FESM vs SAWS: Grades, Fees and Holdings Compared

Fidelity Enhanced Small Cap ETF

FESMANYSE Arca

AAM Sawgrass U.S. Small Cap Quality Growth ETF

SAWSCNYSE Arca

Overlap

10.1%by weight

Expense ratio

FESM −0.27pt a year

FESM0.28%SAWS0.55%

Avg volume · 30D

FESM 146.6×the volume

FESM1.06MSAWS7.2K

FESM vs SAWS Performance

Nov 7, 2025 – Nov 9, 2026

+25.8%FESM+7.3%SAWS

Expense ratio: FESM 0.28%, better; SAWS 0.55%
Fund size: FESM $6.74B; SAWS $7M
1Y total return: FESM +25.8%, better; SAWS +7.3%
Yield (12M): FESM 0.86%, better; SAWS 0.02%
Holdings: FESM 895; SAWS 71
Avg volume (30D): FESM 1.06M sh, better; SAWS 7.2K sh
NAV per share: FESM $45.75; SAWS $21.36
52W range

ETF.net Grade

Pillar letters and Scores for FESM, SAWS, with each pillar’s weight
Pillar	FESM	SAWS
Cost30% weight	A96Higher	C54
Mission25% weight	A85Higher	A79
Risk15% weight	B66Higher	F14
Tradability15% weight	A91Higher	C52
Holdings10% weight	A78Higher	D38
Durability5% weight	A93Higher	F24

Rank among US Active Small-Cap funds

How we build Categories ›

Same Category. FESM and SAWS are both graded against the same 39 US Active Small-Cap funds, so their Grades compare head to head.

US Active Small-Cap⁠

Category · 39 funds

See all 39 ›

FESM ranks 2nd and SAWS 24th of 39 funds in the US Active Small-Cap Category.

Rank 1AAVSCAvantis U.S. Small Cap Equity ETFScore 88
Rank 2AFESMFidelity Enhanced Small Cap ETFScore 86
Rank 3ADFSVU.S. Small Cap Value Portfolio ETF Class SharesScore 82
Rank 24CGSCGoldman Sachs Small Cap Equity ETFScore 41
Rank 24CSAWSAAM Sawgrass U.S. Small Cap Quality Growth ETFScore 41
Rank 27CAFSCabrdn Focused U.S. Small Cap Active ETFScore 40

Our read on each fund

ETF.net Research

FESMAFidelity Enhanced Small Cap ETF

SAWSCAAM Sawgrass U.S. Small Cap Quality Growth ETF

In short

FESM A quant small-cap strategy that has been running since 2007 and moved into an ETF wrapper in 2023 with the same mandate. It nudges the Russell 2000 rather than copying it, and charges far less than the typical active small-cap fund.

SAWS Most small-cap funds are built to chase the upside. SAWS writes the other half into its mandate: the prospectus objective names downside protection and low standard deviation alongside growth, pursued through an active, multi-screen model.

Stated mandate

FESM The fund is a diversified U.S. equity strategy focused on small-cap companies. It seeks to outperform its benchmark through a quantitative process that balances risk and return.

SAWS The Fund seeks risk-adjusted returns, upside participation, downside protection, low standard deviation, and long-term capital appreciation.

Why people hold it

FESM Costs 0.28% a year, roughly half the median for active US small-cap ETFs. Cheap fuel for a strategy that only needs to beat its benchmark by a little.
The strategy dates to 2007 as a Fidelity mutual fund and kept the same objective when it converted to an ETF in 2023. Long history, newer ticker.fidelity.com
A multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively, so getting in and out tends to be straightforward. One of the stronger builds in the active small-cap group.
Spreads across roughly 600 small-cap names, so no single blowup dominates. This is a diversified core sleeve, not a concentrated stock-picker bet.

SAWS The mandate is unusually specific for a small-cap fund: risk-adjusted returns, upside participation, downside protection and low standard deviation, and the portfolio has tracked that description closely.
Five screens stacked into one small-cap sleeve: quality, profitability, value, momentum and low volatility, blended by a proprietary model rather than an off-the-shelf index.
At 0.55% a year, active stock selection priced close to the middle of the active small-cap field rather than at a premium to it.

Worth knowing

FESM Small caps are the choppiest corner of the US market, and this fund lives there full time. Expect a bumpier ride than a large-cap core holding.fidelity.com
Enhanced index means small tilts around the Russell 2000, not a break from it. Results track close to the index rather than looking dramatically different.fidelity.com
Cheap, but not the cheapest in the room: top-rated peers AVSC and AVUV run 0.25% and DUHP 0.20%.

