EFA vs SPDW: Differences, Returns & Fees

EFA and SPDW hold 63% of their weight in the same names, and SPDW returned +19.7% over the year. Net assets: $76.5bn on Oct 9, 2026 for iShares MSCI EAFE ETF, and $40.5bn on Oct 8, 2026 for State Street SPDR Portfolio Developed World ex-US ETF.

SPDW costs 0.29 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 5.9 points; EFA is 1.9 times larger.

EFASPDW
Expense ratio0.32%0.03%
Net assets, as of Oct 8, 2026$76.0bn$40.5bn
Total return, 1 year+13.8%+19.7%
What it tracksMSCI EAFE IndexS&P Developed Ex-U.S. BMI Index ?
Holdings in common63%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund14.2%12.9%
Below its high5.0%, high on Aug 25, 20264.5%, high on Sep 4, 2026

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 8, 2026.

+13.8%
EFA total return, 1 year
+19.7%
SPDW total return, 1 year
0.32%
EFA expense ratio
0.03%
SPDW expense ratio

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, EFA and SPDW hold 63% 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 Oct 8, 2026.

half

63% in common

Positions both hold, largest shared weight first
Holding EFA SPDW
ASML HOLDING 3.35% 2.15%
HSBC HOLDINGS PLC 1.47% 0.95%
ROCHE PS PAR AG 1.40% 0.90%
SHELL 1.36% 0.88%
NOVARTIS AG 1.22% 0.79%
ASTRAZENECA PLC 1.12% 0.74%
NESTLE SA 1.11% 0.72%
TOYOTA MOTOR 0.82% 0.67%
BHP GROUP LTD 1.02% 0.66%
SIEMENS N AG 1.01% 0.66%
SAP 0.99% 0.64%
ADVANTEST 0.89% 0.61%
Only in EFA
MITSUBISHI UFJ FINANCIAL GROUP 1.12%
SUMITOMO MITSUI FINANCIAL GROUP 0.71%
NOVO NORDISK CLASS B 0.57%
MUENCHENER RUECKVERSICHERUNGS-GESE 0.35%
INVESTOR CLASS B 0.33%
NORDEA BANK 0.27%
HONG KONG EXCHANGES AND CLEARING 0.25%
ATLAS COPCO CLASS A 0.24%
Only in SPDW
SAMSUNG ELECTR GDR REG S 2.68%
SK HYNIX INC 2.21%
MITSUBISHI UFJ FINANCIAL GRO 0.82%
ROYAL BANK OF CANADA 0.81%
SHOPIFY INC CLASS A 0.61%
TORONTO DOMINION BANK 0.57%
SUMITOMO MITSUI FINANCIAL GR 0.49%
NOVO NORDISK A/S B 0.36%

Check overlap with more funds →

On the same fields

EFA
iShares MSCI EAFE ETF
SPDW
State Street SPDR Portfolio Developed World ex-US 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% +19.7%
S&P 500 over the same days +17.3% +17.3%
Gap to the S&P 500 −3.5 pts +2.4 pts
Expense ratio 0.32% 0.03%
Already in the S&P 500 0.0% 0.0%
Holdings 659 2448
Net assets, EFA as of Oct 9, 2026 and SPDW as of Oct 8, 2026 $76.5bn $40.5bn

EFA and SPDW 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.

SPDW in plain words

SPDW tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 it returned +19.7% with distributions reinvested, against +17.3% for the S&P 500. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% 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 2,448 positions, with the top ten at 12.9%. It sat 4.5% below its high of Sep 4, 2026 on Oct 9, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, EFA or SPDW?
In the year to Oct 9, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EFA returned +13.8% and SPDW +19.7%.
Which is cheaper, EFA or SPDW?
SPDW is cheaper, by 0.29 percentage points a year. That is about $29 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do EFA and SPDW overlap with the S&P 500?
By their latest filed holdings, 0% of EFA and 0% of SPDW by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

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

Open data

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