# How iShares Russell 1000 ETF (IWB) compares with the whole market and its popular alternatives

> Source: EasyCompare research, https://easycompare.io/research/iwb
> Data as of October 20, 2026. Total returns include reinvested dividends. Past performance does not predict future results; nothing here is investment advice.

Built by QuantCommons' quantitative engine, this page is about relative opportunity, not data on IWB alone. It places IWB (iShares Russell 1000 ETF) against 20+ popular alternatives, its neighboring categories and the entire market of over 10,000 U.S.-listed stocks and ETFs, and surfaces what has done better on consistent outperformance, return for the risk taken, behavior in real market crashes and diversification. The result is a clearer view of where IWB stands in the market, and of the alternatives worth a closer look.

Period covered: IWB's full trading record, from May 2000 through September 2026. The crash tests reach back to 2000 using older funds and the S&P 500. All returns include reinvested dividends. Data as of October 20, 2026.

## Key findings

- **What you're buying:** IWB's 0.15% fee costs about $260 more than SPYM's 0.02% on $10,000 over 20 years, for a fund that tracks the same thing.
- **Right now:** Both IWB and the total US stock market are within a few percent of a record high.
- **Fund or market?:** IWB rose 3.7% over the past 3 months, in line with the total US stock market, which rose 3.2%: a market move, not its own.
- **Long term:** IWB's 10-year return of 309% puts it ahead of 91% of the ETFs with at least $100 million in assets with that much history. The total US stock market returned 302%. Over the past decade, IWB returned 15.1% a year against 14.9% a year for the total US stock market (309% in total against 302%).
- **In a crash:** In the 2022 bear market, IWB fell harder than most of its similar funds, including RSP (Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF), FNDX and AVUS.
- **Diversification:** IWB is more of the same, not a cushion: a correlation of 1.00 with the total US stock market over 5 years, more closely than 99% of ETFs with at least $100 million in assets. IWB fell in 24 of the 25 months the total US stock market fell over the past 5 years: it usually fell with it.
- **Better options**
  - **Nearby categories and themes:** JQUA (JPMorgan U.S. Quality Factor ETF, US quality equity) earned more than IWB with less volatility over the past 5 years: 13.6% a year at 15.7% volatility, against 11.9% a year at 17.2%.
  - **Whole market:** Few investments have done better on both counts: only 30 of the 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million earned more than IWB with less volatility over the past 5 years, among them EFV (iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF), FNDX (Schwab Fundamental U.S. Large Company ETF) and FNDF (Schwab Fundamental International Large Company Index ETF).

## How much would $10,000 in IWB have grown?

This chart tracks a hypothetical $10,000 investment in IWB over the past 25 years, with dividends reinvested, alongside the same amount in the S&P 500, investments that ended ahead of IWB over the same span and IWB's popular alternatives, among those that traded for the entire period.

- $10,000 invested in IWB at the end of September 2001 would have grown to $115,335 by September 2026, about the same as the $114,557 it would have become in SPY, an S&P 500 fund.
- Five of the eight other investments on the chart ended ahead of IWB, and RY finished highest, at $321,225.

## IWB at a glance

This section summarizes the key facts about the fund, its returns over periods from one to ten years and the risk it has carried, with dividends reinvested throughout.

- IWB's deepest decline since it began trading in 2000 was 55.4%, from October 2007 to March 2009. It took about three years from the low to climb back to its old high.
- Over 25 full calendar years, IWB's best was 2013, when it returned 32.8%, and its worst was 2008, when it lost 37.4%. It lost money in five of those years.
- IWB is 1.4% below its all-time high.

- Type: ETF, Broad Market (Asset Management - Global)
- Trading since: May 19, 2000
- Assets: $49B
- Expense ratio: 0.15%
- Volatility (5 years): 17.2%; Sharpe ratio: 0.74
- Worst decline ever: −55.4%, from October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009; back at its high by March 19, 2012

| Period | IWB total return |
| --- | --- |
| 1 month | −0.6% |
| 3 months | +3.7% |
| 6 months | +8.6% |
| year to date | +12.9% |
| 1 year | +15.1% |
| 3 years | +87.7% |
| 5 years | +75.1% |
| 10 years | +309% |

## IWB against the whole market

Where IWB ranks among every stock and fund, and what across the market has done better.

### How does IWB rank among all ETFs?

This section ranks IWB on return, volatility, risk-adjusted return and worst decline against every ETF worth at least $100 million with enough history.

