Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
RSSL vs SPSM: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, RSSL returned +14.1% to SPSM's +17.6%; 48% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets: $1.4bn on Oct 12, 2026 for Global X Russell 2000 ETF, and $16.0bn on Oct 27, 2026 for State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 600 Small Cap ETF.
Pair scorecard
SPSM costs 0.05 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 3.5 points; SPSM is 11.2 times larger.
| Measure | RSSL | SPSM |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +14.1% | +17.6% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 7.6%, high on Aug 14, 2026 | 6.7%, high on Aug 14, 2026 |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | Russell 2000 RIC Capped Index | S&P SmallCap 600 Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.08% | 0.03% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 12, 2026 | $1.4bn | $15.7bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 48% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 3.2% | 5.3% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Jun 14, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026 · 123 weekly returnsEach against its own benchmark: RSSL against VOO, Jun 14, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026; SPSM against IJR, Jul 19, 2013 to Oct 23, 2026.
RSSL returned more: +42.2% to +37.2%. SPSM swung slightly less: 18.7% to 19.7%. RSSL and SPSM fell about the same at their worst: −24.7% and −24.2%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | RSSL | SPSM | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +42.2% | +37.2% | RSSL | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +16.0% | +14.3% | RSSL | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +37.5% | +31.3% | RSSL | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 19.7% | 18.7% | SPSM (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 13.2% | 12.6% | SPSM (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −24.7% | −24.2% | Tie | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 102.3% | 99.1% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 102.8% | 100.3% | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. | |
| Beta | 1.06 | 1.00 | Not an edge | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.63 | 0.99 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.64 | 0.58 | RSSL (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.96 | 0.87 | RSSL (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | 0.119 | 0.091 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | 0.65 | 0.59 | RSSL (slight) | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | VOO | IJR | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | −0.5% a year | −0.5% a year | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | −0.07 | −0.73 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | −16.2% to +15.1% | −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 | 12.1% | 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, 123 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, RSSL and SPSM hold 48% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.
half
48% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
RSSL and SPSM on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
RSSL and SPSM are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- What each follows. RSSL follows Russell 2000 RIC Capped Index and SPSM follows S&P SmallCap 600 Index.
- Holdings in common. 48% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 RSSL 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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RSSL
RSSL tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +14.1% with distributions reinvested, against +13.7% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.08% a year. By its holdings filed for Jul 31, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 1,960 positions, with the top ten at 3.2%. 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, RSSL or SPSM?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, RSSL returned +14.1% and SPSM +17.6%.
- Which is cheaper, RSSL or SPSM?
- SPSM is cheaper, by 0.05 percentage points a year. That is about $5 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, RSSL against SPSM, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/rssl-vs-spsm
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[RSSL against SPSM (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/rssl-vs-spsm)
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