Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
IWF vs IWM: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IWF returned +0.9% to IWM's +14.1%; 0% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $124.7bn for iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF and $75.5bn for iShares Russell 2000 ETF.
Pair scorecard
IWF costs 0.01 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 13.2 points; IWF is 1.7 times larger.
| Measure | IWF | IWM |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +0.9% | +14.1% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 4.8%, high on Oct 6, 2026 | 7.6%, high on Aug 14, 2026 |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Russell 1000 Growth Index | Russell 2000 Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.18% | 0.19% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $124.7bn | $75.5bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 57.5% | 3.3% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Jun 2, 2000 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,377 weekly returnsEach against its own benchmark: IWF against VONG, Oct 1, 2010 to Oct 23, 2026; IWM against VTWO, Oct 1, 2010 to Oct 23, 2026.
IWM returned slightly more: +656.6% to +629.2%. IWF swung less: 19.1% to 22.3%. IWM fell slightly less at its worst: −57.7% to −63.4%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | IWF | IWM | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +629.2% | +656.6% | IWM (slight) | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +7.8% | +7.9% | Tie | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +457.0% | +438.6% | IWF (slight) | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 19.1% | 22.3% | IWF | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 13.5% | 15.7% | IWF | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −63.4% | −57.7% | IWM (slight) | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 99.8% | 101.0% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 100.1% | 100.5% | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. | |
| Beta | 1.00 | 1.01 | Not an edge | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 1.00 | 1.00 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.40 | 0.38 | IWF (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.56 | 0.53 | IWF (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | 0.149 | 0.106 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | 0.12 | 0.14 | IWM | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | VONG | VTWO | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | −0.1% a year | −0.1% a year | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | −0.58 | −0.36 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | −0.6% to +0.3% | −0.6% to +0.4% | Includes zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. |
| Information ratio | −0.11 | −0.02 | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 1.0% | 1.0% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,377 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, IWF and IWM hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.
half
0% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
IWF and IWM on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
IWF and IWM do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. IWF follows Russell 1000 Growth Index and IWM follows Russell 2000 Index.
- Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 IWF returned +0.9% and IWM +14.1% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 13.2 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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IWF
IWF tracks the Russell 1000 growth. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +0.9% with distributions reinvested, against +1.1% for its benchmark, the Russell 1000 Growth Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.18% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 94% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 374 positions, with the top ten at 57.5%. It sat 4.8% below its high of Oct 6, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
IWM
IWM tracks the Russell 2000. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +14.1% with distributions reinvested, against +14.3% for its benchmark, the Russell 2000 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.19% 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 1,977 positions, with the top ten at 3.3%. It sat 7.6% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, IWF or IWM?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IWF returned +0.9% and IWM +14.1%.
- Which is cheaper, IWF or IWM?
- IWF is cheaper, by 0.01 percentage points a year. That is about $1 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, IWF against IWM, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iwf-vs-iwm
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). IWF against IWM. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iwf-vs-iwm
[IWF against IWM (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iwf-vs-iwm)
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