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<h2>Key Points</h2><ul><li>Schwab U.S. Small-Cap ETF charges a lower expense ratio, but iShares Core S&amp;P Small-Cap ETF pays a slightly higher dividend yield. </li><li>IJR holds fewer stocks and tilts a bit more toward financial services, while SCHA leans on technology. </li><li>SCHA has delivered stronger one-year performance, but IJR has experienced a slightly smaller drawdown over five years. </li><li>10 stocks we like better than iShares Core S&amp;P Small-Cap ETF ›</li></ul><p>The<strong> Schwab U.S. Small-Cap ETF</strong> <span class="ticker">(NYSEMKT:SCHA)</span> stands out for its lower expense ratio and broader stock coverage, while the <strong>iShares Core S&amp;P Small-Cap ETF</strong> <span class="ticker">(NYSEMKT:IJR)</span> offers a marginally higher yield and a narrower focus on financial services and industrials.</p><p></p><p>Both SCHA and IJR aim to capture the U.S. small-cap space, but they differ in cost, sector composition, and number of holdings. This comparison looks at recent performance, risk, and portfolio makeup to help investors weigh which approach may better suit their goals.</p><h2 id="snapshot-cost-amp-size">Snapshot (cost &amp; size)</h2><p></p><section><table><tbody><tr><th>Metric</th><th>SCHA</th><th>IJR</th></tr><tr><td>Issuer</td><td>Schwab</td><td>iShares</td></tr><tr><td>Expense ratio</td><td>0.04%</td><td>0.06%</td></tr><tr><td>1-yr return (as of 2026-03-11)</td><td>25.3%</td><td>18.9%</td></tr><tr><td>Dividend yield</td><td>1.2%</td><td>1.4%</td></tr><tr><td>Beta</td><td>1.3</td><td>1.2</td></tr><tr><td>AUM</td><td>$20.1 billion</td><td>$92.2 billion</td></tr></tbody></table></section><p><em>Beta measures price volatility relative to the S&amp;P 500; beta is calculated from five-year monthly returns. The 1-yr return represents total return over the trailing 12 months.</em></p><p>SCHA is slightly more affordable than IJR, with a 0.04% expense ratio versus 0.06%, and IJR pays a modestly higher dividend yield at 1.4% compared to SCHA’s 1.2%.</p><h2 id="performance-amp-risk-comparison">Performance &amp; risk comparison</h2><p></p><section><table><tbody><tr><th>Metric</th><th>SCHA</th><th>IJR</th></tr><tr><td>Max drawdown (5 y)</td><td>(30.79%)</td><td>(28.02%)</td></tr><tr><td>Growth of $1,000 over 5 years</td><td>$1,125</td><td>$1,083</td></tr></tbody></table></section><h2 id="whatx27s-inside">What's inside</h2><p></p><p>IJR tracks a well-known S&amp;P index and holds 649 U.S. small-cap stocks, with its largest weights in financial services (17%), industrials (16%), and consumer cyclicals (15%). Its top holdings are <strong>Solstice Advanced Materials </strong><span class="ticker">(NASDAQ:SOLS)</span>, <strong>Interdigital</strong> <span class="ticker">(NASDAQ:IDCC)</span>, and <strong>Moog Inc Class A</strong> (MOG-A), each making up less than 1% of the fund, and it has an established track record with 25.8 years since inception.</p><p></p><p>SCHA, by contrast, casts a wider net with 1,720 holdings and a tilt toward technology (18%), industrials (16%), and financial services (16%). Its largest positions are <strong>Sandisk</strong> <span class="ticker">(NASDAQ:SNDK)</span>, <strong>Lumentum Holdings</strong> <span class="ticker">(NASDAQ:LITE)</span>, and <strong>ATI</strong> <span class="ticker">(NYSE:ATI)</span>, with none exceeding 2.22% of assets. Both funds avoid sector or ESG quirks, but SCHA offers broader diversification by stock count.</p><p></p><p>For more guidance on ETF investing, check out the full guide at this link.</p><p></p><h2 id="what-this-means-for-investors">What this means for investors</h2><p>Small-cap ETFs like these give you exposure to younger companies that haven't yet grown into household names. These businesses offer something large corporations can't: the potential to multiply in value as they grow. But that upside comes with real turbulence, thinner financial cushions, and sharper drops during economic downturns. This is territory for patient investors with long time horizons and the stomach to ride out serious volatility.</p><p>Both SCHA and IJR deliver broad small-cap exposure at rock-bottom cost, but their indexes approach this universe differently. SCHA casts an enormous net across virtually the entire small-cap market with no filter beyond size. IJR holds around 600 stocks drawn from the S&amp;P SmallCap 600, which screens companies for profitability before admission. That quality gate matters. IJR systematically excludes money-losing companies that SCHA freely includes. </p><p>SCHA is worth considering for investors who want maximum small-cap breadth and believe spreading bets across the entire market beats any quality filter. IJR is the stronger choice for those who want small-cap growth potential with a built-in guardrail against the most financially fragile companies, making it the better fit for investors who want the small-cap opportunity without owning every speculative long shot in the market.</p><p></p><h2>Should you buy stock in iShares Core S&amp;P Small-Cap ETF right now?</h2>
<p>Before you buy stock in iShares Core S&amp;P Small-Cap ETF, consider this:</p>
<p>The <em>Motley Fool Stock Advisor</em> analyst team just identified what they believe are the <strong>10 best stocks</strong> for investors to buy now… and iShares Core S&amp;P Small-Cap ETF wasn’t one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years.</p>
<p>Consider when <strong>Netflix</strong> made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, <strong>you’d have $511,735</strong>!* Or when <strong>Nvidia</strong> made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, <strong>you’d have $1,140,464</strong>!*</p>
<p>Now, it’s worth noting <em>Stock Advisor’s</em> total average return is 946<span>% — a market-crushing outperformance compared to 191% for the S&amp;P 500. <strong><span>Don't miss the latest top 10 list, available with <em>Stock Advisor</em>, and join an investing community built by individual investors for individual investors.</span></strong></span></p>
<p>See the 10 stocks »</p>
<p style="color: #767676; text-align: left"><em>*Stock Advisor returns as of March 12, 2026. </em></p><p><em>Sara Appino has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Lumentum and iShares Core S&amp;P Small-Cap ETF. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.</em></p>
<p>The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.</p>
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<p>The Schwab U.S. Small-Cap ETF (SCHA) offers a lower expense ratio and broader stock coverage compared to the iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR), which has a higher dividend yield but fewer holdings focused on financial services. SCHA has outperformed IJR over the past year, while IJR has shown less volatility over five years. Both ETFs provide exposure to small-cap stocks, but SCHA includes a wider range of companies, whereas IJR filters for profitability. Investors should consider their risk tolerance and investment goals when choosing between these funds.</p>

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