Are ISMF and IVV in the same category?

ISMF is an alternatives ETF and IVV is a stock ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.

Which returned more over the last year, ISMF or IVV?

In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, ISMF returned +10.9% and IVV +14.8%.

Which is cheaper, ISMF or IVV?

IVV is cheaper, by 0.77 percentage points a year. That is about $77 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026.

Across categories

ISMF vs IVV: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, ISMF returned +10.9% to IVV's +14.8%, and IVV charges 0.03% to ISMF's 0.80%.

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Net assets on Nov 3, 2026: $37m for iShares Managed Futures Active ETF and $872.0bn for iShares Core S&P 500 ETF.

ISMF on its own →IVV on its own →

At a glance

+10.9%

ISMF total return, 1 year

+14.8%

IVV total return, 1 year

0.80%

ISMF expense ratio

0.03%

IVV expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IVV costs 0.77 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 3.9 points; IVV is far larger, $886.8bn against $37m.

ISMF vs IVV: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	ISMF	IVV
Return
Measure	ISMF	IVV
Total return, 1 year	+10.9%	+14.8%
Total return, 52 weeks	+10.5%
Against its benchmark
Measure	ISMF	IVV
What it tracks	not published	S&P 500
Treasury bills, 52 weeks	+3.7%
Against cash	6.8 points ahead
Cost and size
Measure	ISMF	IVV
Expense ratio	0.80%	0.03%
Net assets	$37m	$886.8bn
Holdings
Measure	ISMF	IVV
Holdings in common	not published
In the S&P 500, by weight		100%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund		37.3%
Risk
Measure	ISMF	IVV
Correlation with the S&P 500’s weekly returns	+0.48
Beta to the S&P 500	+0.31: about 0.31% for each 1%
Its average week when the S&P 500 fell	fell 0.38%
Down-week capture	35.9%
Weeks the S&P 500 fell	26 of 52, by 1.07% on average

Method

Side by side

ISMF iShares Managed Futures Active ETF IVV iShares Core S&P 500 ETF

Where it sits Alternatives ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Managed futures Tracks the S&P 500

Total return, 1 year +10.9% +14.8%

Its benchmark over the same days not measured +14.8% (SPY)

Gap to its benchmark not measured 0.0 pts vs SPY

Expense ratio 0.80% 0.03%

Holdings not read by ETFIQ 505

Net assets, as of Nov 3, 2026 $37m $872.0bn

ISMF and IVV on the fields both publish, as of Nov 4, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Alert

About each fund

ISMF

ISMF is a managed futures fund. ETFIQ measures what every alternatives fund is sold on: whether it moves differently from the stock market. Over the year to Nov 4, 2026, its weekly returns had a correlation of +0.48 with the S&P 500’s and a beta of +0.31, so for each 1% the index moved it moved about 0.31% the same way. The S&P 500 fell in 26 of those 52 weeks, by 1.07% on average. In the same weeks ISMF fell 0.38% on average, a down-week capture of 35.9%. Over the same 52 weeks ISMF returned +10.5% and a Treasury bill fund +3.7%, so it finished 6.8 percentage points ahead of cash.

IVV

IVV tracks the S&P 500. Over the year to Nov 4, 2026 it returned +14.8% with distributions reinvested, against +14.8% for its benchmark, the S&P 500. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Nov 3, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 505 positions, with the top ten at 37.3%.

Questions people ask

Are ISMF and IVV in the same category?: ISMF is an alternatives ETF and IVV is a stock ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
Which returned more over the last year, ISMF or IVV?: In the year to Nov 4, 2026, with distributions reinvested, ISMF returned +10.9% and IVV +14.8%.
Which is cheaper, ISMF or IVV?: IVV is cheaper, by 0.77 percentage points a year. That is about $77 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

ISMF vs VOO ISMF vs SPY ISMF vs QQQ BND vs ISMF IVV vs MFUT ASMF vs IVV IVV vs PRAE AHLT vs IVV

Where to next

BIL, the T-bill fund these are measured against →SPY, the S&P 500 fund these are measured against →ISMF on its own →IVV on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →ISMF dividend history →IVV dividend history →IVV holdings →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

ISMF filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

ISMF prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for ISMF ↗

IVV filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IVV prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IVV ↗

Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.

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ETFIQ, ISMF against IVV, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ismf-vs-ivv

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