BKSE vs IWC: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

BNY Mellon US Small Cap Core Equity ETF

BKSEANYSE Arca

iShares Micro-Cap ETF

IWCCNYSE Arca

Overlap

0.5%by weight

Expense ratio

BKSE −0.56pt a year

BKSE0.04%IWC0.60%

Avg volume · 30D

IWC 27.4×the volume

BKSE4.59KIWC126K

5Y return · a year

BKSE +2.6pt

BKSE+6.5%IWC+3.9%

BKSE vs IWC Performance

Nov 9, 2021 – Nov 9, 2026

+37.2%BKSE+21.0%IWC

Expense ratio: BKSE 0.04%, better; IWC 0.60%
Fund size: BKSE $82M; IWC $1.19B
1Y total return: BKSE +20.8%, better; IWC +20.7%
Yield (12M): BKSE 1.25%, better; IWC 1.09%
Holdings: BKSE 603; IWC 1363
Avg volume (30D): BKSE 4.59K sh; IWC 126K sh, better
NAV per share: BKSE $42.39; IWC $172.25
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for BKSE, IWC, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	BKSE	IWC
Cost30% weight	A91Higher	F6
Mission25% weight	A100Higher	A86
Risk15% weight	B58Higher	D25
Tradability15% weight	D26	C44Higher
Holdings10% weight	B60Higher	C44
Durability5% weight	F18	B66Higher

Rank among US Small-Cap funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. BKSE and IWC are both graded against the same 16 US Small-Cap funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

US Small-Cap⁠

Category · 16 funds

See all 16 ›

BKSE ranks 4th and IWC 13th of 16 funds in the US Small-Cap Category.

Rank 1ASCHASchwab U.S. Small-Cap ETFScore 81
Rank 2AVBVanguard Morningstar Small-Cap ETFScore 76
Rank 3AVTWOVanguard Russell 2000 ETFScore 72
Rank 4ABKSEBNY Mellon US Small Cap Core Equity ETFScore 71
Rank 5BIWMiShares Russell 2000 ETFScore 69
Rank 13CEESWisdomTree U.S. SmallCap FundScore 41
Rank 13CIWCiShares Micro-Cap ETFScore 41
Rank 15DTSCVThrivent Small Cap Value ETFScore 39

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

BKSEABNY Mellon US Small Cap Core Equity ETF

IWCCiShares Micro-Cap ETF

In short

BKSE Small-cap indexing stripped to 0.04% a year, a fraction of what the typical fund in the category charges. About 600 US small caps, Morningstar's index, and a lot less name recognition than the household tickers.

IWC Most small-cap funds stop short of here. Since 2005, IWC has tracked the Russell Microcap Index, buying the smallest sliver of the US market in one ticket instead of one lottery-ticket stock at a time.

Stated mandate

BKSE The fund seeks to mirror the performance of the Morningstar US Small Cap Index. It normally invests nearly all assets in the index’s equity securities.

IWC The fund aims to follow the results of an index made up of U.S. micro-cap equities, using the Russell Microcap Index as its underlying index.

Why people hold it

BKSE A 0.04% expense ratio sits in the cheapest tier of US small-cap index funds, well under iShares' IWM at 0.19% and a hair off Vanguard's VB and Schwab's SCHA at 0.03%.
Roughly 600 holdings across the Morningstar US Small Cap Index, so no single name drives the fund.
Straight index mandate: nearly all assets go into the index's own stocks, and it has been one of the tightest-tracking implementations in its peer group.
Pays distributions quarterly, on the standard schedule for a broad equity index fund.

IWC Running since 2005 as a dedicated micro-cap index fund, not a small-cap fund that occasionally wanders down there.
Rules, not hunches. It follows the Russell Microcap Index and has stayed tight to that mandate rather than drifting up-cap.
A multibillion-dollar iShares fund with quarterly distributions and the standard big-shop ETF plumbing behind it.
One ticket spreads the money across the index's whole micro-cap roster, diluting the single-name risk of picking tiny companies yourself.

Worth knowing

BKSE Thinly traded and smaller than the category's household names, so bid-ask spreads can be wider and sizeable orders take more care at the screen.
Launched in 2020, a shorter live record than small-cap funds that have run through several full market cycles.
Small-cap stocks swing harder than large caps, and this fund holds the index as it comes with no defensive tilt.