- IWB's 10-year return ranks in the top 9% of the 958 ETFs with at least $100 million in assets with 10 years of history.

| Measure | IWB | Rank |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1-year return | +15.1% | 816 of 2,485 (top 33%) |
| 3-year return | +87.7% | 399 of 1,949 (top 21%) |
| 5-year return | +75.1% | 310 of 1,560 (top 20%) |
| 10-year return | +309% | 89 of 958 (top 10%) |
| Volatility, 5 years | 17.2% | 860 of 1,560 (top 56%) |
| Sharpe ratio, 5 years | 0.74 | 446 of 1,560 (top 29%) |
| Worst decline, past 10 years | −34.6% | 325 of 951 (top 35%) |

### What has beaten IWB on both return and risk?

Each dot is an investment, placed by how much it earned a year over the past 5 years (higher is better) and how much its price swung, its volatility (further left is calmer).

- 30 ETFs worth at least $500 million sit in the green region: each earned more than IWB over the past 5 years with smaller price swings. That is fewer than 1% of the 3,633 screened. Few investments beat it on both counts.
- Among those with at least half IWB's swings, LVHI has the best return for its risk: 17.0% a year at 11.1% volatility, 36% less than IWB's 17.2%, and a Sharpe ratio (return above cash per unit of volatility) of 1.48 against 0.74 for IWB.
- Among IWB's popular alternatives, FNDX and PRF are in the region. FNDX earned 13.5% a year against 11.9% a year for IWB, at 14.9% volatility, 13% less than IWB's 17.2%.

### Is there a better investment than IWB?

The table below lists investments that beat IWB over the past 5 years on at least one of these measures: a higher annual return with lower volatility, a higher annual return at similar volatility, a similar return with lower volatility, a higher Sharpe ratio with a smaller worst decline, a higher total return in most periods from 3 months to 10 years, or smaller losses in recent market crashes, and, for funds, the same exposure at a lower expense ratio.

- Among IWB's popular alternatives, FNDX earned more than IWB with less volatility over the past 5 years: 13.5% a year at 14.9% volatility, against 11.9% a year at 17.2%.
- SPYM tracks the same thing for 0.02% a year against IWB's 0.15%, and has kept pace over the past decade: about $130 less in fees on $10,000 over 10 years.
- Looking beyond its popular alternatives, JQUA (US quality equity) earned more than IWB with less volatility over the past 5 years: 13.6% a year at 15.7% volatility, against 11.9% a year at 17.2%.

The 15 strongest of 30 investments that beat IWB over the past 5 years, out of 3,633 stocks and funds worth at least $500 million.

| Investment | Group | Annual return (5 years) | Volatility | Sharpe | Worst decline (10 years) | 10Y return | Correlation with IWB | Better on |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| IWB: iShares Russell 1000 ETF (this page) |  | +11.9% | 17.2% | 0.74 | −34.6% | +309% |  |  |
| PVAL: Putnam Focused Large Cap Value ETF | US Large-Cap Value | +16.1% | 15.1% | 1.07 | −41.3% | — | 0.88 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| DIVB: iShares Core Dividend ETF | Dividend & Income | +13.9% | 15.4% | 0.93 | −36.9% | — | 0.87 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| FYLD: Cambria Foreign Shareholder Yield ETF | Dividend & Income | +13.1% | 16.0% | 0.85 | −44.6% | +203% | 0.60 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher return in most periods |
| DIVI: Franklin International Core Dividend Tilt Index ETF | International | +13.4% | 15.5% | 0.89 | −27.7% | +184% | 0.73 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| LVHI: Franklin International Low Volatility High Dividend Index ETF | International Equity | +17.0% | 11.1% | 1.48 | −32.4% | +194% | 0.55 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| VSLU: Applied Finance Valuation Large Cap ETF | Broad Market | +13.7% | 16.2% | 0.88 | −23.8% | — | 0.98 | Higher return, lower volatility; Higher Sharpe, smaller worst decline |
| EFV: iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF | International Equity | +13.6% | 15.9% | 0.88 | −43.2% | +157% | 0.64 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| FNDF: Schwab Fundamental International Large Company Index ETF | International Equity | +13.6% | 16.3% | 0.87 | −40.2% | +194% | 0.72 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| HDV: iShares Core High Dividend ETF | US Dividend Equity | +12.9% | 13.0% | 1.00 | −37.0% | +172% | 0.59 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| FDVV: Fidelity High Dividend ETF | US Dividend Equity | +13.2% | 14.6% | 0.92 | −40.2% | +253% | 0.90 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| DBEF: Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF | International Equity | +13.1% | 13.8% | 0.96 | −32.5% | +206% | 0.82 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| FDL: First Trust Morningstar Dividend Leaders Index Fund | US Dividend Equity | +13.9% | 14.4% | 0.98 | −41.4% | +199% | 0.58 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| EMLP: First Trust North American Energy Infrastructure Fund | Energy Infrastructure | +14.9% | 14.5% | 1.04 | −43.6% | +150% | 0.62 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| GCOW: Pacer Global Cash Cows Dividend ETF | International | +14.1% | 13.6% | 1.04 | −37.6% | +168% | 0.52 | Higher return, lower volatility |
| RWL: Invesco S&P 500 Revenue ETF | US Large-Cap Equity | +13.7% | 14.4% | 0.97 | −36.1% | +287% | 0.91 | Higher return, lower volatility |

