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

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

Which is cheaper, IWM or IXUS?

IXUS is cheaper, by 0.12 percentage points a year. That is about $12 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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

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

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

IWM vs IXUS: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IWM and IXUS finished level, +14.1% against +14.1%, and they share 2% of their weight.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $75.5bn for iShares Russell 2000 ETF and $57.6bn for iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF.

IWM on its own →IXUS on its own →

At a glance

+14.1%

IWM total return, 1 year

+14.1%

IXUS total return, 1 year

0.19%

IWM expense ratio

0.07%

IXUS expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IXUS costs 0.12 points a year less; both returned +14.1% over a year; IWM is 1.3 times larger.

IWM vs IXUS: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IWM	IXUS
Return
Measure	IWM	IXUS
Total return, 1 year	+14.1%	+14.1%
Drawdown
Measure	IWM	IXUS
Below its high	7.6%, high on Aug 14, 2026	4.9%, high on Sep 4, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	IWM	IXUS
What it tracks	Russell 2000 Index	MSCI ACWI ex USA IMI
Cost and size
Measure	IWM	IXUS
Expense ratio	0.19%	0.07%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$75.5bn	$57.6bn
Holdings
Measure	IWM	IXUS
Holdings in common	2%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	3.3%	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

IWM IXUS

Return

Total return edge IWM +309.3% +177.4%

Annualized edge IWM +10.6% +7.5%

Price return edge IWM +239.6% +90.2%

Risk

Volatility edge IXUS 21.0% 15.8%

Max drawdown edge IXUS −40.2% −34.6%

Downside capture 100.5% 99.4%

Beta 1.01 0.99

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge IWM 0.50 0.42

Sortino edge IWM 0.72 0.59

Treynor 0.106 0.068

Calmar edge IWM 0.26 0.22

Against the benchmark

Alpha −0.1% a year +0.3% a year

Alpha t-stat −0.36 0.64

Information ratio −0.02 0.14

Tracking error 1.0% 1.5%

Each against its own benchmark: IWM against VTWO, Oct 1, 2010 to Oct 23, 2026; IXUS against ACWX, Nov 2, 2012 to Oct 23, 2026.

Reading

IWM returned more: +309.3% to +177.4%. IXUS swung less: 15.8% to 21.0%. IXUS fell less at its worst: −34.6% to −40.2%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: IWM vs IXUS: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IWM	IXUS	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+309.3%	+177.4%	IWM	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+10.6%	+7.5%	IWM	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+239.6%	+90.2%	IWM	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	21.0%	15.8%	IXUS	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	14.4%	11.3%	IXUS	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−40.2%	−34.6%	IXUS	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture	101.0%	99.6%		Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture	100.5%	99.4%		Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta	1.01	0.99	Not an edge	How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared	1.00	0.99	Not an edge	Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.50	0.42	IWM	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.72	0.59	IWM	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor	0.106	0.068		Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar	0.26	0.22	IWM	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
Benchmark	VTWO	ACWX		The ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha	−0.1% a year	+0.3% a year	Not significant	Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat	−0.36	0.64	Not an edge	How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range	−0.6% to +0.4%	−0.5% to +1.1%	Includes zero	The 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio	−0.02	0.14		Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error	1.0%	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, IWM and IXUS hold 2% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

2% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first IWM IXUS

CORE NATURAL RESOURCES 0.16% 0.16%

COMPASS INC CLASS A 0.24% 0.14%

MOELIS CLASS A 0.14% 0.26%

AAR 0.13% 0.31%

UNITED COMMUNITY BANKS INC 0.15% 0.09%

ORMAT TECH INC 0.19% 0.07%

C3 AI CLASS A 0.06% 0.29%

ENERGIZER HOLDINGS 0.05% 0.27%

MINERALS TECHNOLOGIES 0.06% 0.05%

NEXTNAV 0.04% 0.05%

TRINITY INDUSTRIES INC 0.07% 0.04%

VALARIS LTD 0.19% 0.04%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in IWM

JFROG 0.37%

GLAUKOS 0.35%

TWIST BIOSCIENCE 0.35%

MOOG INC CLASS A 0.34%

BRIGHTSPRING HEALTH SERVICES INC 0.33%

UMB FINANCIAL 0.33%

RYMAN HOSPITALITY PROPERTIES REIT 0.30%

VIASAT INC 0.30%

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

IWM iShares Russell 2000 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 2000 Tracks the MSCI Total International Stock

Total return, 1 year +14.1% +14.1%

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

Gap to its benchmark −0.2 pts vs VTWO −0.2 pts vs ACWX

Expense ratio 0.19% 0.07%

Already in the S&P 500 0.0% 0.0%

Holdings 1977 4584

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $75.5bn $57.6bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-8F74C80B13

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

What each follows. IWM follows Russell 2000 Index and IXUS follows MSCI ACWI ex USA IMI.
Holdings in common. 2% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
Cost. IWM charges 0.19% of assets a year and IXUS 0.07%, a gap of 0.12 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund

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.

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, IWM or IXUS?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IWM returned +14.1% and IXUS +14.1%.
Which is cheaper, IWM or IXUS?: IXUS is cheaper, by 0.12 percentage points a year. That is about $12 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do IWM and IXUS overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 0% of IWM and 0% of IXUS by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

EFA vs IWM ACWX vs IWM IDEV vs IWM IEFA vs IWM IXUS vs VB IXUS vs VTWO IJR vs IXUS IJT vs IXUS

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

IWM and IXUS filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IWM prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IWM ↗

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

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