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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IWM returned +14.1% and SMLF +14.8%.

Which is cheaper, IWM or SMLF?

SMLF 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.

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

By their latest filed holdings, 0% of IWM and 11% of SMLF by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

IWM vs SMLF: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IWM returned +14.1% to SMLF's +14.8%; 29% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $75.5bn for iShares Russell 2000 ETF and $4.2bn for iShares U.S. Small-Cap Equity Factor ETF.

IWM on its own →SMLF on its own →

At a glance

+14.1%

IWM total return, 1 year

+14.8%

SMLF total return, 1 year

0.19%

IWM expense ratio

0.15%

SMLF expense ratio

Pair scorecard

SMLF costs 0.04 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.7 points; IWM is 18.0 times larger.

IWM vs SMLF: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IWM	SMLF
Return
Measure	IWM	SMLF
Total return, 1 year	+14.1%	+14.8%
Drawdown
Measure	IWM	SMLF
Below its high	7.6%, high on Aug 14, 2026	5.2%, high on Aug 14, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	IWM	SMLF
What it tracks	Russell 2000 Index	STOXX U.S. Small-Cap Equity Factor Index
Cost and size
Measure	IWM	SMLF
Expense ratio	0.19%	0.15%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$75.5bn	$4.2bn
Holdings
Measure	IWM	SMLF
Holdings in common	29%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	3.3%	6.4%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method

Risk and return

May 8, 2015 to Oct 23, 2026 · 598 weekly returns

IWM SMLF

Return

Total return edge SMLF +160.8% +225.7%

Annualized edge SMLF +8.7% +10.8%

Price return edge SMLF +124.8% +183.9%

Risk

Volatility edge SMLF (slight) 22.2% 21.0%

Max drawdown edge Tie −40.2% −40.4%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge SMLF 0.39 0.49

Sortino edge SMLF 0.56 0.70

Calmar edge SMLF 0.22 0.27

Reading

SMLF returned more: +225.7% to +160.8%. SMLF swung slightly less: 21.0% to 22.2%. IWM and SMLF fell about the same at their worst: −40.2% and −40.4%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: IWM vs SMLF: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IWM	SMLF	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+160.8%	+225.7%	SMLF	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+8.7%	+10.8%	SMLF	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+124.8%	+183.9%	SMLF	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	22.2%	21.0%	SMLF (slight)	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	15.4%	14.6%	SMLF (slight)	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−40.2%	−40.4%	Tie	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.39	0.49	SMLF	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.56	0.70	SMLF	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.22	0.27	SMLF	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 598 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

29%

By the books each fund has filed, IWM and SMLF hold 29% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

29% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first IWM SMLF

JFROG 0.37% 0.32%

JACKSON FINANCIAL CLASS A 0.29% 0.36%

TWIST BIOSCIENCE 0.35% 0.27%

ABERCROMBIE AND FITCH CLASS A 0.25% 0.25%

ALKERMES 0.25% 0.29%

MACERICH REIT 0.24% 0.28%

MATSON INC 0.24% 0.22%

OSCAR HEALTH CLASS A 0.25% 0.22%

LIGAND PHARMACEUTICALS 0.21% 0.21%

MURPHY OIL 0.20% 0.22%

QUALYS 0.27% 0.18%

INTERDIGITAL INC 0.29% 0.18%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in IWM

CARETRUST REIT 0.29%

OLD NATIONAL BANCORP 0.29%

KRYSTAL BIOTECH 0.28%

VAXCYTE 0.28%

KYMERA THERAPEUTICS 0.25%

ZETA GLOBAL HOLDINGS CLASS A 0.25%

ZURN ELKAY WATER SOLUTIONS CORP 0.25%

TERRENO REALTY REIT 0.23%

Only in SMLF

EMCOR GROUP 0.81%

EVERPURE INC CLASS A 0.72%

NVENT ELECTRIC PLC 0.72%

JABIL 0.69%

WILLIAMS SONOMA INC 0.68%

RELIANCE STEEL & ALUMINUM 0.61%

FLEX LTD 0.58%

GUARDANT HEALTH 0.55%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

IWM iShares Russell 2000 ETF SMLF iShares U.S. Small-Cap Equity Factor ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Tracks the Russell 2000 Tracks an index

Total return, 1 year +14.1% +14.8%

Its benchmark over the same days +14.3% (VTWO) not measured

Gap to its benchmark −0.2 pts vs VTWO not measured

Expense ratio 0.19% 0.15%

Already in the S&P 500 0.0% 10.6%

Holdings 1977 962

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $75.5bn $4.2bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-A46CDD81EE

IWM and SMLF are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?

What each follows. IWM follows Russell 2000 Index and SMLF follows STOXX U.S. Small-Cap Equity Factor Index.
Holdings in common. 29% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
Size. IWM has $75.5bn in net assets and SMLF $4.2bn (net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026); IWM is 18.0 times larger.

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.

SMLF

SMLF tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +14.8% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 11% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 962 positions, with the top ten at 6.4%. It sat 5.2% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, IWM or SMLF?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IWM returned +14.1% and SMLF +14.8%.
Which is cheaper, IWM or SMLF?: SMLF 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.
How much do IWM and SMLF overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 0% of IWM and 11% of SMLF by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

IWM vs SLYG AVSC vs IWM IWM vs PSC ESML vs IWM SMLF vs VB SCHA vs SMLF SMLF vs VTWO SMLF vs SPSM

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

IWM and SMLF filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IWM prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IWM ↗

SMLF prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for SMLF ↗

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 SMLF, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iwm-vs-smlf

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