IQ

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

vsCompare their flowsaskIQ about these two fundsAsk the committee about these two funds
Across categories

AVEM vs IEFA: Differences, Returns & Fees

Share
Share on XDownload as PDF

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, AVEM returned +17.9% to IEFA's +12.3%; 0% of their weight is in the same names.

askIQ about this page

askIQ about AVEM and IEFA

Net assets: $27.3bn on Oct 27, 2026 for Avantis Emerging Markets Equity ETF, and $190.4bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF.

AVEM on its own →IEFA on its own →
At a glance
+17.9%
AVEM total return, 1 year
+12.3%
IEFA total return, 1 year
0.33%
AVEM expense ratio
0.07%
IEFA expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IEFA costs 0.26 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 5.6 points; IEFA is 7.0 times larger.

AVEM vs IEFA: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureAVEMIEFA
Return
Total return, 1 year+17.9%+12.3%
Drawdown
Below its high10.2%, high on Jun 22, 20264.7%, high on Aug 25, 2026
Benchmark
What it tracksNo index, actively managedMSCI EAFE IMI Index
Cost and size
Expense ratio0.33%0.07%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026$27.3bn$190.1bn
Holdings
Holdings in common0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund28.7%12.3%

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

Risk and return

Sep 27, 2019 to Oct 23, 2026 · 369 weekly returns
AVEM IEFA
Return
Total return edge AVEM +113.9% +94.5%
Annualized edge AVEM +11.3% +9.8%
Price return edge AVEM +79.6% +57.1%
Risk
Volatility edge IEFA (slight) 19.6% 18.7%
Max drawdown edge IEFA (slight) −34.8% −33.8%
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe edge AVEM 0.50 0.44
Sortino edge AVEM 0.70 0.62
Calmar edge AVEM 0.32 0.29
Reading

AVEM returned more: +113.9% to +94.5%. IEFA swung slightly less: 18.7% to 19.6%. IEFA fell slightly less at its worst: −33.8% to −34.8%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
Risk and return: AVEM vs IEFA: Differences, Returns & Fees
MeasureAVEMIEFAEdgeHow it is measured
Return
Total return+113.9%+94.5%AVEMPrice change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized+11.3%+9.8%AVEMTotal return as a yearly rate.
Price return+79.6%+57.1%AVEMPrice change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility19.6%18.7%IEFA (slight)Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation14.1%13.3%IEFA (slight)Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown−34.8%−33.8%IEFA (slight)Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe0.500.44AVEMReturn above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino0.700.62AVEMReturn above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar0.320.29AVEMAnnualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 369 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

0%

By the books each fund has filed, AVEM and IEFA hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first AVEM IEFA
DISCOVERY LTD COMMON STOCK ZAR.001 0.06% 0.07%
VODACOM GROUP LTD COMMON STOCK 0.05% 0.12%
ASE TECHNOLOGY HOLDING ADR ADR 0.56% 0.04%
BANGCHAK CORP PCL NVDR NVDR THB1.0 0.04% 0.04%
CANARA BANK COMMON STOCK INR2.0 0.03% 0.10%
LI AUTO INC ADR ADR USD.0001 0.07% 0.03%
AYALA CORPORATION COMMON STOCK PHP50.0 0.02% 0.04%
CHENNAI PETROLEUM CORP LTD COMMON STOCK INR10.0 0.03% 0.02%
ATHENS INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT COMMON STOCK EUR1.0 0.01% 0.03%
EMAMI LTD COMMON STOCK INR1.0 0.01% 0.01%
ENERGI MEGA PERSADA TBK PT COMMON STOCK IDR800.0 0.03% 0.01%
PAGE INDUSTRIES LTD COMMON STOCK INR10.0 0.03% 0.01%
Only in one fund ↓
Only in AVEM
TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR SP ADR ADR 6.82%
TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFAC COMMON STOCK TWD10.0 6.09%
SAMSUNG ELECTR GDR REG S GDR 5.35%
SK HYNIX INC COMMON STOCK KRW5000.0 4.89%
TENCENT HOLDINGS LTD COMMON STOCK HKD.00002 1.49%
CHINA CONSTRUCTION BANK H COMMON STOCK CNY1.0 1.02%
MEDIATEK INC COMMON STOCK TWD10.0 0.96%
HON HAI PRECISION INDUSTRY COMMON STOCK TWD10.0 0.73%
Only in IEFA
ASML HOLDING 2.55%
ROCHE PS PAR AG 1.36%
SHELL 1.21%
HSBC HOLDINGS PLC 1.18%
NOVARTIS AG 1.14%
ASTRAZENECA PLC 1.04%
NESTLE SA 1.04%
MITSUBISHI UFJ FINANCIAL GROUP 0.92%
Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

AVEM Avantis Emerging Markets Equity ETF IEFA iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF
Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF
Issuer Avantis iShares
What it is Actively managed Tracks the MSCI EAFE
Total return, 1 year +17.9% +12.3%
Its benchmark over the same days not measured +14.3% (ACWX)
Gap to its benchmark not measured −2.0 pts vs ACWX
Expense ratio 0.33% 0.07%
Already in the S&P 500 0.0% 0.0%
Holdings 4088 2629
Net assets, AVEM as of Oct 27, 2026 and IEFA as of Oct 28, 2026 $27.3bn $190.4bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-6BA92B9979

AVEM and IEFA do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?

  1. What each follows. AVEM follows No index, actively managed and IEFA follows MSCI EAFE IMI Index.
  2. Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
  3. One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 AVEM returned +17.9% and IEFA +12.3% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 5.6 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

The two-page PDF for this pair is coming. Save the comparison to follow its changes. Free. It needs an email sign-in, once.

Your saved page · Privacy.

Alert

AVEM and IEFA flows, by email on Sundays.

One-click unsubscribe. See Privacy.

About each fund
AVEM

AVEM is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +17.9% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.33% 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 4,088 positions, with the top ten at 28.7%. It sat 10.2% below its high of Jun 22, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

IEFA

IEFA tracks the MSCI EAFE. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +12.3% with distributions reinvested, against +14.3% for its benchmark, the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.07% 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 2,629 positions, with the top ten at 12.3%. 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, AVEM or IEFA?
In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, AVEM returned +17.9% and IEFA +12.3%.
Which is cheaper, AVEM or IEFA?
IEFA is cheaper, by 0.26 percentage points a year. That is about $26 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do AVEM and IEFA overlap with the S&P 500?
By their latest filed holdings, 0% of AVEM and 0% of IEFA by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.
Other comparisons
AVEM vs VXUSAVEM vs VEAAVEM vs IDEVAVEM vs FENIEEM vs IEFAIEFA vs VWOIEFA vs IEMGEMXC vs IEFA
Where to next
AVEM on its own →IEFA on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →AVEM dividend history →AVEM holdings →IEFA dividend history →IEFA holdings →Standards and sources →
Sources and dates
AVEM filings on SEC EDGAR ↗
AVEM prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗
Avantis website ↗
IEFA filings on SEC EDGAR ↗
IEFA prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗
iShares page for IEFA ↗

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, AVEM against IEFA, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/avem-vs-iefa

Open data →

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