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

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

Which is cheaper, EFA or IXUS?

IXUS is cheaper, by 0.25 percentage points a year. That is about $25 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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

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

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

EFA vs IXUS: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, EFA returned +12.1% to IXUS's +14.1%; 51% 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 $57.6bn for iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF.

EFA on its own →IXUS on its own →

At a glance

+12.1%

EFA total return, 1 year

+14.1%

IXUS total return, 1 year

0.32%

EFA expense ratio

0.07%

IXUS expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IXUS costs 0.25 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 2.0 points; EFA is 1.3 times larger.

EFA vs IXUS: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	EFA	IXUS
Return
Measure	EFA	IXUS
Total return, 1 year	+12.1%	+14.1%
Drawdown
Measure	EFA	IXUS
Below its high	4.7%, high on Aug 25, 2026	4.9%, high on Sep 4, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	EFA	IXUS
What it tracks	MSCI EAFE Index	MSCI ACWI ex USA IMI
Cost and size
Measure	EFA	IXUS
Expense ratio	0.32%	0.07%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$76.8bn	$57.6bn
Holdings
Measure	EFA	IXUS
Holdings in common	51%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	14.3%	13.5%

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

Risk and return

Nov 2, 2012 to Oct 23, 2026 · 729 weekly returns · each against ACWX

EFA IXUS

Return

Total return edge EFA (slight) +189.4% +177.4%

Annualized edge EFA (slight) +7.9% +7.5%

Price return edge Tie +91.2% +90.2%

Risk

Volatility edge Tie 16.1% 15.8%

Max drawdown edge EFA (slight) −33.4% −34.6%

Downside capture 97.9% 99.4%

Beta 1.00 0.99

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge EFA (slight) 0.44 0.42

Sortino edge EFA (slight) 0.62 0.59

Treynor 0.071 0.068

Calmar edge EFA (slight) 0.24 0.22

Against the benchmark

Alpha +0.6% a year +0.3% a year

Alpha t-stat 0.69 0.64

Information ratio 0.17 0.14

Tracking error 3.2% 1.5%

Reading

EFA returned slightly more: +189.4% to +177.4%. EFA and IXUS swung about the same: 16.1% and 15.8%. EFA fell slightly less at its worst: −33.4% to −34.6%.

Full scorecard

19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: EFA vs IXUS: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	EFA	IXUS	ACWX	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+189.4%	+177.4%		EFA (slight)	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+7.9%	+7.5%		EFA (slight)	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+91.2%	+90.2%		Tie	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	16.1%	15.8%		Tie	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	11.4%	11.3%		Tie	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−33.4%	−34.6%		EFA (slight)	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Upside capture	97.6%	99.6%	100.0%	IXUS (slight)	Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose.
Downside capture	97.9%	99.4%	100.0%	Tie	Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better.
Beta	1.00	0.99	1.00	Tie	How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves.
R squared	0.96	0.99	1.00	Not an edge	Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.44	0.42		EFA (slight)	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.62	0.59		EFA (slight)	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Treynor	0.071	0.068	0.065	EFA (slight)	Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta.
Calmar	0.24	0.22		EFA (slight)	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.
Against the benchmark
Benchmark	ACWX	ACWX	ACWX		The ETF each fund is measured against.
Alpha	+0.6% a year	+0.3% a year	0.0%	Not significant	Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts.
Alpha t-stat	0.69	0.64		Not an edge	How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance.
Alpha range	−1.1% to +2.3%	−0.5% to +1.1%		Both include zero	The 95% range for the yearly alpha.
Information ratio	0.17	0.14		EFA	Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error.
Tracking error	3.2%	1.5%	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, 729 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

51%

By the books each fund has filed, EFA and IXUS hold 51% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

51% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first EFA IXUS

ASML HOLDING 2.98% 1.53%

ROCHE PS PAR AG 1.58% 0.82%

SHELL 1.42% 0.73%

HSBC HOLDINGS PLC 1.38% 0.72%

NOVARTIS AG 1.33% 0.69%

ASTRAZENECA PLC 1.21% 0.62%

NESTLE SA 1.21% 0.62%

SAP 1.13% 0.58%

MITSUBISHI UFJ FINANCIAL GROUP 1.07% 0.55%

SIEMENS N AG 1.00% 0.52%

BHP GROUP LTD 0.97% 0.50%

COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA 0.89% 0.46%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in EFA

DKK/USD 0.00%

EUR/USD 0.00%

GBP/USD 0.00%

JPY/USD 0.00%

SPI 200 DEC 26 0.00%

STOXX EUROPE 600 DEC 26 0.00%

TOPIX INDEX DEC 26 0.00%

Only in IXUS

TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING 4.39%

SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS LTD 1.90%

SK HYNIX 1.35%

TENCENT HOLDINGS 0.73%

ROYAL BANK OF CANADA 0.68%

ALIBABA GROUP HOLDING 0.50%

TORONTO DOMINION 0.50%

SHOPIFY SUBORDINATE VOTING CLASS A 0.49%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

EFA iShares MSCI EAFE ETF IXUS iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Tracks an index of Developed markets ex US Tracks the MSCI Total International Stock

Total return, 1 year +12.1% +14.1%

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

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

Expense ratio 0.32% 0.07%

Already in the S&P 500 0.0% 0.0%

Holdings 665 4584

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $76.8bn $57.6bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-BCEACC1E17

EFA and IXUS are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?

What each follows. EFA follows MSCI EAFE Index and IXUS follows MSCI ACWI ex USA IMI.
One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 EFA returned +12.1% and IXUS +14.1% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 2.0 points.
Number of holdings. EFA holds 665 positions and IXUS holds 4584.

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.

IXUS

IXUS tracks the MSCI Total International Stock. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +14.1% with distributions reinvested, against +14.3% for its benchmark, the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.07% 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 4,584 positions, with the top ten at 13.5%. It sat 4.9% below its high of Sep 4, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, EFA or IXUS?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EFA returned +12.1% and IXUS +14.1%.
Which is cheaper, EFA or IXUS?: IXUS is cheaper, by 0.25 percentage points a year. That is about $25 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do EFA and IXUS overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 0% of EFA and 0% of IXUS by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

EFA vs VEU EFA vs SCHF EFA vs SPDW EFA vs IDEV IXUS vs SCHF IXUS vs VEU IXUS vs SPDW IXUS vs VXUS

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

EFA and IXUS filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

EFA and IXUS prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for EFA ↗

iShares page for IXUS ↗

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

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