DFAI vs IXUS: Differences, Returns & Fees
DFAI and IXUS hold 46% of their weight in the same names, and IXUS returned +18.0% over the year. Net assets: $17.5bn on Jul 31, 2026 for Dimensional International Core Equity Market ETF, and $58.6bn on Oct 9, 2026 for iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF.
IXUS costs 0.11 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.7 points; IXUS is 3.3 times larger.
| DFAI | IXUS | |
|---|---|---|
| Expense ratio | 0.18% | 0.07% |
| Net assets, as of Jul 31, 2026 | $17.5bn | $58.4bn |
| Total return, 1 year | +16.3% | +18.0% |
| What it tracks | No index, actively managed | MSCI ACWI ex USA IMI |
| Holdings in common | 46% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 9.2% | 14.3% |
| Below its high | 4.7%, high on Aug 25, 2026 | 3.8%, high on Sep 4, 2026 |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 8, 2026.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, DFAI and IXUS hold 46% 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 8, 2026.
half
46% in common
On the same fields
DFAI and IXUS 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.
IXUS in plain words
IXUS tracks the MSCI Total International Stock. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 it returned +18.0% 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 4,586 positions, with the top ten at 14.3%. It sat 3.8% below its high of Sep 4, 2026 on Oct 9, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, DFAI or IXUS?
- In the year to Oct 9, 2026, with distributions reinvested, DFAI returned +16.3% and IXUS +18.0%.
- Which is cheaper, DFAI or IXUS?
- IXUS is cheaper, by 0.11 percentage points a year. That is about $11 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 IXUS, data as of Oct 9, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/dfai-vs-ixus
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