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DBEF vs IEFA: Differences, Returns & Fees

DBEF and IEFA hold 79% of their weight in the same names, and DBEF returned +18.5% over the year. Net assets on Oct 9, 2026: $9.2bn for Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF and $189.5bn for iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF.

IEFA costs 0.28 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 4.6 points; IEFA is far larger, $189.5bn against $9.2bn.

DBEFIEFA
Expense ratio0.35%0.07%
Net assets$9.2bn$189.5bn
Total return, 1 year+18.5%+13.9%
What it tracksMSCI EAFE US Dollar Hedged IndexMSCI EAFE IMI Index
Holdings in common79%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund13.3%12.2%
Below its high3.1%, high on Aug 13, 20264.8%, high on Aug 25, 2026

Holdings in common uses holdings dated May 29, 2026 and Oct 8, 2026.

+18.5%
DBEF total return, 1 year
+13.9%
IEFA total return, 1 year
0.35%
DBEF expense ratio
0.07%
IEFA expense ratio

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, DBEF and IEFA hold 79% 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 May 29, 2026 and Oct 8, 2026.

half

79% in common

Positions both hold, largest shared weight first
Holding DBEF IEFA
ASML HOLDING NV 2.82% 2.87%
HSBC HOLDINGS PLC 1.45% 1.26%
ROCHE HOLDING AG 1.33% 1.20%
SHELL PLC 1.06% 1.17%
NOVARTIS AG 1.24% 1.05%
ASTRAZENECA PLC 1.26% 0.96%
NESTLE' SA/AG 1.18% 0.95%
MITSUBISHI UFJ FINANCIAL GROUP INC 0.91% 0.95%
BHP GROUP LTD 1.03% 0.88%
SIEMENS AG 1.05% 0.87%
SAP SE 0.85% 0.85%
BANCO SANTANDER SA 0.81% 0.77%
Only in DBEF
NOVO NORDISK A/S 0.66%
INVESTOR AB 0.32%
MUENCHENER RUECKVERSICHERUNGS-GESELLSCHAFT AG 0.31%
VOLVO AB 0.25%
ATLAS COPCO AB 0.22%
ASSA ABLOY AB 0.16%
TELEFONAKTIEBOLAGET LM ERICSSON 0.15%
SUNBELT RENTALS HOLDINGS INC 0.14%
Only in IEFA
NOVO NORDISK CLASS B 0.49%
MUENCHENER RUECKVERSICHERUNGS-GESE 0.30%
INVESTOR CLASS B 0.28%
NORDEA BANK 0.23%
ATLAS COPCO CLASS A 0.21%
VOLVO CLASS B 0.19%
ASSA ABLOY B 0.13%
SKANDINAVISKA ENSKILDA BANKEN 0.13%

Check overlap with more funds →

On the same fields

DBEF
Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF
IEFA
iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF
Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF
Issuer Xtrackers iShares
What it is Tracks an index Tracks the MSCI EAFE
Total return, 1 year +18.5% +13.9%
S&P 500 over the same days +17.3% +17.3%
Gap to the S&P 500 +1.3 pts −3.3 pts
Expense ratio 0.35% 0.07%
Already in the S&P 500 0.0% 0.0%
Holdings 677 2628
Net assets $9.2bn $189.5bn

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

DBEF in plain words

DBEF tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 it returned +18.5% with distributions reinvested, against +17.3% for the S&P 500. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.35% a year. By its holdings filed for May 29, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 677 positions, with the top ten at 13.3%. It sat 3.1% below its high of Aug 13, 2026 on Oct 9, 2026.

IEFA in plain words

IEFA tracks the MSCI EAFE. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 it returned +13.9% with distributions reinvested, against +17.3% for the S&P 500. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.07% 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 2,628 positions, with the top ten at 12.2%. It sat 4.8% below its high of Aug 25, 2026 on Oct 9, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, DBEF or IEFA?
In the year to Oct 9, 2026, with distributions reinvested, DBEF returned +18.5% and IEFA +13.9%.
Which is cheaper, DBEF or IEFA?
IEFA is cheaper, by 0.28 percentage points a year. That is about $28 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do DBEF and IEFA overlap with the S&P 500?
By their latest filed holdings, 0% of DBEF and 0% of IEFA by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.
Other comparisons
DBEF vs VXUSDBEF vs VEADBEF vs EFADBEF vs VEUIEFA vs VIGIDFAI vs IEFAIDEV vs IEFAIEFA vs SPDW
DBEF on its own →IEFA on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →Standards and sources →
Where these figures came from
DBEF filings on SEC EDGAR ↗DBEF prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗Xtrackers website ↗IEFA filings on SEC EDGAR ↗IEFA prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗iShares page for IEFA ↗

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.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, DBEF against IEFA, data as of Oct 9, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dbef-vs-iefa

Open data

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