Which returned more over the last year, ACWI or EFA?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, ACWI returned +13.4% and EFA +12.1%.

Which is cheaper, ACWI or EFA?

Neither: ACWI and EFA both charge 0.32% a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

How much do ACWI and EFA overlap with the S&P 500?

By their latest filed holdings, 61% of ACWI and 0% of EFA by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

ACWI vs EFA: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, ACWI returned +13.4% to EFA's +12.1%; 21% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets: $33.0bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares MSCI ACWI ETF, and $76.8bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares MSCI EAFE ETF.

ACWI on its own →EFA on its own →

At a glance

+13.4%

ACWI total return, 1 year

+12.1%

EFA total return, 1 year

0.32%

ACWI expense ratio

0.32%

EFA expense ratio

Pair scorecard

Both cost 0.32% a year; their one-year returns differ by 1.3 points; EFA is 2.3 times larger.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

ACWI vs EFA: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	ACWI	EFA
Return
Measure	ACWI	EFA
Total return, 1 year	+13.4%	+12.1%
Drawdown
Measure	ACWI	EFA
Below its high		4.7%, high on Aug 25, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	ACWI	EFA
What it tracks	MSCI ACWI	MSCI EAFE Index
Cost and size
Measure	ACWI	EFA
Expense ratio	0.32%	0.32%
Net assets, as of Oct 26, 2026	$32.6bn	$76.4bn
Holdings
Measure	ACWI	EFA
Holdings in common	21%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	24.9%	14.3%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method

Risk and return

Apr 4, 2008 to Oct 23, 2026 · 968 weekly returns

ACWI EFA

Return

Total return edge ACWI +333.1% +139.4%

Annualized edge ACWI +8.2% +4.8%

Price return edge ACWI +204.7% +37.2%

Risk

Volatility edge ACWI (slight) 18.5% 19.5%

Max drawdown edge ACWI (slight) −55.3% −57.2%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge ACWI 0.44 0.27

Sortino edge ACWI 0.62 0.36

Calmar edge ACWI 0.15 0.08

Reading

ACWI returned more: +333.1% to +139.4%. ACWI swung slightly less: 18.5% to 19.5%. ACWI fell slightly less at its worst: −55.3% to −57.2%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: ACWI vs EFA: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	ACWI	EFA	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+333.1%	+139.4%	ACWI	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+8.2%	+4.8%	ACWI	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+204.7%	+37.2%	ACWI	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	18.5%	19.5%	ACWI (slight)	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	13.2%	14.2%	ACWI (slight)	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−55.3%	−57.2%	ACWI (slight)	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.44	0.27	ACWI	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.62	0.36	ACWI	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.15	0.08	ACWI	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 968 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

21%

By the books each fund has filed, ACWI and EFA hold 21% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

21% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first ACWI EFA

ASML HOLDING 0.62% 2.98%

ROCHE PS PAR AG 0.33% 1.58%

SHELL 0.30% 1.42%

HSBC HOLDINGS PLC 0.29% 1.38%

NOVARTIS AG 0.28% 1.33%

ASTRAZENECA PLC 0.25% 1.21%

NESTLE SA 0.25% 1.21%

SAP 0.23% 1.13%

MITSUBISHI UFJ FINANCIAL GROUP 0.22% 1.07%

SIEMENS N AG 0.21% 1.00%

BHP GROUP LTD 0.20% 0.97%

COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA 0.19% 0.89%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in ACWI

APPLE 4.97%

NVIDIA 4.89%

MICROSOFT 3.66%

AMAZON.COM INC 2.39%

ALPHABET CLASS A 1.83%

TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING 1.77%

BROADCOM INC 1.51%

ALPHABET CLASS C 1.44%

Only in EFA

DKK/USD 0.00%

EUR/USD 0.00%

GBP/USD 0.00%

HKD/USD 0.00%

JPY/USD 0.00%

SEK/USD 0.00%

SPI 200 DEC 26 0.00%

STOXX EUROPE 600 DEC 26 0.00%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

ACWI iShares MSCI ACWI ETF EFA iShares MSCI EAFE ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Tracks the MSCI ACWI Tracks an index of Developed markets ex US

Total return, 1 year +13.4% +12.1%

Its benchmark over the same days not measured +14.3% (ACWX)

Gap to its benchmark not measured −2.2 pts vs ACWX

Expense ratio 0.32% 0.32%

Already in the S&P 500 60.9% 0.0%

Holdings 2197 665

Net assets, ACWI as of Oct 28, 2026 and EFA as of Oct 27, 2026 $33.0bn $76.8bn

ACWI and EFA on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-19CDEB0D58

ACWI and EFA do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?

What each follows. ACWI follows MSCI ACWI and EFA follows MSCI EAFE Index.
Holdings in common. 21% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
Number of holdings. ACWI holds 2,197 positions and EFA holds 665.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund

ACWI

ACWI tracks the MSCI ACWI. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.4% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.32% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 61% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 2,197 positions, with the top ten at 24.9%.

EFA

EFA tracks an index of Developed markets ex US. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +12.1% with distributions reinvested, against +14.3% for its benchmark, the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 665 positions, with the top ten at 14.3%. It sat 4.7% below its high of Aug 25, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, ACWI or EFA?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, ACWI returned +13.4% and EFA +12.1%.
Which is cheaper, ACWI or EFA?: Neither: ACWI and EFA both charge 0.32% a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do ACWI and EFA overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 61% of ACWI and 0% of EFA by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

ACWI vs SCHF ACWI vs VXUS ACWI vs IEFA ACWI vs VEA EFA vs VT EFA vs URTH EFA vs IDEV EFA vs VGK

Where to next

ACWI on its own →EFA on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →ACWI dividend history →ACWI holdings →EFA dividend history →EFA holdings →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

ACWI and EFA filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

ACWI and EFA prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for ACWI ↗

iShares page for EFA ↗

Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.

How this is computed

Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, ACWI against EFA, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/acwi-vs-efa

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Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.