IWC The reach has a price: 0.60% a year, against 0.03% at VB and SCHA and 0.19% at IWM for broad small-cap exposure.
Micro-caps trade thin and swing hard, and the fund itself is only moderately traded, so spreads can widen in rough markets. Limit orders earn their keep.
Cash comes quarterly, but this is a growth-and-volatility corner of the market, not an income sleeve.

Full BKSE profile⁠

Full IWC profile⁠

BKSE vs IWC Holdings

How BKSE and IWC differ

Overlap by weight

0.5%

Shared holdings make up 2.8% of IWC and 0.5% of BKSE.

Level by level

Holdings5 in both0.5%
Sector11 Sectors72.8%
Countryby domicile98.7%
Asset classStocks100%

Sector

Sector weights in BKSE and IWC, widest gap first
Sector	Gap	BKSE	IWC
Health Care	IWC +15.0 points	11.6%	26.6%
Financials	IWC +11.3 points	16.3%	27.6%
Consumer Discretionary	BKSE +6.8 points	14.0%	7.2%
Technology	BKSE +4.9 points	15.4%	10.5%
Real Estate	BKSE +4.2 points	6.5%	2.3%
Industrials	BKSE +4.0 points	16.3%	12.3%
Utilities	BKSE +2.7 points	3.6%	0.9%
Energy	BKSE +1.8 points	5.9%	4.1%
Consumer Staples	BKSE +1.7 points	3.5%	1.8%
Materials	BKSE +1.0 points	4.4%	3.4%
Communication	IWC +0.9 points	2.4%	3.3%

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in BKSE and IWC, widest gap first
Country	Gap	BKSE	IWC
United States	IWC +0.3 points	98.6%	98.9%
United Kingdom	IWC +0.4 points	0.0%	0.4%
Brazil	BKSE +0.4 points	0.4%	0.0%
Australia	IWC +0.3 points	0.0%	0.3%
India	BKSE +0.3 points	0.3%	0.0%
Ireland	BKSE +0.2 points	0.2%	0.0%
Hong Kong	IWC +0.1 points	0.0%	0.1%
Switzerland	BKSE +0.1 points	0.1%	0.0%
Other countries (6)	BKSE +0.1 points	0.4%	0.3%

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

BKSE3.5%
IWC5.8%

Securities held

BKSE603
IWC1,361

Asset class

BKSE: Stocks
IWC: Stocks

Holdings

Only in BKSE598
In both5
Only in IWC1,356

Only in BKSE

598 securities, 99.5% of BKSE by weight

Hanover Insurance Group Inc/0.38%
Etsy Inc0.37%
Epam Systems Inc0.37%
Victoria's Secret & Co0.35%
Pool Corp0.35%
Lamb Weston Holdings Inc0.35%
Vf Corp0.34%
Silicon Laboratories Inc0.33%
Terreno Realty Corp0.33%
Crocs Inc0.32%
Macerich Co/The0.32%
Frontdoor Inc0.31%
Chemed Corp0.31%
Federal Signal Corp0.30%
Elf Beauty Inc0.30%
Valley National Bancorp0.30%
Adt Inc0.30%
Healthcare Realty Trust Inc0.30%
Jbt Marel Corp0.30%
Builders Firstsource Inc0.30%
Qualys Inc0.30%
Lantheus Holdings Inc0.30%
Churchill Downs Inc0.30%
Duolingo0.29%
Commvault Systems Inc0.29%
Black Hills Corp0.29%
Lyft Inc-A0.29%
H&R Block Inc0.29%
Genpact Ltd0.29%
Teleflex Inc0.29%
Rhythm Pharmaceuticals Inc0.29%
Exlservice Holdings Inc0.29%
Cleveland-Cliffs Inc0.29%
United Bankshares Inc0.29%
Nov Inc0.28%
Fnb Corp0.28%
Southwest Gas Holdings Inc0.28%
Abercrombie & Fitch Co-Cl A0.28%
Msa Safety Inc0.28%
Matson Inc0.28%
Gatx Corp0.28%
Gxo Logistics Inc0.28%
Xometry Inc-A0.28%
Essential Properties Realty0.28%
Casella Waste Systems Inc-A0.28%
Terex Corp0.28%
Glacier Bancorp Inc0.28%
Science Applications Inte0.28%
Weatherford International Pl0.28%
Rayonier Inc0.28%

