Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
EFA vs EWJ: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, EFA returned +12.1% to EWJ's +18.1%; 24% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets: $76.8bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares MSCI EAFE ETF, and $23.9bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares MSCI Japan ETF.
Pair scorecard
EFA costs 0.17 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 6.0 points; EFA is 3.2 times larger.
| Measure | EFA | EWJ |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +12.1% | +18.1% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 4.7%, high on Aug 25, 2026 | 4.4%, high on Oct 6, 2026 |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | MSCI EAFE Index | MSCI Japan Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.32% | 0.49% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $76.8bn | $23.8bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 24% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 14.3% | 29.5% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Apr 11, 2008 to Oct 23, 2026 · 967 weekly returns · each against ACWXEWJ returned slightly more: +160.2% to +146.5%. EWJ swung slightly less: 18.3% to 19.5%. EWJ fell less at its worst: −47.0% to −57.2%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | EFA | EWJ | ACWX | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | |||||
| Total return | +146.5% | +160.2% | +129.8% | EWJ (slight) | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +5.0% | +5.3% | +4.6% | EWJ (slight) | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +41.3% | +87.7% | +42.8% | EWJ | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | |||||
| Volatility | 19.5% | 18.3% | 19.8% | EWJ (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 14.2% | 13.2% | 14.4% | EWJ (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −57.2% | −47.0% | −59.4% | EWJ | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 95.1% | 75.1% | 100.0% | EFA | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. |
| Downside capture | 97.5% | 87.1% | 100.0% | EWJ | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. |
| Beta | 0.96 | 0.76 | 1.00 | EWJ lower | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.96 | 0.67 | 1.00 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | |||||
| Sharpe | 0.27 | 0.29 | 0.25 | EWJ (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.38 | 0.41 | 0.35 | EWJ (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | 0.055 | 0.071 | 0.050 | EWJ | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. |
| Calmar | 0.09 | 0.11 | 0.08 | EWJ | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | |||||
| Benchmark | ACWX | ACWX | ACWX | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | +0.5% a year | +1.6% a year | 0.0% | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | 0.53 | 0.65 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. | |
| Alpha range | −1.4% to +2.4% | −3.2% to +6.4% | Both include zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. | |
| Information ratio | 0.08 | 0.03 | EFA | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 4.2% | 11.6% | 0.0% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 967 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, EFA and EWJ hold 24% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.
half
24% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
EFA and EWJ on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
EFA and EWJ do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. EFA follows MSCI EAFE Index and EWJ follows MSCI Japan Index.
- Holdings in common. 24% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 EFA returned +12.1% and EWJ +18.1% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 6.0 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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EFA
EFA tracks an index of Developed markets ex US. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +12.1% with distributions reinvested, against +14.3% for its benchmark, the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.32% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 665 positions, with the top ten at 14.3%. It sat 4.7% below its high of Aug 25, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
EWJ
EWJ tracks the MSCI Japan. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +18.1% with distributions reinvested, against +14.3% for its benchmark, the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.49% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 169 positions, with the top ten at 29.5%. It sat 4.4% below its high of Oct 6, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, EFA or EWJ?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EFA returned +12.1% and EWJ +18.1%.
- Which is cheaper, EFA or EWJ?
- EFA 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.
Links are sources, not endorsements. 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, EFA against EWJ, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/efa-vs-ewj
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). EFA against EWJ. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/efa-vs-ewj
[EFA against EWJ (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/efa-vs-ewj)
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