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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IWM returned +14.1% and SPSM +17.6%.

Which is cheaper, IWM or SPSM?

SPSM is cheaper, by 0.16 percentage points a year. That is about $16 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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

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

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

IWM vs SPSM: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IWM returned +14.1% to SPSM's +17.6%; 48% 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 $16.0bn for State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 600 Small Cap ETF.

IWM on its own →SPSM on its own →

At a glance

+14.1%

IWM total return, 1 year

+17.6%

SPSM total return, 1 year

0.19%

IWM expense ratio

0.03%

SPSM expense ratio

Pair scorecard

SPSM costs 0.16 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 3.5 points; IWM is 4.7 times larger.

IWM vs SPSM: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IWM	SPSM
Return
Measure	IWM	SPSM
Total return, 1 year	+14.1%	+17.6%
Drawdown
Measure	IWM	SPSM
Below its high	7.6%, high on Aug 14, 2026	6.7%, high on Aug 14, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	IWM	SPSM
What it tracks	Russell 2000 Index	S&P SmallCap 600 Index
Cost and size
Measure	IWM	SPSM
Expense ratio	0.19%	0.03%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$75.5bn	$16.0bn
Holdings
Measure	IWM	SPSM
Holdings in common	48%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	3.3%	5.3%

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

Risk and return

Jul 19, 2013 to Oct 23, 2026 · 692 weekly returns

IWM SPSM

Return

Total return edge SPSM (slight) +213.6% +222.7%

Annualized edge SPSM (slight) +9.0% +9.2%

Price return edge IWM (slight) +164.4% +158.2%

Risk

Volatility edge Tie 21.2% 21.2%

Max drawdown edge IWM (slight) −40.2% −41.9%

Downside capture 100.5% 100.3%

Beta 1.01 1.00

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge SPSM (slight) 0.42 0.43

Sortino edge SPSM (slight) 0.61 0.63

Treynor 0.106 0.091

Calmar edge Tie 0.22 0.22

Against the benchmark

Alpha −0.1% a year −0.5% a year

Alpha t-stat −0.36 −0.73

Information ratio −0.02 −0.20

Tracking error 1.0% 2.4%

Each against its own benchmark: IWM against VTWO, Oct 1, 2010 to Oct 23, 2026; SPSM against IJR, Jul 19, 2013 to Oct 23, 2026.

Reading

SPSM returned slightly more: +222.7% to +213.6%. IWM and SPSM swung about the same: 21.2% and 21.2%. IWM fell slightly less at its worst: −40.2% to −41.9%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: IWM vs SPSM: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IWM	SPSM	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+213.6%	+222.7%	SPSM (slight)	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+9.0%	+9.2%	SPSM (slight)	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+164.4%	+158.2%	IWM (slight)	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	21.2%	21.2%	Tie	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	14.7%	14.6%	Tie	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−40.2%	−41.9%	IWM (slight)	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture	101.0%	99.1%		Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture	100.5%	100.3%		Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta	1.01	1.00	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	0.42	0.43	SPSM (slight)	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.61	0.63	SPSM (slight)	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor	0.106	0.091		Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar	0.22	0.22	Tie	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
Benchmark	VTWO	IJR		The ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha	−0.1% a year	−0.5% a year	Not significant	Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat	−0.36	−0.73	Not an edge	How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range	−0.6% to +0.4%	−1.8% to +0.8%	Includes zero	The 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio	−0.02	−0.20		Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error	1.0%	2.4%	Not an edge	How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 692 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

48%

By the books each fund has filed, IWM and SPSM hold 48% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

48% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first IWM SPSM

GLAUKOS 0.35% 0.61%

SM ENERGY 0.32% 0.53%

RYMAN HOSPITALITY PROPERTIES REIT 0.30% 0.52%

VIASAT INC 0.30% 0.56%

JACKSON FINANCIAL CLASS A 0.29% 0.48%

PROTAGONIST THERAPEUTICS 0.29% 0.52%

TG THERAPEUTICS 0.27% 0.46%

ALKERMES 0.25% 0.43%

ZURN ELKAY WATER SOLUTIONS CORP 0.25% 0.41%

FEDERAL SIGNAL CORP 0.24% 0.41%

MACERICH REIT 0.24% 0.39%

MATSON INC 0.24% 0.40%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in IWM

JFROG 0.37%

TWIST BIOSCIENCE 0.35%

MOOG INC CLASS A 0.34%

BRIGHTSPRING HEALTH SERVICES INC 0.33%

UMB FINANCIAL 0.33%

10X GENOMICS CLASS A 0.31%

BRINKER INTERNATIONAL INC 0.29%

CARETRUST REIT 0.29%

Only in SPSM

PAYCOM SOFTWARE INC 0.58%

MATCH GROUP INC 0.57%

ELEMENT SOLUTIONS INC 0.46%

RALLIANT CORP 0.44%

CARMAX INC 0.44%

EASTMAN CHEMICAL CO 0.43%

ETSY INC 0.43%

LAMB WESTON HOLDINGS INC 0.42%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

IWM iShares Russell 2000 ETF SPSM State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 600 Small Cap ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares State Street

What it is Tracks the Russell 2000 Tracks an index

Total return, 1 year +14.1% +17.6%

Its benchmark over the same days +14.3% (VTWO) +17.5% (IJR)

Gap to its benchmark −0.2 pts vs VTWO +0.1 pts vs IJR

Expense ratio 0.19% 0.03%

Already in the S&P 500 0.0% 0.0%

Holdings 1977 609

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $75.5bn $16.0bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-FC84CD002D

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

What each follows. IWM follows Russell 2000 Index and SPSM follows S&P SmallCap 600 Index.
Holdings in common. 48% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 IWM returned +14.1% and SPSM +17.6% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 3.5 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.

SPSM

SPSM tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +17.6% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for its benchmark, the S&P SmallCap 600 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% 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 609 positions, with the top ten at 5.3%. It sat 6.7% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, IWM or SPSM?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IWM returned +14.1% and SPSM +17.6%.
Which is cheaper, IWM or SPSM?: SPSM is cheaper, by 0.16 percentage points a year. That is about $16 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do IWM and SPSM overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 0% of IWM and 0% of SPSM by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

IWM vs SCHA IWM vs VB IJR vs IWM BBMC vs IWM SPSM vs VB SPSM vs VTWO FESM vs SPSM SPSM vs VIOO

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

IWM filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IWM prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IWM ↗

SPSM filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

SPSM prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

State Street website ↗

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

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