FPA vs. SMIN

Last updated Apr 1, 2026

Compare and contrast key facts about First Trust Asia Pacific ex-Japan AlphaDEX Fund (FPA) and iShares MSCI India Small-Cap ETF (SMIN).

FPA and SMIN are both exchange-traded funds (ETFs), meaning they are traded on stock exchanges and can be bought and sold throughout the day. FPA is a passively managed fund by First Trust that tracks the performance of the NASDAQ AlphaDEX Asia Pacific Ex-Japan Index. It was launched on Apr 18, 2011. SMIN is a passively managed fund by iShares that tracks the performance of the MSCI India Small Cap Index. It was launched on Feb 8, 2012. Both FPA and SMIN are passive ETFs, meaning that they are not actively managed but aim to replicate the performance of the underlying index as closely as possible.

Performance

FPA vs. SMIN - Performance Comparison

The chart below illustrates the hypothetical performance of a $10,000 investment in First Trust Asia Pacific ex-Japan AlphaDEX Fund (FPA) and iShares MSCI India Small-Cap ETF (SMIN). The values are adjusted to include any dividend payments, if applicable.

FPA vs. SMIN - Yearly Performance Comparison

	2026 (YTD)	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017
FPA First Trust Asia Pacific ex-Japan AlphaDEX Fund	17.42%	43.16%	3.95%	9.97%	-14.55%	2.98%	13.43%	8.91%	-21.91%	35.81%
SMIN iShares MSCI India Small-Cap ETF	-14.23%	-6.68%	16.78%	35.41%	-14.23%	44.43%	19.59%	-5.21%	-25.55%	62.36%

Returns By Period

In the year-to-date period, FPA achieves a 17.42% return, which is significantly higher than SMIN's -14.23% return. Over the past 10 years, FPA has underperformed SMIN with an annualized return of 8.13%, while SMIN has yielded a comparatively higher 8.88% annualized return.

FPA

• 1D: 3.37%
• 1M: -12.20%
• YTD: 17.42%
• 6M: 20.56%
• 1Y: 61.12%
• 3Y*: 21.98%
• 5Y*: 9.33%
• 10Y*: 8.13%

SMIN

• 1D: 3.58%
• 1M: -9.81%
• YTD: -14.23%
• 6M: -14.68%
• 1Y: -10.13%
• 3Y*: 9.62%
• 5Y*: 5.94%
• 10Y*: 8.88%

*Multi-year figures are annualized to reflect compound growth (CAGR)

FPA vs. SMIN - Expense Ratio Comparison

FPA has a 0.80% expense ratio, which is higher than SMIN's 0.76% expense ratio.

FPA

First Trust Asia Pacific ex-Japan AlphaDEX Fund

SMIN

iShares MSCI India Small-Cap ETF

Return for Risk

FPA vs. SMIN — Risk / Return Rank

Compare risk-adjusted metric ranks to identify better-performing investments over the past 12 months.

FPA

FPA Risk / Return Rank: 95
FPA Sharpe Ratio Rank: 95
FPA Sortino Ratio Rank: 95
FPA Omega Ratio Rank: 94
FPA Calmar Ratio Rank: 95
FPA Martin Ratio Rank: 95

SMIN

SMIN Risk / Return Rank: 4
SMIN Sharpe Ratio Rank: 4
SMIN Sortino Ratio Rank: 3
SMIN Omega Ratio Rank: 4
SMIN Calmar Ratio Rank: 6
SMIN Martin Ratio Rank: 4

The rank (0–100) shows how this investment's returns compare to the risk taken. Higher = better. Based on the past 12 months of data, combining Sharpe, Sortino, and other metrics used by quantitative funds and institutional investors.

FPA vs. SMIN - Risk-Adjusted Trends Comparison

This table presents a comparison of risk-adjusted performance metrics for First Trust Asia Pacific ex-Japan AlphaDEX Fund (FPA) and iShares MSCI India Small-Cap ETF (SMIN). Risk-adjusted metrics are performance indicators that assess an investment's returns in relation to its risk, enabling a more accurate comparison of different investment options.