## IWB against its popular alternatives

The investments people most often weigh against IWB, compared period by period and year by year.

### How do IWB's risk and return compare with its alternatives?

This map plots each investment's annual return over the past 5 years against its volatility, the size of its typical price swings.

- FNDX, PRF and SPTM were both more rewarding and calmer than IWB over the past 5 years, earning a higher annual return with lower volatility.
- Over the past 5 years, IWB returned 11.9% a year, less than the S&P 500's 12.7%, with higher volatility (17.2% against 17.1%).

### Has IWB consistently beaten its popular alternatives?

This section compares IWB with the investments people most often weigh against it, checking each one over eight periods from one month to ten years.

- Five of the 25 popular alternatives, led by SPYM, VOO and IVV, outperformed IWB in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes.
- SPYM, VOO and IVV earned more for the risk they took than IWB (a higher Sharpe ratio) and fell less in their worst decline of the past 10 years.
- VV outperformed IWB over all three long-term periods but in only one of the five short-term ones, so IWB has had the better of it lately.

| Investment | 1Y return | 3Y return | 5Y return | 10Y return | Periods ahead of IWB | Verdict | Sharpe |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| IWB: iShares Russell 1000 ETF (this page) | +15.1% | +87.7% | +75.1% | +309% |  |  | 0.74 |
| [SPYM](https://easycompare.io/research/spym): State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF | +15.9% | +89.8% | +82.5% | +324% | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.80 |
| [VOO](https://easycompare.io/research/voo): Vanguard S&P 500 ETF | +15.8% | +89.7% | +82.3% | +324% | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.80 |
| [IVV](https://easycompare.io/research/ivv): iShares Core S&P 500 ETF | +15.8% | +89.7% | +82.3% | +324% | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.80 |
| [SPY](https://easycompare.io/research/spy): State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF | +15.8% | +89.3% | +81.7% | +321% | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.79 |
| [DYNF](https://easycompare.io/research/dynf): iShares U.S. Equity Factor Rotation Active ETF | +17.1% | +106% | +98.5% | — | 3/5 short-term, 2/3 long-term | consistent | 0.87 |
| [VV](https://easycompare.io/research/vv): Vanguard Morningstar Large-Cap ETF | +15.4% | +90.6% | +78.8% | +324% | 1/5 short-term, 3/3 long-term |  | 0.76 |
| FNDX: Schwab Fundamental U.S. Large Company ETF | +25.4% | +88.2% | +88.6% | +291% | 5/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.93 |
| PRF: Invesco RAFI US 1000 ETF | +25.5% | +90.1% | +84.3% | +270% | 5/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.90 |
| AVUS: Avantis U.S. Equity ETF | +19.9% | +87.2% | +77.9% | — | 2/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.76 |
| SPTM: State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 1500 Composite Stock Market ETF | +15.7% | +87.2% | +78.6% | +310% | 1/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.77 |
| DFUS: Dimensional U.S. Equity ETF | +15.7% | +88.9% | +78.8% | — | 1/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.76 |
| [IWF](https://easycompare.io/research/iwf): iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF | +4.0% | +87.7% | +74.1% | +416% | 0/5 short-term, 1/3 long-term |  | 0.62 |
| [IWD](https://easycompare.io/research/iwd): iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF | +27.7% | +84.4% | +71.7% | +205% | 5/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.81 |
| [RSP](https://easycompare.io/research/rsp): Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF | +15.5% | +65.4% | +48.6% | +211% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.57 |
| EUSA: iShares MSCI USA Equal Weighted ETF | +12.9% | +65.3% | +40.3% | +198% | 1/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.49 |
| [SCHX](https://easycompare.io/research/schx): Schwab U.S. Large-Cap ETF | +15.1% | +89.1% | +76.6% | +317% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.75 |
| VONE: Vanguard Russell 1000 ETF | +15.2% | +88.5% | +75.9% | +312% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.75 |
| IYY: iShares Dow Jones U.S. ETF | +15.1% | +87.9% | +74.2% | +303% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.73 |
| [VTI](https://easycompare.io/research/vti): Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF | +15.2% | +87.9% | +72.6% | +302% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.71 |
| [ITOT](https://easycompare.io/research/itot): iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF | +15.2% | +88.0% | +72.7% | +301% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.72 |
| [SCHB](https://easycompare.io/research/schb): Schwab U.S. Broad Market ETF | +15.2% | +88.0% | +72.9% | +286% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.72 |
| [IJH](https://easycompare.io/research/ijh): iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF | +13.5% | +59.4% | +41.4% | +178% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.45 |
| EQAL: Invesco Russell 1000 Equal Weight ETF | +14.3% | +61.4% | +36.4% | +171% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.45 |
| [IWM](https://easycompare.io/research/iwm): iShares Russell 2000 ETF | +12.3% | +71.3% | +29.0% | +158% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.34 |
| [VXUS](https://easycompare.io/research/vxus): Vanguard Total International Stock ETF | +14.6% | +77.2% | +48.6% | +140% | 0/5 short-term, 0/3 long-term |  | 0.57 |