SAWS A small fund that trades lightly. Bid-ask spreads can be wide, and that cost lands in your fill price, most visibly on bigger orders.
Launched in 2024, so the record is short and covers one market regime. No full drawdown cycle yet to test the downside-protection half of the mandate.
Bigger systematic rivals such as AVUV, AVSC and DUHP charge 0.20% to 0.29% and stand higher in the cohort; SAWS sits in the lower half of its peer group.

Full FESM profile⁠

Full SAWS profile⁠

FESM vs SAWS Holdings

How FESM and SAWS differ

Overlap by weight

10.1%

Shared holdings make up 62.5% of SAWS and 10.1% of FESM.

Level by level

Holdings44 in both10.1%
Sector11 Sectors81.4%
Countryby domicile99.4%
Asset classStocks100%

Sector

Sector weights in FESM and SAWS, widest gap first
Sector	Gap	FESM	SAWS
Health Care	SAWS +9.2 points	21.4%	30.6%
Financials	FESM +6.9 points	19.1%	12.2%
Consumer Staples	SAWS +5.1 points	1.2%	6.3%
Real Estate	FESM +3.8 points	3.8%	0.0%
Industrials	SAWS +3.5 points	14.5%	18.0%
Consumer Discretionary	FESM +2.5 points	9.1%	6.6%
Materials	FESM +2.5 points	4.9%	2.4%
Utilities	FESM +1.7 points	1.7%	0.0%
Communication	FESM +1.0 points	3.2%	2.2%
Energy	SAWS +0.7 points	6.1%	6.8%
Technology	Same weight	14.9%	14.9%

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Country weights in FESM and SAWS, widest gap first
Country	More in FESMMore in SAWS	Gap	FESM	SAWS
United States		SAWS +0.6 points	99.4%	100.0%
Other countries (5)		FESM +0.6 points	0.6%	0.0%

Concentration

Weight in the 10 largest Holdings

FESM9.7%
SAWS27.6%

Securities held

FESM893
SAWS71

Asset class

FESM: Stocks
SAWS: Stocks

Holdings

Only in FESM849
In both44
Only in SAWS27

Only in FESM

849 securities, 91.2% of FESM by weight

Securities Lending Cf2.43%
Installed Building Prod Inc0.76%
Commercial Metals Co0.74%
Fluor Corp0.74%
Healthequity Inc0.74%
Outfront Media Inc0.70%
Phillips Edison & Co0.68%
Abercrombie & Fitch Co Class A0.67%
Clear Secure Inc0.66%
Plexus Corp0.63%
Encore Cap Group Inc0.62%
Balchem Corp0.62%
Aci Worldwide Inc0.61%
Payoneer Global Inc0.60%
Wsfs Financial Corp0.59%
Tutor Perini Corp0.58%
Sonos Inc0.56%
Cushman & Wakefield Ltd0.54%
Kulicke & Soffa Industries Inc0.53%
Delek Us Holdings Inc0.53%
Navan Inc A0.53%
Hci Group Inc0.52%
Home Bancshares Inc0.52%
Atricure Inc0.51%
Polaris Inc0.50%
Extreme Networks Inc0.50%
Skyward Specialty Ins Grp Inc0.50%
Wesbanco Inc0.50%
Sensient Technologies Corp0.50%
Adaptive Biotechnologies Corp0.49%
Ceco Environmental Corp0.49%
Aar Corp0.49%
Materion Corp0.48%
Glacier Bancorp Inc0.47%
Harmony Biosciences Hldgs Inc0.47%
Guardant Health Inc0.47%
Callaway Golf Company0.46%
Commvault Systems Inc0.46%
Life Time Group Holdings Inc0.46%
Federated Hermes Inc0.46%
Insight Enterprises Inc0.46%
Kodiak Gas Services Inc0.44%
Cargurus Inc Class A0.44%
Workiva Inc0.43%
Maxlinear Inc0.42%
Skywest Inc0.42%
Wisdomtree Inc0.42%
Hinge Health Inc0.41%
Avista Corp0.40%
Marriott Vacations World0.40%