	FPA	SMIN	Difference
Sharpe ratio Return per unit of total volatility	2.40	-0.52	+2.92
Sortino ratio Return per unit of downside risk	3.14	-0.62	+3.76
Omega ratio Gain probability vs. loss probability	1.44	0.93	+0.51
Calmar ratio Return relative to maximum drawdown	3.96	-0.41	+4.37
Martin ratio Return relative to average drawdown	16.04	-1.10	+17.14
Data is calculated on a 1-year rolling basis and updated daily. The trend shows the change in the indicator over the past month.

FPA vs. SMIN - Sharpe Ratio Comparison

The current FPA Sharpe Ratio is 2.40, which is higher than the SMIN Sharpe Ratio of -0.52. The chart below compares the historical Sharpe Ratios of FPA and SMIN, offering insights into how both investments have performed under varying market conditions. These values are calculated using daily returns over the previous 12 months.

Sharpe Ratios by Period

	FPA	SMIN	Difference
Sharpe Ratio (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	2.40	-0.52	+2.92
Sharpe Ratio (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period	0.41	0.32	+0.09
Sharpe Ratio (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period	0.37	0.39	-0.02
Sharpe Ratio (All Time) Calculated using the full available price history	0.26	0.33	-0.07

Correlation

The correlation between FPA and SMIN is 0.38, which is considered to be low. This implies their price changes are not closely related. A low correlation is generally favorable for portfolio diversification, as it helps to reduce overall risk by spreading it across multiple assets with different performance patterns.

Dividends

FPA vs. SMIN - Dividend Comparison

FPA's dividend yield for the trailing twelve months is around 4.54%, more than SMIN's 2.35% yield.

	TTM	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015
FPA First Trust Asia Pacific ex-Japan AlphaDEX Fund	4.54%	4.71%	3.40%	3.02%	4.22%	5.12%	1.59%	3.90%	2.81%	3.15%	2.42%	1.74%
SMIN iShares MSCI India Small-Cap ETF	2.35%	2.01%	6.84%	0.41%	0.01%	1.27%	1.06%	1.75%	1.68%	0.89%	2.30%	0.93%

Drawdowns

FPA vs. SMIN - Drawdown Comparison

The maximum FPA drawdown since its inception was -52.91%, smaller than the maximum SMIN drawdown of -60.50%. Use the drawdown chart below to compare losses from any high point for FPA and SMIN.

Drawdown Indicators

	FPA	SMIN	Difference
Max Drawdown Largest peak-to-trough decline	-52.91%	-60.50%	+7.59%
Max Drawdown (1Y) Largest decline over 1 year	-15.37%	-24.54%	+9.17%
Max Drawdown (5Y) Largest decline over 5 years	-35.36%	-27.58%	-7.78%
Max Drawdown (10Y) Largest decline over 10 years	-52.91%	-60.50%	+7.59%
Current Drawdown Current decline from peak	-12.52%	-24.99%	+12.47%
Average Drawdown Average peak-to-trough decline	-13.60%	-14.58%	+0.98%
Ulcer Index Depth and duration of drawdowns from previous peaks	3.80%	9.07%	-5.27%

Volatility

FPA vs. SMIN - Volatility Comparison

First Trust Asia Pacific ex-Japan AlphaDEX Fund (FPA) has a higher volatility of 12.28% compared to iShares MSCI India Small-Cap ETF (SMIN) at 7.92%. This indicates that FPA's price experiences larger fluctuations and is considered to be riskier than SMIN based on this measure. The chart below showcases a comparison of their rolling one-month volatility.

Volatility by Period

	FPA	SMIN	Difference
Volatility (1M) Calculated over the trailing 1-month period	12.28%	7.92%	+4.36%
Volatility (6M) Calculated over the trailing 6-month period	17.57%	13.73%	+3.84%
Volatility (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	25.56%	19.61%	+5.95%
Volatility (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period, annualized	23.12%	18.88%	+4.24%
Volatility (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period, annualized	21.91%	22.77%	-0.86%