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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IWC returned +16.5% and NUSC +12.2%.

Which is cheaper, IWC or NUSC?

NUSC is cheaper, by 0.29 percentage points a year. That is about $29 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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

By their latest filed holdings, 92% of IWC and 6% of NUSC by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

IWC vs NUSC: Differences, Returns & Fees

Share on X Download as PDF

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IWC returned +16.5% to NUSC's +12.2%; 2% of their weight is in the same names.

askIQ about this page

askIQ about IWC and NUSC

Net assets: $1.2bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares Micro-Cap ETF, and $1.3bn on Jul 31, 2026 for Nuveen ESG Small-Cap ETF.

IWC on its own →NUSC on its own →

At a glance

+16.5%

IWC total return, 1 year

+12.2%

NUSC total return, 1 year

0.60%

IWC expense ratio

0.31%

NUSC expense ratio

Pair scorecard

NUSC costs 0.29 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 4.3 points.

IWC vs NUSC: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IWC	NUSC
Return
Measure	IWC	NUSC
Total return, 1 year	+16.5%	+12.2%
Drawdown
Measure	IWC	NUSC
Below its high	9.5%, high on Aug 14, 2026	5.7%, high on Aug 14, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	IWC	NUSC
What it tracks	Russell Microcap Index	Nuveen ESG USA Small-Cap Index
Cost and size
Measure	IWC	NUSC
Expense ratio	0.60%	0.31%
Net assets, IWC as of Oct 27, 2026 and NUSC as of Jul 31, 2026	$1.2bn	$1.3bn
Holdings
Measure	IWC	NUSC
Holdings in common	2%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	5.9%	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 returns

IWC NUSC

Return

Total return edge NUSC (slight) +127.1% +139.1%

Annualized edge NUSC (slight) +8.7% +9.2%

Price return edge IWC (slight) +103.8% +100.1%

Risk

Volatility edge NUSC 24.3% 21.6%

Max drawdown edge NUSC −45.2% −40.5%

Downside capture 111.7% 103.0%

Beta 1.16 1.07

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge NUSC 0.36 0.40

Sortino edge NUSC (slight) 0.52 0.57

Treynor 0.070 0.081

Calmar edge NUSC 0.19 0.23

Against the benchmark

Alpha −3.6% a year −4.5% a year

Alpha t-stat −1.41 −1.33

Information ratio −0.16 −0.34

Tracking error 12.0% 10.5%

Each against its own benchmark: IWC against IWV, Aug 26, 2005 to Oct 23, 2026; NUSC against MLRG, Dec 23, 2016 to Oct 23, 2026.

Reading

NUSC returned slightly more: +139.1% to +127.1%. NUSC swung less: 21.6% to 24.3%. NUSC fell less at its worst: −40.5% to −45.2%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: IWC vs NUSC: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IWC	NUSC	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+127.1%	+139.1%	NUSC (slight)	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+8.7%	+9.2%	NUSC (slight)	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+103.8%	+100.1%	IWC (slight)	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	24.3%	21.6%	NUSC	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	16.9%	15.1%	NUSC	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−45.2%	−40.5%	NUSC	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture	118.0%	93.6%		Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture	111.7%	103.0%		Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta	1.16	1.07	Not an edge	How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared	0.76	0.77	Not an edge	Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.36	0.40	NUSC	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.52	0.57	NUSC (slight)	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor	0.070	0.081		Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar	0.19	0.23	NUSC	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
Benchmark	IWV	MLRG		The ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha	−3.6% a year	−4.5% a year	Not significant	Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat	−1.41	−1.33	Not an edge	How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range	−8.5% to +1.4%	−11.0% to +2.1%	Includes zero	The 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio	−0.16	−0.34		Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error	12.0%	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, IWC and NUSC hold 2% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

2% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first IWC NUSC

INTERFACE 0.52% 0.15%

CAREDX 0.88% 0.14%

NUVATION BIO CLASS A 0.28% 0.12%

MBX BIOSCIENCES 0.40% 0.11%

BUTTERFLY NETWORK CLASS A 0.40% 0.10%

USA TODAY INC 0.22% 0.09%

THE REALREAL 0.30% 0.09%

COLLEGIUM PHARMACEUTICAL 0.18% 0.09%

RAPPORT THERAPEUTICS 0.21% 0.09%

GREEN PLAINS 0.23% 0.08%

WILLDAN GROUP 0.27% 0.08%

NPK INTERNATIONAL 0.23% 0.07%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in IWC

PENGUIN SOLUTIONS INC 0.73%

NURIX THERAPEUTICS 0.63%

SELLAS LIFE SCIENCES GROUP INC 0.60%

VIRIDIAN THERAPEUTICS ORS 0.59%

OUSTER 0.53%

STRIVE INC CLASS A 0.50%

HYPERLIQUID STRATEGIES INC 0.46%

PORCH GROUP 0.44%

Only in NUSC

ATI Inc 1.26%

TD SYNNEX Corp 1.08%

Host Hotels & Resorts Inc 1.07%

Viatris Inc 1.07%

nVent Electric PLC 1.06%

East West Bancorp Inc 1.04%

RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd 0.96%

AGNC Investment Corp 0.90%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

IWC iShares Micro-Cap ETF NUSC Nuveen ESG Small-Cap ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares Nuveen

What it is Tracks the Russell Microcap Tracks an index

Total return, 1 year +16.5% +12.2%

Its benchmark over the same days +13.3% (IWV) +13.6% (MLRG)

Gap to its benchmark +3.2 pts vs IWV −1.4 pts vs MLRG

Expense ratio 0.60% 0.31%

Already in the S&P 500 91.7% 6.1%

Holdings 1365 405

Net assets, IWC as of Oct 27, 2026 and NUSC as of Jul 31, 2026 $1.2bn $1.3bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-FCC80C96C1

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

What each follows. IWC follows Russell Microcap Index and NUSC follows Nuveen ESG USA Small-Cap Index.
Holdings in common. 2% 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 IWC returned +16.5% and NUSC +12.2% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 4.3 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

The two-page PDF for this pair is coming. Save the comparison to follow its changes. Free. It needs an email sign-in, once.

Your saved page · Privacy.

Alert

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.

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, IWC or NUSC?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IWC returned +16.5% and NUSC +12.2%.
Which is cheaper, IWC or NUSC?: NUSC is cheaper, by 0.29 percentage points a year. That is about $29 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do IWC and NUSC overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 92% of IWC and 6% of NUSC by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

IWC vs RSSL IWC vs VIOG FFSM vs IWC BBMC vs IWC NUSC vs RSSL NUSC vs VIOG NUSC vs PSC AVSC vs NUSC

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

IWC filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IWC prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IWC ↗

NUSC filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

NUSC prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Nuveen website ↗

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 NUSC, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iwc-vs-nusc

Open data →

Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.