Only in SAWS

27 securities, 37.5% of SAWS by weight

PriceSmart Inc3.27%
Digi International Inc2.62%
Mueller Industries Inc2.23%
LifeStance Health Group Inc2.21%
Rimini Street Inc1.95%
InfuSystem Holdings Inc1.93%
Laureate Education Inc1.67%
Victory Capital Holdings Inc1.66%
Mistras Group Inc1.59%
AZZ Inc1.53%
FirstCash Holdings Inc1.51%
A10 Networks Inc1.49%
Liquidity Services Inc1.34%
IMAX Corp1.27%
UFP Technologies Inc1.22%
Chefs' Warehouse Inc/The1.19%
Red River Bancshares Inc1.19%
Enpro Inc1.09%
Halozyme Therapeutics Inc1.01%
Fortrea Holdings Inc0.95%
NWPX Infrastructure Inc0.90%
AvePoint Inc0.80%
GATX Corp0.76%
Bel Fuse Inc0.60%
Neogen Corp0.59%
Hippo Holdings Inc0.48%
Select Water Solutions Inc0.43%

Weight gaps

All 44 Holdings in both funds, largest gap first.

Holding weights in FESM and SAWS, widest gap first
Holding	Gap	FESM	SAWS
Brightspring Hlth Services IncBTSG	SAWS +2.87 points	0.74%	3.61%
Stonex Group IncSNEX	SAWS +2.61 points	0.45%	3.06%
Gorman-Rupp CoGRC	SAWS +2.55 points	<0.01%	2.56%
Agilon Health IncAGL	SAWS +2.51 points	0.18%	2.69%
Pattern Group IncPTRN	SAWS +2.40 points	0.21%	2.61%
Caredx IncCDNA	SAWS +2.22 points	0.23%	2.45%
C T’s CorpCTS	SAWS +1.72 points	0.00%	1.72%
Oscar Health Inc - Class AOSCR	SAWS +1.70 points	0.75%	2.45%
Pennant Group IncPNTG	SAWS +1.57 points	0.00%	1.57%
Esco Technologies IncESE	SAWS +1.54 points	0.11%	1.65%
Monarch Casino & Resort IncMCRI	SAWS +1.53 points	0.19%	1.72%
Riley Exploration Permian IncREPX	SAWS +1.51 points	0.06%	1.57%
Bread Financial Holdings IncBFH	SAWS +1.51 points	0.20%	1.71%
Rex American Resources CorpREX	SAWS +1.50 points	0.03%	1.53%
Archrock IncAROC	SAWS +1.44 points	0.10%	1.54%
Freshworks Inc Class AFRSH	SAWS +1.42 points	0.17%	1.59%
Ligand PharmaceuticalsLGND	SAWS +1.33 points	0.00%	1.33%
Tg Therapeutics IncTGTX	SAWS +1.32 points	0.16%	1.48%
Applied Industrial Tech IncAIT	SAWS +1.30 points	0.21%	1.51%
Enova Intl IncENVA	SAWS +1.16 points	0.40%	1.56%
Oceaneering International IncOII	SAWS +1.13 points	0.19%	1.32%
Advanced Energy Industries IncAEIS	SAWS +1.09 points	0.02%	1.11%
Openlane IncOPLN	SAWS +1.06 points	0.59%	1.65%
Ncr Atleos CorpNATL	SAWS +0.95 points	0.14%	1.09%
Axogen IncAXGN	SAWS +0.89 points	0.24%	1.13%
Bioventus IncBVS	SAWS +0.90 points	0.05%	0.95%
Par Pacific Holdings IncPARR	SAWS +0.89 points	0.04%	0.93%
Mesa Laboratories IncMLAB	SAWS +0.85 points	0.11%	0.96%
Ensign Group IncENSG	SAWS +0.84 points	0.04%	0.88%
Figs Inc-Class AFIGS	SAWS +0.82 points	0.22%	1.04%
Madison Square Garden EntertaiMSGE	SAWS +0.78 points	0.14%	0.92%
Smartfinancial IncSMBK	SAWS +0.74 points	0.04%	0.78%
Patterson-Uti Energy IncPTEN	SAWS +0.74 points	0.22%	0.96%
Glaukos CorpGKOS	SAWS +0.71 points	0.97%	1.68%
Myr Group Inc/DelawareMYRG	SAWS +0.67 points	0.15%	0.82%
Standex Intl CorpSXI	SAWS +0.66 points	0.01%	0.67%
Travere Therapeutics IncTVTX	SAWS +0.65 points	0.19%	0.84%
Griffon CorpGFF	SAWS +0.64 points	0.67%	1.31%
V2X IncVVX	SAWS +0.53 points	0.33%	0.86%
Preformed Line Products CoPLPC	SAWS +0.44 points	0.09%	0.53%
Urban OutfittersURBN	SAWS +0.41 points	0.12%	0.53%
Enersys IncENS	SAWS +0.21 points	0.62%	0.83%
Dxp Enterprises IncDXPE	SAWS +0.09 points	0.32%	0.41%
Benchmark Electronics IncBHE	SAWS +0.05 points	0.36%	0.41%

All 632 FESM holdings⁠All 72 SAWS 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.