### How did IWB do year by year?

This table shows each investment's total return in every full calendar year since 2001, along with where IWB ranked among its popular alternatives each year.

- Ranked against its popular alternatives each year, IWB finished in the top quarter in four of 25 years and in the bottom quarter in no. In 2025, it ranked 7 of 18.
- IWB finished ahead of the S&P 500 in six of its 25 full calendar years.
- Among its popular alternatives, IWF came out ahead of IWB most often, in 13 of the 25 years both traded.

| Year | IWB | SPY |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2025 | +17.2% | +17.7% |
| 2024 | +24.3% | +24.9% |
| 2023 | +26.4% | +26.2% |
| 2022 | −19.2% | −18.2% |
| 2021 | +26.3% | +28.7% |
| 2020 | +20.8% | +18.3% |
| 2019 | +31.1% | +31.2% |
| 2018 | −4.9% | −4.6% |
| 2017 | +21.5% | +21.7% |
| 2016 | +12.0% | +12.0% |

## Risk and diversification

How IWB has fallen, how it held up in crashes beside the S&P 500 and its popular alternatives, and what moves independently of it.

### What were IWB's worst declines?

A drawdown is the decline from a peak to the lowest point before a new high.

- In all five of IWB's worst declines, the S&P 500 held up better over the same dates.
- The slowest recovery came after IWB fell 48.3% from September 2000 to October 2002; it did not regain that peak until October 2006, four years later.

| Decline | Peak | Low | Back at the high | SPY over the same dates | Market event |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −55.4% | October 9, 2007 | March 9, 2009 | March 19, 2012 | −55.2% | 2008 financial crisis |
| −48.3% | September 1, 2000 | October 9, 2002 | October 13, 2006 | −47.3% | dot-com bust |
| −34.6% | February 19, 2020 | March 23, 2020 | August 6, 2020 | −33.7% | Covid crash |
| −25.2% | January 3, 2022 | October 12, 2022 | December 14, 2023 | −24.5% | 2022 bear market |
| −19.7% | September 20, 2018 | December 24, 2018 | April 12, 2019 | −19.4% | late-2018 sell-off |

### How did IWB do in stock market crashes?

This section measures how far IWB, the S&P 500 and each alternative fell from peak to trough during every major market crash since 2000.

