Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
EFA vs IFEB: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, EFA returned +12.1% to IFEB's +5.6%, and EFA charges 0.32% to IFEB's 0.85%.
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Net assets: $76.8bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares MSCI EAFE ETF, and $55m on Oct 28, 2026 for Innovator Intl Developed Power Buffer ETF - Feb.
Pair scorecard
EFA costs 0.53 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 6.5 points; EFA is far larger, $76.8bn against $56m.
| Measure | EFA | IFEB |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +12.1% | +5.6% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 4.7%, high on Aug 25, 2026 | |
| Index fall to the buffer | 2.8% | |
| Fund price fall to the buffer | 3.5% | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | MSCI EAFE Index | EFA |
| The outcome period | ||
| Room to the cap | 9.6% | |
| Buffer left, in index points | 15.0% of 15.0% | |
| Days left in the period | 95 | |
| Period ends | Jan 31, 2027 | |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.32% | 0.85% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $76.8bn | $56m |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | not published | |
| In the S&P 500, by weight | 0% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 14.3% | |
Risk and return
Feb 9, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026 · 141 weekly returnsEach against its own benchmark: EFA against ACWX, Apr 11, 2008 to Oct 23, 2026; IFEB against EFA, Feb 9, 2024 to Oct 23, 2026.
EFA returned more: +47.9% to +24.1%. IFEB swung less: 8.6% to 14.8%. IFEB fell less at its worst: −8.3% to −11.2%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | EFA | IFEB | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +47.9% | +24.1% | EFA | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +15.5% | +8.3% | EFA | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +36.3% | +24.1% | EFA | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 14.8% | 8.6% | IFEB | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 10.6% | 6.4% | IFEB | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −11.2% | −8.3% | IFEB | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 95.1% | 46.9% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 97.5% | 67.3% | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. | |
| Beta | 0.96 | 0.57 | Not an edge | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.96 | 0.96 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.76 | 0.46 | EFA | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 1.06 | 0.63 | EFA | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | 0.055 | 0.070 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | 1.39 | 1.00 | EFA | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | ACWX | EFA | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | +0.5% a year | −2.4% a year | EFA not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | 0.53 | −2.18 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | −1.4% to +2.4% | −4.5% to −0.2% | EFA includes zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. |
| Information ratio | 0.08 | −1.08 | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 4.2% | 6.7% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 141 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
Side by side
EFA and IFEB on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
EFA and IFEB do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. EFA follows MSCI EAFE Index and IFEB follows EFA.
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 EFA returned +12.1% and IFEB +5.6% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 6.5 points.
- Cost. EFA charges 0.32% of assets a year and IFEB 0.85%, a gap of 0.53 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.
IFEB
From its price on Oct 28, 2026, the fund can gain about 9.6% more before it reaches its cap. The fund's price can fall 3.5% from here before the buffer starts absorbing losses, by the issuer's number. In index terms, EFA can fall 2.8% from today's level to the point where the buffer begins. Protection left, in index points: 15.0% of the 15.0% buffer still sits below today's EFA level. 95 days remained on Oct 28, 2026. On Jan 31, 2027 the period ends and a new cap is set.
Questions people ask
- Are EFA and IFEB in the same category?
- EFA is a stock ETF and IFEB is a buffer ETF, so they do different jobs. The table compares what both publish: return, cost and holdings.
- Which returned more over the last year, EFA or IFEB?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EFA returned +12.1% and IFEB +5.6%.
- Which is cheaper, EFA or IFEB?
- EFA is cheaper, by 0.53 percentage points a year. That is about $53 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
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ETFIQ, EFA against IFEB, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/efa-vs-ifeb
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). EFA against IFEB. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/efa-vs-ifeb
[EFA against IFEB (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/efa-vs-ifeb)
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