Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
IWM vs SPY: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IWM returned +14.1% to SPY's +13.6%; 0% 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 $814.8bn for SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust.
Pair scorecard
SPY costs 0.10 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.5 points; SPY is 10.8 times larger.
| Measure | IWM | SPY |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +14.1% | +13.6% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 7.6%, high on Aug 14, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Russell 2000 Index | S&P 500 Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.19% | 0.09% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $75.5bn | $814.8bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 3.3% | 38.1% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Jun 2, 2000 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,377 weekly returnsEach against its own benchmark: IWM against VTWO, Oct 1, 2010 to Oct 23, 2026; SPY against VOO, Sep 17, 2010 to Oct 23, 2026.
SPY returned slightly more: +721.0% to +656.6%. SPY swung less: 17.4% to 22.3%. SPY fell slightly less at its worst: −54.6% to −57.7%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | IWM | SPY | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +656.6% | +721.0% | SPY (slight) | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +7.9% | +8.3% | SPY (slight) | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +438.6% | +414.0% | IWM (slight) | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 22.3% | 17.4% | SPY | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 15.7% | 12.4% | SPY | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −57.7% | −54.6% | SPY (slight) | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 101.0% | 99.8% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 100.5% | 100.0% | 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 | 1.00 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.38 | 0.44 | SPY | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.53 | 0.62 | SPY | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | 0.106 | 0.133 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | 0.14 | 0.15 | SPY (slight) | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | VTWO | VOO | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | −0.1% a year | −0.1% a year | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | −0.36 | −0.51 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | −0.6% to +0.4% | −0.3% to +0.1% | Includes zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. |
| Information ratio | −0.02 | −0.15 | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 1.0% | 0.4% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,377 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, IWM and SPY hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.
half
0% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
IWM and SPY on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
IWM and SPY do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. IWM follows Russell 2000 Index and SPY follows S&P 500 Index.
- Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
- Number of holdings. IWM holds 1,977 positions and SPY holds 504.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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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.
SPY
SPY tracks the S&P 500. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.6% with distributions reinvested, against +13.7% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.09% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 504 positions, with the top ten at 38.1%.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, IWM or SPY?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IWM returned +14.1% and SPY +13.6%.
- Which is cheaper, IWM or SPY?
- SPY is cheaper, by 0.10 percentage points a year. That is about $10 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.
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ETFIQ, IWM against SPY, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iwm-vs-spy
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). IWM against SPY. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iwm-vs-spy
[IWM against SPY (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iwm-vs-spy)
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