Which returned more over the last year, IWC or IXUS?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IWC returned +16.5% and IXUS +14.1%.

Which is cheaper, IWC or IXUS?

IXUS is cheaper, by 0.53 percentage points a year. That is about $53 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

How much do IWC and IXUS overlap with the S&P 500?

By their latest filed holdings, 92% of IWC and 0% of IXUS by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

IWC vs IXUS: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IWC returned +16.5% to IXUS's +14.1%; 1% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $1.2bn for iShares Micro-Cap ETF and $57.6bn for iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF.

IWC on its own →IXUS on its own →

At a glance

+16.5%

IWC total return, 1 year

+14.1%

IXUS total return, 1 year

0.60%

IWC expense ratio

0.07%

IXUS expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IXUS costs 0.53 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 2.4 points; IXUS is far larger, $57.6bn against $1.2bn.

IWC vs IXUS: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IWC	IXUS
Return
Measure	IWC	IXUS
Total return, 1 year	+16.5%	+14.1%
Drawdown
Measure	IWC	IXUS
Below its high	9.5%, high on Aug 14, 2026	4.9%, high on Sep 4, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	IWC	IXUS
What it tracks	Russell Microcap Index	MSCI ACWI ex USA IMI
Cost and size
Measure	IWC	IXUS
Expense ratio	0.60%	0.07%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$1.2bn	$57.6bn
Holdings
Measure	IWC	IXUS
Holdings in common	1%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	5.9%	13.5%

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

Risk and return

Nov 2, 2012 to Oct 23, 2026 · 729 weekly returns

IWC IXUS

Return

Total return edge IWC +311.2% +177.4%

Annualized edge IWC +10.6% +7.5%

Price return edge IWC +247.7% +90.2%

Risk

Volatility edge IXUS 22.4% 15.8%

Max drawdown edge IXUS −45.2% −34.6%

Downside capture 111.7% 99.4%

Beta 1.16 0.99

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge IWC 0.48 0.42

Sortino edge IWC 0.70 0.59

Treynor 0.070 0.068

Calmar edge IWC (slight) 0.23 0.22

Against the benchmark

Alpha −3.6% a year +0.3% a year

Alpha t-stat −1.41 0.64

Information ratio −0.16 0.14

Tracking error 12.0% 1.5%

Each against its own benchmark: IWC against IWV, Aug 26, 2005 to Oct 23, 2026; IXUS against ACWX, Nov 2, 2012 to Oct 23, 2026.

Reading

IWC returned more: +311.2% to +177.4%. IXUS swung less: 15.8% to 22.4%. IXUS fell less at its worst: −34.6% to −45.2%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: IWC vs IXUS: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IWC	IXUS	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+311.2%	+177.4%	IWC	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+10.6%	+7.5%	IWC	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+247.7%	+90.2%	IWC	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	22.4%	15.8%	IXUS	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	15.4%	11.3%	IXUS	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−45.2%	−34.6%	IXUS	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture	118.0%	99.6%		Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture	111.7%	99.4%		Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta	1.16	0.99	Not an edge	How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared	0.76	0.99	Not an edge	Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.48	0.42	IWC	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.70	0.59	IWC	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor	0.070	0.068		Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar	0.23	0.22	IWC (slight)	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
Benchmark	IWV	ACWX		The ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha	−3.6% a year	+0.3% a year	Not significant	Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat	−1.41	0.64	Not an edge	How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range	−8.5% to +1.4%	−0.5% to +1.1%	Includes zero	The 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio	−0.16	0.14		Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error	12.0%	1.5%	Not an edge	How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 729 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, IWC and IXUS hold 1% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

1% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first IWC IXUS

EMERGENT BIOSOLUTIONS 0.09% 0.09%

ABACUS GLOBAL MANAGEMENT INC CLASS 0.06% 0.16%

COMMERCIAL BANCGROUP INC 0.07% 0.06%

INFORMATION SERVICES GROUP INC 0.05% 0.07%

NN INC 0.05% 0.05%

FIRST FINANCIAL CORPORATION CORP 0.22% 0.04%

MISTRAS GROUP INC 0.09% 0.04%

ORION GROUP INC 0.09% 0.03%

TELOS CORPORATION CORP 0.07% 0.03%

GLADSTONE LAND REIT 0.09% 0.02%

IDAHO STRATEGIC RESOURCES INC 0.08% 0.02%

SPYGLASS PHARMA SHS 0.07% 0.02%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in IWC

CAREDX 0.88%

PENGUIN SOLUTIONS INC 0.73%

NURIX THERAPEUTICS 0.63%

VIRIDIAN THERAPEUTICS ORS 0.59%

OUSTER 0.53%

INTERFACE 0.52%

STRIVE INC CLASS A 0.50%

HYPERLIQUID STRATEGIES INC 0.46%

Only in IXUS

TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING 4.39%

SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS LTD 1.90%

ASML HOLDING 1.53%

SK HYNIX 1.35%

ROCHE PS PAR AG 0.82%

SHELL 0.73%

TENCENT HOLDINGS 0.73%

HSBC HOLDINGS PLC 0.72%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

IWC iShares Micro-Cap ETF IXUS iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Tracks the Russell Microcap Tracks the MSCI Total International Stock

Total return, 1 year +16.5% +14.1%

Its benchmark over the same days +13.3% (IWV) +14.3% (ACWX)

Gap to its benchmark +3.2 pts vs IWV −0.2 pts vs ACWX

Expense ratio 0.60% 0.07%

Already in the S&P 500 91.7% 0.0%

Holdings 1365 4584

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $1.2bn $57.6bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-5C1EFA148F

IWC and IXUS do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?

What each follows. IWC follows Russell Microcap Index and IXUS follows MSCI ACWI ex USA IMI.
Holdings in common. 1% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 IWC returned +16.5% and IXUS +14.1% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 2.4 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund

IWC

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +16.5% with distributions reinvested, against +13.3% for its benchmark, the Russell 3000 Index.

IWC tracks the Russell Microcap. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.60% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 92% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 1,365 positions, with the top ten at 5.9%. It sat 9.5% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

IXUS

IXUS tracks the MSCI Total International Stock. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +14.1% with distributions reinvested, against +14.3% for its benchmark, the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.07% 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 4,584 positions, with the top ten at 13.5%. It sat 4.9% below its high of Sep 4, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, IWC or IXUS?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IWC returned +16.5% and IXUS +14.1%.
Which is cheaper, IWC or IXUS?: IXUS is cheaper, by 0.53 percentage points a year. That is about $53 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do IWC and IXUS overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 92% of IWC and 0% of IXUS by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

EFA vs IWC IWC vs VEA IWC vs VEU IWC vs SCHF IXUS vs VTWO IWM vs IXUS IXUS vs VB IJR vs IXUS

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

IWC and IXUS filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IWC prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IWC ↗

IXUS prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IXUS ↗

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, IWC against IXUS, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iwc-vs-ixus

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