Which returned more over the last year, EFA or GOVT?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EFA returned +12.1% and GOVT −1.5%.

Which is cheaper, EFA or GOVT?

GOVT is cheaper, by 0.27 percentage points a year. That is about $27 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

EFA vs GOVT: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, EFA returned +12.1% to GOVT's −1.5%; 0% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets on Oct 27, 2026: $76.8bn for iShares MSCI EAFE ETF and $42.8bn for iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF.

EFA on its own →GOVT on its own →

At a glance

+12.1%

EFA total return, 1 year

−1.5%

GOVT total return, 1 year

0.32%

EFA expense ratio

0.05%

GOVT expense ratio

Pair scorecard

GOVT costs 0.27 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 13.6 points; EFA is 1.8 times larger.

EFA vs GOVT: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	EFA	GOVT
Return
Measure	EFA	GOVT
Total return, 1 year	+12.1%	−1.5%
Drawdown
Measure	EFA	GOVT
Below its high	4.7%, high on Aug 25, 2026	8.1%, high on Aug 4, 2020
Benchmark
Measure	EFA	GOVT
What it tracks	MSCI EAFE Index	ICE U.S. Treasury Core Bond Index
Cost and size
Measure	EFA	GOVT
Expense ratio	0.32%	0.05%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$76.8bn	$42.8bn
Holdings
Measure	EFA	GOVT
Holdings in common	0%
In the S&P 500, by weight	0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	14.3%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, EFA and GOVT hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first EFA GOVT

Only in one fund ↓

Only in EFA

ASML HOLDING 2.98%

ROCHE PS PAR AG 1.58%

SHELL 1.42%

HSBC HOLDINGS PLC 1.38%

NOVARTIS AG 1.33%

ASTRAZENECA PLC 1.21%

NESTLE SA 1.21%

SAP 1.13%

Only in GOVT

TREASURY NOTE 5.17%

TREASURY NOTE 2.98%

TREASURY NOTE 2.12%

TREASURY NOTE 1.95%

TREASURY NOTE 1.65%

TREASURY BOND 1.51%

TREASURY BOND 1.46%

TREASURY BOND 1.42%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

EFA iShares MSCI EAFE ETF GOVT iShares U.S. Treasury Bond ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Bond ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Tracks an index of Developed markets ex US Tracks an index of U.S. Treasury Bond

Total return, 1 year +12.1% −1.5%

Its benchmark over the same days +14.3% (ACWX) not measured

Gap to its benchmark −2.2 pts vs ACWX not measured

Expense ratio 0.32% 0.05%

Holdings 665 229

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $76.8bn $42.8bn

EFA and GOVT on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Alert

About each fund

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.

GOVT

GOVT tracks an index of U.S. Treasury Bond. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −1.5% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.05% a year. It sat 8.1% below its high of Aug 4, 2020 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, EFA or GOVT?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EFA returned +12.1% and GOVT −1.5%.
Which is cheaper, EFA or GOVT?: GOVT is cheaper, by 0.27 percentage points a year. That is about $27 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

EFA vs IEF EFA vs VGIT EFA vs VGSH EFA vs JAAA GOVT vs VXUS GOVT vs IEFA GOVT vs VEA GOVT vs SCHF

Where to next

EFA on its own →GOVT on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →EFA dividend history →EFA holdings →GOVT dividend history →GOVT holdings →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

EFA and GOVT filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

EFA prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for EFA ↗

GOVT prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for GOVT ↗

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.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, EFA against GOVT, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/efa-vs-govt

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