- None of its popular alternatives fell less than IWB in most of the crashes they both traded through.
- IWB fell further than the S&P 500 in four of the nine crashes it has traded through. The clearest case was the 2015 China and oil sell-off, when IWB fell 14.0% and the S&P 500 fell 12.8%.

| Crash | Dates | IWB fall | SPY fall |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Dot-com bust | March 10, 2000 to October 9, 2002 | not trading | −47.5% |
| Global financial crisis | October 9, 2007 to March 9, 2009 | −55.4% | −55.2% |
| Flash crash | May 6, 2010 to May 7, 2010 | −1.7% | −1.5% |
| Euro debt crisis | July 22, 2011 to October 3, 2011 | −18.8% | −17.9% |
| China devaluation & oil rout | August 10, 2015 to February 11, 2016 | −14.0% | −12.8% |
| Volmageddon | February 2, 2018 to February 9, 2018 | −6.4% | −6.5% |
| Q4 2018 selloff | September 21, 2018 to December 24, 2018 | −19.7% | −19.3% |
| COVID crash | February 19, 2020 to March 23, 2020 | −34.6% | −33.7% |
| 2022 bear market | January 4, 2022 to October 12, 2022 | −25.0% | −24.5% |
| SVB / regional bank stress | March 8, 2023 to March 13, 2023 | −3.8% | −3.4% |

### How closely does IWB move with the S&P 500?

Upside capture measures how much of the S&P 500's gains an investment kept in the months the market rose, and downside capture how much of its losses it took in the months the market fell.

- Only IWF, VV and SCHX had a higher capture ratio (upside capture divided by downside capture) than IWB's 0.98, out of 15 popular alternatives with the same record.
- Over the past 10 years, IWB captured 100% of the S&P 500's gains in rising months and 101% of its losses in falling months, with a beta of 1.01. It took about the same share of the market's gains as of its losses.

Measured over the past 10 years of monthly returns against SPY.

| Investment | Upside capture | Downside capture | Beta |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| IWB: iShares Russell 1000 ETF (this page) | 100% | 101% | 1.01 |
| [VV](https://easycompare.io/research/vv): Vanguard Morningstar Large-Cap ETF | 101% | 101% | 1.01 |
| FNDX: Schwab Fundamental U.S. Large Company ETF | 95.0% | 98.0% | 0.97 |
| PRF: Invesco RAFI US 1000 ETF | 93.0% | 98.0% | 0.97 |
| SPTM: State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 1500 Composite Stock Market ETF | 99.0% | 101% | 1.01 |
| [IWF](https://easycompare.io/research/iwf): iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF | 110% | 104% | 1.10 |
| [IWD](https://easycompare.io/research/iwd): iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF | 87.0% | 99.0% | 0.93 |
| [RSP](https://easycompare.io/research/rsp): Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF | 92.0% | 107% | 1.01 |
| EUSA: iShares MSCI USA Equal Weighted ETF | 93.0% | 112% | 1.05 |
| [SCHX](https://easycompare.io/research/schx): Schwab U.S. Large-Cap ETF | 100% | 101% | 1.01 |
| IYY: iShares Dow Jones U.S. ETF | 100% | 102% | 1.02 |
| [SCHB](https://easycompare.io/research/schb): Schwab U.S. Broad Market ETF | 99.0% | 104% | 1.03 |
| [IJH](https://easycompare.io/research/ijh): iShares Core S&P Mid-Cap ETF | 93.0% | 115% | 1.10 |
| EQAL: Invesco Russell 1000 Equal Weight ETF | 90.0% | 113% | 1.04 |
| [IWM](https://easycompare.io/research/iwm): iShares Russell 2000 ETF | 98.0% | 129% | 1.17 |
| [VXUS](https://easycompare.io/research/vxus): Vanguard Total International Stock ETF | 76.0% | 91.0% | 0.82 |

### What diversifies IWB?

Correlation measures how closely two investments move together, on a scale from 1 (in lockstep) through 0 (unrelated) to -1 (in opposite directions).

- Moving a fifth of the money in IWB into DBMF would have cut the portfolio's volatility by 23% over the past 5 years for a small cut in its annual return (+12.9% for IWB alone, +12.8% for the mix).
- Among large ETFs, GLD, XLE and AMLP have moved largely independently of IWB over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.47 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.
- Among large stocks, CAH, MCK and MPC have moved largely independently of IWB over the past 5 years, with correlations of 0.30 or lower, and each still earned a positive 5-year return.

