Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
IWD vs SDY: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IWD returned +27.5% to SDY's +16.5%; 21% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $83.0bn for iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF and $21.9bn for State Street SPDR S&P Dividend ETF.
Pair scorecard
IWD costs 0.17 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 11.0 points; IWD is 3.8 times larger.
| Measure | IWD | SDY |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +27.5% | +16.5% |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Russell 1000 Value Index | S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.18% | 0.35% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $83.0bn | $21.9bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 21% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 29.6% | 20.4% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Nov 25, 2005 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,091 weekly returnsSDY returned slightly more: +506.8% to +486.9%. SDY swung slightly less: 17.5% to 18.4%. SDY fell slightly less at its worst: −54.4% to −59.8%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | IWD | SDY | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +486.9% | +506.8% | SDY (slight) | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +8.8% | +9.0% | Tie | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +265.9% | +188.8% | IWD | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 18.4% | 17.5% | SDY (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 13.2% | 12.3% | SDY (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −59.8% | −54.4% | SDY (slight) | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.46 | 0.48 | SDY (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.64 | 0.68 | SDY (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.15 | 0.16 | SDY | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,091 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, IWD and SDY hold 21% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.
half
21% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
IWD and SDY on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
IWD and SDY do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. IWD follows Russell 1000 Value Index and SDY follows S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index.
- Holdings in common. 21% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 IWD returned +27.5% and SDY +16.5% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 11.0 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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IWD
IWD tracks the Russell 1000 value. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +27.5% with distributions reinvested, against +27.7% for its benchmark, the Russell 1000 Value Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.18% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 90% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 871 positions, with the top ten at 29.6%.
SDY
SDY tracks the S&P Dividend. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +16.5% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.35% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 84% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 156 positions, with the top ten at 20.4%.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, IWD or SDY?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IWD returned +27.5% and SDY +16.5%.
- Which is cheaper, IWD or SDY?
- IWD is cheaper, by 0.17 percentage points a year. That is about $17 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, IWD against SDY, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iwd-vs-sdy
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). IWD against SDY. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iwd-vs-sdy
[IWD against SDY (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iwd-vs-sdy)
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