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.
| CWI | EFA | |
|---|---|---|
| Expense ratio | 0.30% | 0.32% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 8, 2026 | $2.9bn | $76.0bn |
| Total return, 1 year | +17.8% | +13.8% |
| What it tracks | not read by ETFIQ | MSCI EAFE Index |
| Holdings in common | 54% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 16.1% | 14.2% |
| Below its high | 3.9%, high on Sep 4, 2026 | 5.0%, high on Aug 25, 2026 |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 8, 2026.
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
On the same fields
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.
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure; a link is not an endorsement. 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.
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ETFIQ, CWI against EFA, data as of Oct 9, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/cwi-vs-efa
ETFIQ. (Oct 9, 2026). CWI against EFA. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/cwi-vs-efa
[CWI against EFA (ETFIQ, Oct 9, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/cwi-vs-efa)
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