CWI vs EFA: Differences, Returns & Fees

CWI and EFA hold 54% of their weight in the same names, and CWI returned +17.8% over the year. Net assets: $2.9bn on Oct 8, 2026 for State Street SPDR MSCI ACWI ex-US ETF, and $76.5bn on Oct 9, 2026 for iShares MSCI EAFE ETF.

CWI costs 0.02 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 4.0 points; EFA is far larger, $76.0bn against $2.9bn.

CWIEFA
Expense ratio0.30%0.32%
Net assets, as of Oct 8, 2026$2.9bn$76.0bn
Total return, 1 year+17.8%+13.8%
What it tracksnot read by ETFIQMSCI EAFE Index
Holdings in common54%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund16.1%14.2%
Below its high3.9%, high on Sep 4, 20265.0%, high on Aug 25, 2026

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 8, 2026.

+17.8%
CWI total return, 1 year
+13.8%
EFA total return, 1 year
0.30%
CWI expense ratio
0.32%
EFA expense ratio

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, CWI and EFA hold 54% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated Oct 8, 2026.

half

54% in common

Positions both hold, largest shared weight first
Holding CWI EFA
ASML HOLDING NV 2.00% 3.35%
HSBC HOLDINGS PLC 0.93% 1.47%
ROCHE HOLDING AG 0.85% 1.40%
SHELL PLC 0.78% 1.36%
NOVARTIS AG REG 0.72% 1.22%
ASTRAZENECA PLC 0.65% 1.12%
NESTLE SA REG 0.65% 1.11%
SIEMENS AG REG 0.65% 1.01%
SAP SE 0.62% 0.99%
BHP GROUP LTD 0.60% 1.02%
BANCO SANTANDER SA 0.59% 0.90%
ALLIANZ SE REG 0.55% 0.83%
Only in CWI
TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFAC 3.38%
SAMSUNG ELECTR GDR REG S 2.64%
TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR SP ADR 1.96%
SK HYNIX INC 1.88%
TENCENT HOLDINGS LTD 0.85%
ROYAL BANK OF CANADA 0.84%
MITSUBISHI UFJ FINANCIAL GRO 0.69%
TORONTO DOMINION BANK 0.63%
Only in EFA
MITSUBISHI UFJ FINANCIAL GROUP 1.12%
SUMITOMO MITSUI FINANCIAL GROUP 0.71%
NOVO NORDISK CLASS B 0.57%
MUENCHENER RUECKVERSICHERUNGS-GESE 0.35%
INVESTOR CLASS B 0.33%
NORDEA BANK 0.27%
HONG KONG EXCHANGES AND CLEARING 0.25%
ATLAS COPCO CLASS A 0.24%

Check overlap with more funds →

On the same fields

CWI
State Street SPDR MSCI ACWI ex-US ETF
EFA
iShares MSCI EAFE ETF
Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF
What it is Tracks an index Tracks an index of Developed markets ex US
Total return, 1 year +17.8% +13.8%
S&P 500 over the same days +17.3% +17.3%
Gap to the S&P 500 +0.6 pts −3.5 pts
Expense ratio 0.30% 0.32%
Already in the S&P 500 0.0% 0.0%
Holdings 1110 659
Net assets, CWI as of Oct 8, 2026 and EFA as of Oct 9, 2026 $2.9bn $76.5bn

CWI and EFA on the fields both publish, as of Oct 9, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

CWI in plain words

CWI tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 it returned +17.8% with distributions reinvested, against +17.3% for the S&P 500. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.30% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 8, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 1,110 positions, with the top ten at 16.1%. It sat 3.9% below its high of Sep 4, 2026 on Oct 9, 2026.

EFA in plain words

EFA tracks an index of Developed markets ex US. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 it returned +13.8% with distributions reinvested, against +17.3% for the S&P 500. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.32% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 8, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 659 positions, with the top ten at 14.2%. It sat 5.0% below its high of Aug 25, 2026 on Oct 9, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, CWI or EFA?
In the year to Oct 9, 2026, with distributions reinvested, CWI returned +17.8% and EFA +13.8%.
Which is cheaper, CWI or EFA?
CWI is cheaper, by 0.02 percentage points a year. That is about $2 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do CWI and EFA overlap with the S&P 500?
By their latest filed holdings, 0% of CWI and 0% of EFA by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, CWI against EFA, data as of Oct 9, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/cwi-vs-efa

Open data

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