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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, ACWX returned +14.3% and EFA +12.1%.

Which is cheaper, ACWX or EFA?

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

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

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

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

ACWX vs EFA: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, ACWX returned +14.3% to EFA's +12.1%; 59% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $17.9bn for iShares MSCI ACWI ex U.S. ETF and $76.8bn for iShares MSCI EAFE ETF.

ACWX on its own →EFA on its own →

At a glance

+14.3%

ACWX total return, 1 year

+12.1%

EFA total return, 1 year

0.32%

ACWX expense ratio

0.32%

EFA expense ratio

Pair scorecard

Both cost 0.32% a year; their one-year returns differ by 2.2 points; EFA is 4.3 times larger.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

ACWX vs EFA: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	ACWX	EFA
Return
Measure	ACWX	EFA
Total return, 1 year	+14.3%	+12.1%
Drawdown
Measure	ACWX	EFA
Below its high	4.9%, high on Sep 4, 2026	4.7%, high on Aug 25, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	ACWX	EFA
What it tracks	MSCI ACWI ex USA Index	MSCI EAFE Index
Cost and size
Measure	ACWX	EFA
Expense ratio	0.32%	0.32%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$17.9bn	$76.8bn
Holdings
Measure	ACWX	EFA
Holdings in common	59%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	15.6%	14.3%

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

Risk and return

Apr 11, 2008 to Oct 23, 2026 · 967 weekly returns

ACWX EFA

Return

Total return edge EFA +129.8% +146.5%

Annualized edge EFA (slight) +4.6% +5.0%

Price return edge ACWX (slight) +42.8% +41.3%

Risk

Volatility edge Tie 19.8% 19.5%

Max drawdown edge EFA (slight) −59.4% −57.2%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge EFA (slight) 0.25 0.27

Sortino edge EFA (slight) 0.35 0.38

Calmar edge EFA (slight) 0.08 0.09

Reading

EFA returned more: +146.5% to +129.8%. ACWX and EFA swung about the same: 19.8% and 19.5%. EFA fell slightly less at its worst: −57.2% to −59.4%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: ACWX vs EFA: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	ACWX	EFA	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+129.8%	+146.5%	EFA	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+4.6%	+5.0%	EFA (slight)	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+42.8%	+41.3%	ACWX (slight)	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	19.8%	19.5%	Tie	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	14.4%	14.2%	Tie	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−59.4%	−57.2%	EFA (slight)	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.25	0.27	EFA (slight)	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.35	0.38	EFA (slight)	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.08	0.09	EFA (slight)	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 967 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

59%

By the books each fund has filed, ACWX and EFA hold 59% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

59% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first ACWX EFA

ASML HOLDING 1.77% 2.98%

ROCHE PS PAR AG 0.95% 1.58%

SHELL 0.84% 1.42%

HSBC HOLDINGS PLC 0.81% 1.38%

NOVARTIS AG 0.80% 1.33%

ASTRAZENECA PLC 0.72% 1.21%

NESTLE SA 0.72% 1.21%

SAP 0.67% 1.13%

MITSUBISHI UFJ FINANCIAL GROUP 0.64% 1.07%

SIEMENS N AG 0.60% 1.00%

BHP GROUP LTD 0.58% 0.97%

COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA 0.53% 0.89%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in ACWX

TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING 5.07%

SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS LTD 2.19%

SK HYNIX 1.56%

TENCENT HOLDINGS 0.85%

ROYAL BANK OF CANADA 0.79%

ALIBABA GROUP HOLDING 0.59%

TORONTO DOMINION 0.58%

SHOPIFY SUBORDINATE VOTING CLASS A 0.56%

Only in EFA

DKK/USD 0.00%

HKD/USD 0.00%

SEK/USD 0.00%

SPI 200 DEC 26 0.00%

STOXX EUROPE 600 DEC 26 0.00%

TOPIX INDEX DEC 26 0.00%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

ACWX iShares MSCI ACWI ex U.S. ETF EFA iShares MSCI EAFE ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

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

Total return, 1 year +14.3% +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 0.0% 0.0%

Holdings 1939 665

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $17.9bn $76.8bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-B563F98BC1

ACWX and EFA are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?

What each follows. ACWX follows MSCI ACWI ex USA Index and EFA follows MSCI EAFE Index.
One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 ACWX returned +14.3% and EFA +12.1% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 2.2 points.
Size. ACWX has $17.9bn in net assets and EFA $76.8bn (net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026); EFA is 4.3 times larger.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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About each fund

ACWX

ACWX tracks the MSCI ACWI ex U.S.. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +14.3% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.32% a year. 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 1,939 positions, with the top ten at 15.6%. It sat 4.9% below its high of Sep 4, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

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, ACWX or EFA?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, ACWX returned +14.3% and EFA +12.1%.
Which is cheaper, ACWX or EFA?: Neither: ACWX and EFA both charge 0.32% a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do ACWX and EFA overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 0% of ACWX and 0% of EFA by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

ACWX vs SCHF ACWX vs VEU ACWX vs IXUS ACWX vs SPDW DFAI vs EFA DFIC vs EFA EFA vs IQLT CORO vs EFA

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

ACWX and EFA filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

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

iShares page for ACWX ↗

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

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