1 year +15.4% +14.8%

Its benchmark over the same days +15.6% (SLYG) not measured

Gap to its benchmark −0.2 pts vs SLYG not measured

Expense ratio 0.18% 0.15%

Already in the S&P 500 0.0% 10.6%

Holdings 369 962

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $7.5bn $4.2bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-251E3820D9

IJT and SMLF 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 SMLF follows STOXX U.S. Small-Cap Equity Factor Index.
Holdings in common. 15% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
One-year total return (similar). Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 IJT returned +15.4% and SMLF +14.8% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 0.6 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund

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.

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, IJT or SMLF?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IJT returned +15.4% and SMLF +14.8%.
Which is cheaper, IJT or SMLF?: SMLF is cheaper, by 0.03 percentage points a year. That is about $3 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do IJT and SMLF overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 0% of IJT and 11% of SMLF by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

ESML vs IJT BBMC vs IJT IJT vs RSSL IJT vs VIOG SMLF vs VIOO SMLF vs SPSM SMLF vs XSMO AVSC vs SMLF

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

IJT and SMLF filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IJT prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IJT ↗

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

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