FESM vs SAWS Cost

Overpaying SAWS vs FESM

$5,149

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

FESM 0.28%
$5,755
SAWS 0.55%
$10,904

Amount$10,000

Years30 years

Cost over time

FESM 0.28%
SAWS 0.55%
Overpaying

Year by year

Year	FESM	SAWS	Overpaying
10	$509	$988	$479
20	$1,976	$3,790	$1,814
30	$5,755	$10,904	$5,149

Expense ratio

0.28%FESM, cheaper
0.55%SAWS

FESM0.28%SAWS0.55%

0.25%2.20%

Middle half of US Active Small-Cap funds
Median 0.55%

FESM 2nd cheapest of 39 funds

SAWS 18th cheapest of 39 funds

FESM vs SAWS Dividends

Last 12 months to Nov 9, 2026

Yield (12M): FESM 0.86%, better; SAWS 0.02%
Payout (12M): FESM $0.39; SAWS $0.0045
Last payment: FESM $0.10; SAWS $0.0045
Ex-dividend: FESM Sep 18, 2026; SAWS Dec 31, 2025
Paid on: FESM Sep 22, 2026; SAWS Jan 5, 2026
Frequency: FESM Quarterly; SAWS Irregular

Distribution history

Per share, 2023 to 2026, same scale for both

FESMQuarterly · 13 paymentsAll FESM payments⁠

SAWSIrregular · 2 paymentsAll SAWS payments⁠

FESM vs SAWS Risk

Fall from peak · 5 years

This chart needs five years of history for both funds.

Risk facts

VolatilityStd dev, 3 years: FESM 19.6%since Dec 2023SAWS 18.2%since Aug 2024
Return per unit of riskSharpe ratio, 3 years: FESM 0.97since Dec 2023SAWS 0.26since Aug 2024
Worst fallMax drawdown, 5 years: FESM −26.9%since Nov 2023SAWS −22.0%since Jul 2024
Market sensitivityBeta, 5 years: FESM 1.33SAWS 0.86; Market = 1

FESM and SAWS in the news

All news⁠

Best ETFs
Schwab and Vanguard charge the same 0.03%. Their small-cap funds are 3.7 percentage points apart
Updated Oct 2, 2026FESM

Popular comparisons

FESMAvsAVSCA
Fidelity Enhanced Small Cap ETF · Avantis U.S. Small Cap Equity ETF
Expense ratio
0.28% · 0.25%
Category
SAWSCvsAVSCA
AAM Sawgrass U.S. Small Cap Quality Growth ETF · Avantis U.S. Small Cap Equity ETF
Expense ratio
0.55% · 0.25%
Category
FESMAvsDFSVA
Fidelity Enhanced Small Cap ETF · U.S. Small Cap Value Portfolio ETF Class Shares
Expense ratio
0.28% · 0.30%
Category
SAWSCvsDFSVA
AAM Sawgrass U.S. Small Cap Quality Growth ETF · U.S. Small Cap Value Portfolio ETF Class Shares
Expense ratio
0.55% · 0.30%
Category
FESMAvsDUSGA
Fidelity Enhanced Small Cap ETF · U.S. Small Cap Growth Portfolio: ETF Class Shares
Expense ratio
0.28% · 0.33%
Category
SAWSCvsDUSGA
AAM Sawgrass U.S. Small Cap Quality Growth ETF · U.S. Small Cap Growth Portfolio: ETF Class Shares
Expense ratio
0.55% · 0.33%
Category

FESM vs SAWS

In short

Stated mandate

Why people hold it

Worth knowing

How FESM and SAWS differ

Level by level

Sector

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Concentration

Asset class

Holdings

Only in FESM

Only in SAWS

Weight gaps

Cost over time

Year by year

Distribution history

Fall from peak · 5 years

Risk facts

Schwab and Vanguard charge the same 0.03%. Their small-cap funds are 3.7 percentage points apart

How FESM and SAWS differ

Level by level

Sector

Country, concentration and asset class

Country by domicile

Concentration

Asset class

Holdings

Only in FESM

Only in SAWS

Weight gaps