EFA vs IQDF: Differences, Returns & Fees

EFA and IQDF hold 16% of their weight in the same names, and IQDF returned +24.5% over the year. Net assets: $76.5bn on Oct 9, 2026 for iShares MSCI EAFE ETF, and $1.2bn on Jul 31, 2026 for Northern Trust International Quality Dividend ETF.

EFA costs 0.15 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 10.7 points; EFA is far larger, $78.0bn against $1.2bn.

EFAIQDF
Expense ratio0.32%0.47%
Net assets, as of Jul 31, 2026$78.0bn$1.2bn
Total return, 1 year+13.8%+24.5%
What it tracksMSCI EAFE Indexnot read by ETFIQ
Holdings in common16%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund14.2%19.8%
Below its high5.0%, high on Aug 25, 20264.3%, high on Sep 8, 2026

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Jul 31, 2026 and Oct 8, 2026.

+13.8%
EFA total return, 1 year
+24.5%
IQDF total return, 1 year
0.32%
EFA expense ratio
0.47%
IQDF expense ratio

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, EFA and IQDF hold 16% 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

16% in common

Positions both hold, largest shared weight first
Holding EFA IQDF
ASML HOLDING 3.35% 1.22%
BHP GROUP LTD 1.02% 1.44%
NESTLE SA 1.11% 1.02%
ADVANTEST 0.89% 2.13%
TOKYO ELECTRON 0.81% 2.10%
TOTALENERGIES 0.80% 0.98%
MITSUBISHI UFJ FINANCIAL GROUP 1.12% 0.70%
BP PLC 0.57% 0.79%
HITACHI 0.74% 0.57%
BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO 0.52% 0.81%
BNP PARIBAS SA 0.47% 0.88%
RIO TINTO 0.47% 0.73%
Only in EFA
ROCHE PS PAR AG 1.40%
SIEMENS N AG 1.01%
BANCO SANTANDER 0.90%
ALLIANZ 0.83%
TOYOTA MOTOR 0.82%
COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA 0.81%
SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC 0.76%
ROLLS-ROYCE HOLDINGS PLC 0.71%
Only in IQDF
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Ltd. 4.55%
MediaTek, Inc. 1.99%
Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. 1.92%
Novo Nordisk A/S 1.63%
Intesa Sanpaolo SpA 1.44%
SK hynix, Inc. 1.34%
Enel SpA 1.25%
UniCredit SpA 1.17%

Check overlap with more funds →

On the same fields

EFA
iShares MSCI EAFE ETF
IQDF
Northern Trust International Quality Dividend ETF
Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF
What it is Tracks an index of Developed markets ex US Tracks an index
Total return, 1 year +13.8% +24.5%
S&P 500 over the same days +17.3% +17.3%
Gap to the S&P 500 −3.5 pts +7.2 pts
Expense ratio 0.32% 0.47%
Already in the S&P 500 0.0% 0.0%
Holdings 659 182
Net assets, EFA as of Oct 9, 2026 and IQDF as of Jul 31, 2026 $76.5bn $1.2bn

EFA and IQDF on the fields both publish, as of Oct 9, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

EFA in plain words

EFA tracks an index of Developed markets ex US. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 it returned +13.8% with distributions reinvested, against +17.3% for the S&P 500. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.32% 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 659 positions, with the top ten at 14.2%. It sat 5.0% below its high of Aug 25, 2026 on Oct 9, 2026.

IQDF in plain words

IQDF tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 it returned +24.5% with distributions reinvested, against +17.3% for the S&P 500. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.47% 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 182 positions, with the top ten at 19.8%. It sat 4.3% below its high of Sep 8, 2026 on Oct 9, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, EFA or IQDF?
In the year to Oct 9, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EFA returned +13.8% and IQDF +24.5%.
Which is cheaper, EFA or IQDF?
EFA is cheaper, by 0.15 percentage points a year. That is about $15 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do EFA and IQDF overlap with the S&P 500?
By their latest filed holdings, 0% of EFA and 0% of IQDF by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.
Other comparisons
Where these figures came from

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.

Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, EFA against IQDF, data as of Oct 9, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/efa-vs-iqdf

Open data

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