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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IWM returned +14.1% and VPU −3.3%.

Which is cheaper, IWM or VPU?

VPU 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.

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

By their latest filed holdings, 0% of IWM and 90% of VPU by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

IWM vs VPU: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IWM returned +14.1% to VPU's −3.3%; 3% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets: $75.5bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares Russell 2000 ETF, and $7.7bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Utilities ETF.

IWM on its own →VPU on its own →

At a glance

+14.1%

IWM total return, 1 year

−3.3%

VPU total return, 1 year

0.19%

IWM expense ratio

0.09%

VPU expense ratio

Pair scorecard

VPU costs 0.10 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 17.4 points; IWM is 10.1 times larger.

IWM vs VPU: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IWM	VPU
Return
Measure	IWM	VPU
Total return, 1 year	+14.1%	−3.3%
Drawdown
Measure	IWM	VPU
Below its high	7.6%, high on Aug 14, 2026	8.9%, high on Feb 27, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	IWM	VPU
What it tracks	Russell 2000 Index	MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Utilities 25/50
Cost and size
Measure	IWM	VPU
Expense ratio	0.19%	0.09%
Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026	$78.0bn	$7.7bn
Holdings
Measure	IWM	VPU
Holdings in common	3%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	3.3%	52.3%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, IWM and VPU hold 3% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

3% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first IWM VPU

SOUTHWEST GAS HOLDINGS 0.23% 0.39%

TXNM ENERGY INC 0.22% 0.42%

BLACK HILLS CORP 0.21% 0.39%

ORMAT TECH INC 0.19% 0.34%

NEW JERSEY RESOURCES CORP 0.18% 0.37%

PORTLAND GENERAL ELECTRIC 0.18% 0.37%

NORTHWESTERN ENERGY GROUP 0.17% 0.30%

ONE GAS 0.17% 0.33%

SPIRE INC 0.17% 0.32%

OTTER TAIL 0.12% 0.24%

AMERICAN STATES WATER 0.11% 0.23%

AVISTA 0.11% 0.21%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in IWM

JFROG 0.37%

GLAUKOS 0.35%

TWIST BIOSCIENCE 0.35%

MOOG INC CLASS A 0.34%

BRIGHTSPRING HEALTH SERVICES INC 0.33%

UMB FINANCIAL 0.33%

SM ENERGY 0.32%

10X GENOMICS CLASS A 0.31%

Only in VPU

NextEra Energy Inc 11.39%

Southern Co 6.74%

Duke Energy Corp 6.41%

Constellation Energy Corp 5.72%

American Electric Power Co Inc 4.66%

Dominion Energy Inc 3.84%

Sempra 3.68%

Vistra Corp 3.37%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

IWM iShares Russell 2000 ETF VPU Vanguard Utilities ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares Vanguard

What it is Tracks the Russell 2000 Tracks an index of Utilities

Total return, 1 year +14.1% −3.3%

Its benchmark over the same days +14.3% (VTWO) −3.3% (FUTY)

Gap to its benchmark −0.2 pts vs VTWO 0.0 pts vs FUTY

Expense ratio 0.19% 0.09%

Already in the S&P 500 0.0% 89.7%

Holdings 1977 70

Net assets, IWM as of Oct 27, 2026 and VPU as of Sep 30, 2026 $75.5bn $7.7bn

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

Alert

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.

VPU

VPU tracks an index of Utilities. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −3.3% with distributions reinvested, against −3.3% for its benchmark, the MSCI US Investable Market Index (IMI)/Utilities 25/50. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.09% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 90% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 70 positions, with the top ten at 52.3%. It sat 8.9% below its high of Feb 27, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, IWM or VPU?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IWM returned +14.1% and VPU −3.3%.
Which is cheaper, IWM or VPU?: VPU 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.
How much do IWM and VPU overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 0% of IWM and 90% of VPU by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

IWM vs XLU IWM vs VOX IWM vs VDE IWM vs KRE VB vs VPU VPU vs VTWO IJR vs VPU IJT vs VPU

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

IWM filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IWM prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IWM ↗

VPU filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

VPU prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Vanguard page for VPU ↗

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

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