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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SLYG returned +15.6% and SMLF +14.8%.

Which is cheaper, SLYG or SMLF?

Neither: SLYG and SMLF both charge 0.15% a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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

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

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

SLYG vs SMLF: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, SLYG returned +15.6% to SMLF's +14.8%; 15% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $4.7bn for State Street SPDR S & P 600 Small Cap Growth ETF and $4.2bn for iShares U.S. Small-Cap Equity Factor ETF.

SLYG on its own →SMLF on its own →

At a glance

+15.6%

SLYG total return, 1 year

+14.8%

SMLF total return, 1 year

0.15%

SLYG expense ratio

0.15%

SMLF expense ratio

Pair scorecard

Both cost 0.15% a year; their one-year returns differ by 0.8 points; SLYG is 1.1 times larger.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

SLYG vs SMLF: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	SLYG	SMLF
Return
Measure	SLYG	SMLF
Total return, 1 year	+15.6%	+14.8%
Drawdown
Measure	SLYG	SMLF
Below its high	8.2%, high on Aug 4, 2026	5.2%, high on Aug 14, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	SLYG	SMLF
What it tracks	S&P SmallCap 600 Growth Index	STOXX U.S. Small-Cap Equity Factor Index
Cost and size
Measure	SLYG	SMLF
Expense ratio	0.15%	0.15%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$4.7bn	$4.2bn
Holdings
Measure	SLYG	SMLF
Holdings in common	15%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	9.7%	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

SLYG SMLF

Return

Total return edge SMLF +183.1% +225.7%

Annualized edge SMLF +9.5% +10.8%

Price return edge SMLF +131.0% +183.9%

Risk

Volatility edge SMLF (slight) 21.6% 21.0%

Max drawdown edge SMLF (slight) −41.3% −40.4%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge SMLF 0.42 0.49

Sortino edge SMLF 0.62 0.70

Calmar edge SMLF 0.23 0.27

Reading

SMLF returned more: +225.7% to +183.1%. SMLF swung slightly less: 21.0% to 21.6%. SMLF fell slightly less at its worst: −40.4% to −41.3%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: SLYG vs SMLF: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	SLYG	SMLF	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+183.1%	+225.7%	SMLF	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+9.5%	+10.8%	SMLF	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+131.0%	+183.9%	SMLF	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	21.6%	21.0%	SMLF (slight)	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	14.9%	14.6%	Tie	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−41.3%	−40.4%	SMLF (slight)	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.42	0.49	SMLF	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.62	0.70	SMLF	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.23	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

15%

By the books each fund has filed, SLYG and SMLF hold 15% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

15% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first SLYG SMLF

ETSY INC 0.91% 0.32%

ALKERMES PLC 0.91% 0.29%

MACERICH CO 0.43% 0.28%

RINGCENTRAL INC CLASS A 0.46% 0.27%

AMERICAN STATES WATER CO 0.27% 0.26%

CLEAR SECURE INC CLASS A 0.53% 0.24%

WORKIVA INC 0.41% 0.23%

AXOS FINANCIAL INC 0.64% 0.23%

ELEMENT SOLUTIONS INC 0.49% 0.23%

HCI GROUP INC 0.25% 0.23%

TANGER INC 0.34% 0.22%

LYFT INC A 0.78% 0.22%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in SLYG

ZURN ELKAY WATER SOLUTIONS C 0.89%

ARMSTRONG WORLD INDUSTRIES 0.80%

ESCO TECHNOLOGIES INC 0.75%

CASELLA WASTE SYSTEMS INC A 0.72%

JBT MAREL CORP 0.69%

MSG KNICKERBOCKERS CORP 0.64%

TERRENO REALTY CORP 0.61%

GRANITE CONSTRUCTION INC 0.59%

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

SLYG State Street SPDR S & P 600 Small Cap Growth ETF SMLF iShares U.S. Small-Cap Equity Factor ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer State Street iShares

What it is Tracks an index Tracks an index

Total return, 1 year +15.6% +14.8%

Its benchmark over the same days +15.4% (IJT) not measured

Gap to its benchmark +0.2 pts vs IJT not measured

Expense ratio 0.15% 0.15%

Already in the S&P 500 0.0% 10.6%

Holdings 350 962

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $4.7bn $4.2bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-DA56018750

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

What each follows. SLYG follows S&P SmallCap 600 Growth Index and SMLF follows STOXX U.S. Small-Cap Equity Factor Index.
Holdings in common. 15% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
One-year total return (similar). Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 SLYG returned +15.6% and SMLF +14.8% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 0.8 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund

SLYG

SLYG tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +15.6% with distributions reinvested, against +15.4% for its benchmark, the S&P SmallCap 600 Growth Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% 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 350 positions, with the top ten at 9.7%. It sat 8.2% below its high of Aug 4, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

SMLF

SMLF tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +14.8% with distributions reinvested. 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, SLYG or SMLF?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, SLYG returned +15.6% and SMLF +14.8%.
Which is cheaper, SLYG or SMLF?: Neither: SLYG and SMLF both charge 0.15% a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do SLYG and SMLF overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 0% of SLYG and 11% of SMLF by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

SLYG vs VIOO AVSC vs SLYG FESM vs SLYG ESML vs SLYG SMLF vs VIOO FESM vs SMLF IJT vs SMLF AVSC vs SMLF

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

SLYG filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

SLYG prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

State Street website ↗

SMLF filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

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

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