DFAI vs HEFA: Differences, Returns & Fees
DFAI and HEFA hold 0% of their weight in the same names, and HEFA returned +19.3% over the year. Net assets: $17.5bn on Jul 31, 2026 for Dimensional International Core Equity Market ETF, and $7.5bn on Oct 9, 2026 for iShares Currency Hedged MSCI EAFE ETF.
DFAI costs 0.17 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 3.0 points.
| DFAI | HEFA | |
|---|---|---|
| Expense ratio | 0.18% | 0.35% |
| Net assets, DFAI as of Jul 31, 2026 and HEFA as of Oct 9, 2026 | $17.5bn | $7.5bn |
| Total return, 1 year | +16.3% | +19.3% |
| What it tracks | No index, actively managed | not read by ETFIQ |
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 9.2% | 100.0% |
| Below its high | 4.7%, high on Aug 25, 2026 | 3.2%, high on Aug 13, 2026 |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 9, 2026.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, DFAI and HEFA hold 0% 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 Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 9, 2026.
half
0% in common
On the same fields
DFAI and HEFA on the fields both publish, as of Oct 9, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
DFAI in plain words
DFAI is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 it returned +16.3% with distributions reinvested, against +17.3% for the S&P 500. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.18% a year. By its holdings filed for Jul 31, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 3,769 positions, with the top ten at 9.2%. It sat 4.7% below its high of Aug 25, 2026 on Oct 9, 2026.
HEFA in plain words
HEFA tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 it returned +19.3% with distributions reinvested, against +17.3% for the S&P 500. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.35% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 9, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 97 positions, with the top ten at 100.0%. It sat 3.2% below its high of Aug 13, 2026 on Oct 9, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, DFAI or HEFA?
- In the year to Oct 9, 2026, with distributions reinvested, DFAI returned +16.3% and HEFA +19.3%.
- Which is cheaper, DFAI or HEFA?
- DFAI is cheaper, by 0.17 percentage points a year. That is about $17 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, DFAI against HEFA, data as of Oct 9, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dfai-vs-hefa
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