Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

vsCompare their flowsaskIQ about these two fundsAsk the committee about these two funds
Across categories

IWM vs KJUL: Differences, Returns & Fees

Share
Share on XDownload as PDF

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IWM returned +14.1% to KJUL's +5.8%, and IWM charges 0.19% to KJUL's 0.79%.

askIQ about this page

askIQ about IWM and KJUL

Net assets: $75.5bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares Russell 2000 ETF, and $227m on Oct 28, 2026 for Innovator U.S. Small Cap Power Buffer ETF - Jul.

At a glance
+14.1%
IWM total return, 1 year
+5.8%
KJUL total return, 1 year
0.19%
IWM expense ratio
0.79%
KJUL expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IWM costs 0.60 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 8.3 points; IWM is far larger, $75.5bn against $226m.

IWM vs KJUL: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureIWMKJUL
Return
Total return, 1 year+14.1%+5.8%
Drawdown
Below its high7.6%, high on Aug 14, 2026
Benchmark
What it tracksRussell 2000 IndexIWM
The outcome period
Room to the cap22.1%
Buffer left, in index points8.5% of 15.0%
Days left in the period245
Period endsJun 30, 2027
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.19%0.79%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026$75.5bn$226m
Holdings
Holdings in commonnot published
In the S&P 500, by weight0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund3.3%

Method

Risk and return

Jul 10, 2020 to Oct 23, 2026 · 328 weekly returns
IWM KJUL
Return
Total return edge IWM +110.4% +42.7%
Annualized edge IWM +12.5% +5.8%
Price return edge IWM +95.1% +42.7%
Risk
Volatility edge KJUL 21.3% 10.7%
Max drawdown edge KJUL −31.2% −16.0%
Downside capture 100.5% 60.2%
Beta 1.01 0.46
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe edge IWM 0.51 0.29
Sortino edge IWM 0.77 0.41
Treynor 0.106 0.066
Calmar edge IWM 0.40 0.36
Against the benchmark
Alpha −0.1% a year −2.0% a year
Alpha t-stat −0.36 −1.20
Information ratio −0.02 −0.65
Tracking error 1.0% 12.2%

Each against its own benchmark: IWM against VTWO, Oct 1, 2010 to Oct 23, 2026; KJUL against IWM, Jul 10, 2020 to Oct 23, 2026.

Reading

IWM returned more: +110.4% to +42.7%. KJUL swung less: 10.7% to 21.3%. KJUL fell less at its worst: −16.0% to −31.2%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured
Open ↓
Risk and return: IWM vs KJUL: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureIWMKJULEdgeHow it is measured
Return
Total return+110.4%+42.7%IWMPrice change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized+12.5%+5.8%IWMTotal return as a yearly rate.
Price return+95.1%+42.7%IWMPrice change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility21.3%10.7%KJULSpread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation14.1%7.5%KJULLike volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown−31.2%−16.0%KJULDeepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture101.0%31.5%Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture100.5%60.2%Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta1.010.46Not an edgeHow far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared1.000.85Not an edgeShare of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe0.510.29IWMReturn above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino0.770.41IWMReturn above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor0.1060.066Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar0.400.36IWMAnnualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
BenchmarkVTWOIWMThe ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha−0.1% a year−2.0% a yearNot significantYearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat−0.36−1.20Not an edgeHow sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range−0.6% to +0.4%−5.3% to +1.3%Includes zeroThe 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio−0.02−0.65Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error1.0%12.2%Not an edgeHow far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 328 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

Side by side

IWM iShares Russell 2000 ETF KJUL Innovator U.S. Small Cap Power Buffer ETF - Jul
Where it sits Stock ETF Buffer ETF
What it is Tracks the Russell 2000 Defined outcome, 15% on IWM
Total return, 1 year +14.1% +5.8%
Its benchmark over the same days +14.3% (VTWO) +13.0% (IWM)
Gap to its benchmark −0.2 pts vs VTWO −7.2 pts vs IWM
Expense ratio 0.19% 0.79%
Holdings 1977 not read by ETFIQ
Net assets, IWM as of Oct 27, 2026 and KJUL as of Oct 28, 2026 $75.5bn $227m

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-9C88C821B6

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

  1. What each follows. IWM follows Russell 2000 Index and KJUL follows IWM.
  2. One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 IWM returned +14.1% and KJUL +5.8% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 8.3 points.
  3. Cost. IWM charges 0.19% of assets a year and KJUL 0.79%, a gap of 0.60 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

IWM and KJUL flows, by email on Sundays.

One-click unsubscribe. See Privacy.

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.

KJUL

From its price on Oct 28, 2026, the fund can gain about 22.1% more before it reaches its cap. Protection left, in index points: 8.5% of the 15.0% buffer still sits below today's IWM level. 245 days remained on Oct 28, 2026. On Jun 30, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.

Questions people ask

Are IWM and KJUL in the same category?
IWM is a stock ETF and KJUL is a buffer ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
Which returned more over the last year, IWM or KJUL?
In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IWM returned +14.1% and KJUL +5.8%.
Which is cheaper, IWM or KJUL?
IWM is cheaper, by 0.60 percentage points a year. That is about $60 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Other comparisons
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

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

Open data →

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