| Investment | Correlation with IWB | 5Y return | Volatility | Sharpe | Rose in IWB's 5 down years |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [GLD](https://easycompare.io/research/gld): SPDR Gold Shares | 0.16 | +126% | 18.9% | 0.96 | 1 of 5 |
| [XLE](https://easycompare.io/research/xle): State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF | 0.29 | +177% | 25.5% | 0.93 | 1 of 5 |
| AMLP: Alerian MLP ETF | 0.47 | +111% | 18.9% | 0.89 | 1 of 5 |
| DBMF: iMGP DBi Managed Futures Strategy ETF | -0.27 | +59.7% | 12.4% | 0.82 | 1 of 5 |
| DBA: Invesco DB Agriculture Fund | 0.18 | +66.4% | 13.8% | 0.81 | 1 of 5 |
| IHE: iShares U.S. Pharmaceuticals ETF | 0.48 | +81.2% | 16.8% | 0.80 | 0 of 5 |
| PPH: VanEck Pharmaceutical ETF | 0.49 | +72.8% | 15.8% | 0.78 | 1 of 5 |
| GDX: VanEck Gold Miners ETF | 0.28 | +181% | 38.2% | 0.73 | 0 of 5 |

## Common questions

### What was IWB's worst drawdown?

IWB's deepest decline since it began trading in 2000 was 55.4%, from October 2007 to March 2009. It took about three years from the low to climb back to its old high.

### What were IWB's best and worst years?

Over 25 full calendar years, IWB's best year was 2013, when it returned 32.8%. Its worst was 2008, with a return of -37.4%.

### Is there a better investment than IWB?

Among IWB's popular alternatives, FNDX earned more than IWB with less volatility over the past 5 years: 13.5% a year at 14.9% volatility, against 11.9% a year at 17.2%. SPYM tracks the same thing for 0.02% a year against IWB's 0.15%, and has kept pace over the past decade: about $130 less in fees on $10,000 over 10 years.

### Is IWB more volatile than the S&P 500?

No. IWB's volatility over the past 5 years was 17.2%, 1.0 times the S&P 500's 17.5%. Volatility measures how widely returns swing around their average: in roughly two years out of three, IWB's return lands within 17.2% of its average, either way. The higher it is, the rougher the ride and the harder it is to hold through a slump.

### What is IWB's Sharpe ratio?

IWB's Sharpe ratio over the past 5 years was 0.74, against 0.71 for the S&P 500, so IWB earned more for each unit of risk than an index fund did. The Sharpe ratio is the return earned above cash for each unit of volatility: two investments with the same return are not equal if one got there with far bigger swings.

### How correlated is IWB with the S&P 500?

Over the past 5 years, IWB's monthly returns had a correlation of 1.00 with the S&P 500. Correlation runs from 1 (moving in lockstep) through 0 (unrelated) to −1 (moving in opposite directions). They move almost in lockstep, so holding both adds little diversification. In the table, the correlation column measures each option against IWB instead: the lower it is, the more that option would diversify a IWB holding.

### What are the best alternatives to IWB?

Of the 25 popular alternatives we compared, five outperformed IWB in at least 3 of 5 short-term and 2 of 3 long-term timeframes, with dividends reinvested: SPYM, VOO and IVV.

### Did IWB outperform the S&P 500?

IWB finished ahead of the S&P 500 (SPY) in six of 25 full calendar years. In 2025, it returned +17.2%, against +17.7% for the index.

### How did IWB do in stock market crashes?

IWB fell less than the S&P 500 (SPY) in none of the nine major crashes it has traded through, and further in four. The clearest case was the 2015 China and oil sell-off, when IWB fell 14.0% and the S&P 500 fell 12.8%.

### What diversifies IWB?

These had a low correlation with IWB over the past 5 years and still earned a positive 5-year return: among large ETFs, GLD (correlation 0.16), XLE (correlation 0.29) and AMLP (correlation 0.47); among large stocks, CAH (correlation 0.30), MCK (correlation 0.19) and MPC (correlation 0.26). A correlation near zero means the two have moved largely independently.

## More research

- [State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF (SPYM) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/spym)
- [Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/voo)
- [iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/ivv)
- [State Street SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/spy)
- [iShares U.S. Equity Factor Rotation Active ETF (DYNF) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/dynf)
- [Vanguard Morningstar Large-Cap ETF (VV) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/vv)
- [iShares Russell 1000 Growth ETF (IWF) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/iwf)
- [iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF (IWD) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/iwd)
- [Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight ETF (RSP) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/rsp)
- [Schwab U.S. Large-Cap ETF (SCHX) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/schx)
- [Vanguard Morningstar Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/vti)
- [iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF (ITOT) Performance, Alternatives and Market Rank](https://easycompare.io/research/itot)

## Explore further

- Full page with charts: https://easycompare.io/research/iwb
- All research pages: https://easycompare.io/llms.txt
- Compare the entire market against IWB live: https://betterthanspy.com/?b=IWB&utm_source=easycompare&utm_medium=research