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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EFA returned +12.1% and IWM +14.1%.

Which is cheaper, EFA or IWM?

IWM is cheaper, by 0.13 percentage points a year. That is about $13 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

How much do EFA and IWM overlap with the S&P 500?

By their latest filed holdings, 0% of EFA and 0% of IWM by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

EFA vs IWM: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, EFA returned +12.1% to IWM's +14.1%; 1% 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 $75.5bn for iShares Russell 2000 ETF.

EFA on its own →IWM on its own →

At a glance

+12.1%

EFA total return, 1 year

+14.1%

IWM total return, 1 year

0.32%

EFA expense ratio

0.19%

IWM expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IWM costs 0.13 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 2.0 points.

EFA vs IWM: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	EFA	IWM
Return
Measure	EFA	IWM
Total return, 1 year	+12.1%	+14.1%
Drawdown
Measure	EFA	IWM
Below its high	4.7%, high on Aug 25, 2026	7.6%, high on Aug 14, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	EFA	IWM
What it tracks	MSCI EAFE Index	Russell 2000 Index
Cost and size
Measure	EFA	IWM
Expense ratio	0.32%	0.19%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$76.8bn	$75.5bn
Holdings
Measure	EFA	IWM
Holdings in common	1%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	14.3%	3.3%

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

Risk and return

Aug 24, 2001 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,313 weekly returns

EFA IWM

Return

Total return edge IWM +367.2% +695.4%

Annualized edge IWM +6.3% +8.6%

Price return edge IWM +139.2% +473.9%

Risk

Volatility edge EFA 18.8% 22.4%

Max drawdown edge IWM (slight) −59.4% −57.7%

Downside capture 97.5% 100.5%

Beta 0.96 1.01

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge IWM 0.33 0.40

Sortino edge IWM 0.45 0.57

Treynor 0.055 0.106

Calmar edge IWM 0.11 0.15

Against the benchmark

Alpha +0.5% a year −0.1% a year

Alpha t-stat 0.53 −0.36

Information ratio 0.08 −0.02

Tracking error 4.2% 1.0%

Each against its own benchmark: EFA against ACWX, Apr 11, 2008 to Oct 23, 2026; IWM against VTWO, Oct 1, 2010 to Oct 23, 2026.

Reading

IWM returned more: +695.4% to +367.2%. EFA swung less: 18.8% to 22.4%. IWM fell slightly less at its worst: −57.7% to −59.4%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: EFA vs IWM: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	EFA	IWM	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+367.2%	+695.4%	IWM	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+6.3%	+8.6%	IWM	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+139.2%	+473.9%	IWM	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	18.8%	22.4%	EFA	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	13.6%	15.7%	EFA	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−59.4%	−57.7%	IWM (slight)	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture	95.1%	101.0%		Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture	97.5%	100.5%		Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta	0.96	1.01	Not an edge	How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared	0.96	1.00	Not an edge	Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.33	0.40	IWM	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.45	0.57	IWM	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor	0.055	0.106		Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar	0.11	0.15	IWM	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
Benchmark	ACWX	VTWO		The ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha	+0.5% a year	−0.1% a year	Not significant	Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat	0.53	−0.36	Not an edge	How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range	−1.4% to +2.4%	−0.6% to +0.4%	Includes zero	The 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio	0.08	−0.02		Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error	4.2%	1.0%	Not an edge	How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,313 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, EFA and IWM hold 1% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

1% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first EFA IWM

COMPASS GROUP PLC 0.27% 0.24%

UCB SA 0.17% 0.15%

LVMH 0.50% 0.14%

ORANGE SA 0.14% 0.19%

AIRBUS GROUP 0.60% 0.13%

FINECOBANK BANCA FINECO 0.07% 0.09%

TERNA RETE ELETTRICA NAZIONALE 0.07% 0.07%

LAIR LIQUIDE SOCIETE ANONYME POUR 0.57% 0.06%

MTU AERO ENGINES HOLDING AG 0.09% 0.06%

SIEMENS ENERGY N AG 0.52% 0.05%

SIGMA HEALTHCARE 0.05% 0.15%

CONTINENTAL AG 0.04% 0.16%

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 IWM

JFROG 0.37%

GLAUKOS 0.35%

TWIST BIOSCIENCE 0.35%

MOOG INC CLASS A 0.34%

BRIGHTSPRING HEALTH SERVICES INC 0.33%

UMB FINANCIAL 0.33%

SM ENERGY 0.32%

10X GENOMICS CLASS A 0.31%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

EFA iShares MSCI EAFE ETF IWM iShares Russell 2000 ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Tracks an index of Developed markets ex US Tracks the Russell 2000

Total return, 1 year +12.1% +14.1%

Its benchmark over the same days +14.3% (ACWX) +14.3% (VTWO)

Gap to its benchmark −2.2 pts vs ACWX −0.2 pts vs VTWO

Expense ratio 0.32% 0.19%

Already in the S&P 500 0.0% 0.0%

Holdings 665 1977

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $76.8bn $75.5bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-08A4C102AE

EFA and IWM do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?

What each follows. EFA follows MSCI EAFE Index and IWM follows Russell 2000 Index.
Holdings in common. 1% 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 IWM +14.1% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 2.0 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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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.

IWM

IWM tracks the Russell 2000. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +14.1% with distributions reinvested, against +14.3% for its benchmark, the Russell 2000 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.19% 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 1,977 positions, with the top ten at 3.3%. It sat 7.6% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, EFA or IWM?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EFA returned +12.1% and IWM +14.1%.
Which is cheaper, EFA or IWM?: IWM is cheaper, by 0.13 percentage points a year. That is about $13 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do EFA and IWM overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 0% of EFA and 0% of IWM by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

EFA vs VB EFA vs IJR EFA vs IJT EFA vs IWC IWM vs VXUS IEFA vs IWM IWM vs VEA IWM vs SCHF

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

EFA and IWM filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

EFA prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for EFA ↗

IWM prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IWM ↗

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 IWM, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/efa-vs-iwm

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