Only in IWC

1,356 securities, 97.0% of IWC by weight

Viridian Therapeutics Ors0.73%
Xeris Biopharma Holdings0.66%
Porch Group0.51%
Interface0.46%
Replimune Group0.45%
Dime Commercial Bancshares0.44%
Lindblad Expeditions Holdings0.43%
Sellas Life Sciences Group Inc0.43%
Qcr Holdings Inc0.42%
Strive Inc Class A0.41%
First Tracks Biotherapeutics Inc0.41%
Origin Bancorp Inc0.41%
Mbx Biosciences0.41%
Connectone Bancorp0.41%
Absci Corp0.39%
Bank First Corp0.39%
Eton Pharmaceutcials Inc0.38%
Nurix Therapeutics0.37%
The Realreal0.37%
Ellington Financial0.36%
Butterfly Network Class A0.36%
Peoples Bancorp Inc0.35%
Nordic American Tankers0.35%
Idt Class B0.35%
Arlo Technologies0.34%
Cra International Inc0.32%
Turning Point Brands0.32%
First Mid Bancshares Inc0.32%
Old Second Bancorp Inc0.32%
Pennant Group0.32%
Burke Herbert Financial Services C0.32%
Omeros0.31%
Allient Inc0.31%
Maze Therapeutics0.31%
Bandwidth Class A0.31%
Universal Insurance Holdings Inc0.30%
Byline Bancorp Inc0.30%
Innodata0.30%
Digital Turbine0.30%
Rex American Resources0.30%
Aveanna Healthcare Holdings Inc0.29%
Pursuit Attractions and Hospitalit0.29%
Univest Financial Corp0.29%
Personalis0.29%
Quinstreet Inc0.29%
Community Trust Bancorp0.29%
Bjs Restaurants Inc0.27%
Horizon Bancorp Inc0.27%
Metropolitan Bank Holding Corp0.27%
Cnb Financial Corp0.27%

Weight gaps

All 5 Holdings in both funds, largest gap first.

Holding weights in BKSE and IWC, widest gap first
Holding	Gap	BKSE	IWC
Caredx IncCDNA	IWC +0.86 points	0.17%	1.03%
Ouster IncOUST	IWC +0.48 points	0.11%	0.59%
Penguin Solutions IncPENG	IWC +0.45 points	0.09%	0.54%
Hyperliquid StrategiesPURR	IWC +0.32 points	0.11%	0.43%
Pulse Biosciences IncPLSE	IWC +0.21 points	0.05%	0.26%

All 599 BKSE holdings⁠All 1,364 IWC holdings⁠

How we measure overlap

Each holding counts at its smaller weight in the two funds, summed over the full Holdings. Sector, country and asset class use the same rule on each fund’s split. Cash, FX and derivative lines stay out of the counts. Two bond funds get no overlap figure.

BKSE vs IWC Cost

Overpaying IWC vs BKSE

$10,968

On $10,000 over 30 years. 7% growth a year before fees, expense ratio only.

BKSE 0.04%
$849
IWC 0.60%
$11,817

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

BKSE 0.04%
IWC 0.60%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	BKSE	IWC	Overpaying
10	$73	$1,076	$1,003
20	$288	$4,116	$3,828
30	$849	$11,817	$10,968

Expense ratio

0.04%BKSE, cheaper
0.60%IWC

BKSE0.04%IWC0.60%

0.03%0.60%

Middle half of US Small-Cap funds
Median 0.20%

BKSE 3rd cheapest of 16 funds

IWC 14th cheapest of 16 funds

BKSE vs IWC Dividends

Last 12 months to Nov 9, 2026

Yield (12M): BKSE 1.25%, better; IWC 1.09%
Payout (12M): BKSE $0.55; IWC $1.94
Last payment: BKSE $0.15; IWC $0.45
Ex-dividend: BKSE Oct 1, 2026; IWC Sep 15, 2026
Paid on: BKSE Oct 6, 2026; IWC Sep 18, 2026
Frequency: BKSE Quarterly; IWC Twice a year

Distribution history

Per share, 2017 to 2026, same scale for both

BKSEQuarterly · 26 paymentsAll BKSE payments⁠

IWCTwice a year · 39 paymentsAll IWC payments⁠

BKSE vs IWC Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

BKSE
IWC

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: BKSE 18.0%, betterIWC 21.6%
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: BKSE 0.89IWC 0.96, better
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: BKSE −28.8%, betterIWC −40.4%
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: BKSE 1.08IWC 1.36; Market = 1

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