Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
IWM vs SLYG: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IWM returned +14.1% to SLYG's +15.6%; 32% of their weight is in the same names.
askIQ about this page
askIQ about IWM and SLYG
Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $75.5bn for iShares Russell 2000 ETF and $4.7bn for State Street SPDR S & P 600 Small Cap Growth ETF.
Pair scorecard
SLYG costs 0.04 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.5 points; IWM is 16.1 times larger.
| Measure | IWM | SLYG |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +14.1% | +15.6% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 7.6%, high on Aug 14, 2026 | 8.2%, high on Aug 4, 2026 |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Russell 2000 Index | S&P SmallCap 600 Growth Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.19% | 0.15% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $75.5bn | $4.7bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 32% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 3.3% | 9.7% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Oct 13, 2000 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,358 weekly returnsEach against its own benchmark: IWM against VTWO, Oct 1, 2010 to Oct 23, 2026; SLYG against IJT, Oct 13, 2000 to Oct 23, 2026.
IWM returned more: +708.0% to +593.2%. IWM and SLYG swung about the same: 22.4% and 22.8%. IWM fell slightly less at its worst: −57.7% to −59.3%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | IWM | SLYG | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +708.0% | +593.2% | IWM | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +8.3% | +7.7% | IWM (slight) | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +477.5% | +400.8% | IWM | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 22.4% | 22.8% | Tie | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 15.7% | 16.1% | IWM (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −57.7% | −59.3% | IWM (slight) | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 101.0% | 99.9% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 100.5% | 101.5% | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. | |
| Beta | 1.01 | 1.01 | Not an edge | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 1.00 | 0.92 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.39 | 0.36 | IWM (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.56 | 0.51 | IWM (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | 0.106 | 0.082 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | 0.14 | 0.13 | IWM | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | VTWO | IJT | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | −0.1% a year | −1.3% a year | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | −0.36 | −1.04 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | −0.6% to +0.4% | −3.9% to +1.2% | Includes zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. |
| Information ratio | −0.02 | −0.19 | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 1.0% | 6.6% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,358 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, IWM and SLYG hold 32% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.
half
32% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
IWM and SLYG on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
IWM and SLYG are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- What each follows. IWM follows Russell 2000 Index and SLYG follows S&P SmallCap 600 Growth Index.
- Holdings in common. 32% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
- Number of holdings. IWM holds 1,977 positions and SLYG holds 350.
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.
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.
SLYG
SLYG tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +15.6% with distributions reinvested, against +15.4% for its benchmark, the S&P SmallCap 600 Growth Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% 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 350 positions, with the top ten at 9.7%. It sat 8.2% below its high of Aug 4, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, IWM or SLYG?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IWM returned +14.1% and SLYG +15.6%.
- Which is cheaper, IWM or SLYG?
- SLYG is cheaper, by 0.04 percentage points a year. That is about $4 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.
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown
ETFIQ, IWM against SLYG, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iwm-vs-slyg
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). IWM against SLYG. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iwm-vs-slyg
[IWM against SLYG (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iwm-vs-slyg)
Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.