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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EFA returned +12.1% and TLT −7.9%.

Which is cheaper, EFA or TLT?

TLT is cheaper, by 0.17 percentage points a year. That is about $17 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

EFA vs TLT: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, EFA returned +12.1% to TLT's −7.9%; 0% 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 $47.4bn for iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF.

EFA on its own →TLT on its own →

At a glance

+12.1%

EFA total return, 1 year

−7.9%

TLT total return, 1 year

0.32%

EFA expense ratio

0.15%

TLT expense ratio

Pair scorecard

TLT costs 0.17 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 20.0 points; EFA is 1.6 times larger.

EFA vs TLT: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	EFA	TLT
Return
Measure	EFA	TLT
Total return, 1 year	+12.1%	−7.9%
Drawdown
Measure	EFA	TLT
Below its high	4.7%, high on Aug 25, 2026	42.6%, high on Aug 4, 2020
Benchmark
Measure	EFA	TLT
What it tracks	MSCI EAFE Index	ICE U.S. Treasury 20+ Year Bond Index
Cost and size
Measure	EFA	TLT
Expense ratio	0.32%	0.15%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$76.8bn	$47.4bn
Holdings
Measure	EFA	TLT
Holdings in common	0%
In the S&P 500, by weight	0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	14.3%

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

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, EFA and TLT hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first EFA TLT

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 TLT

TREASURY BOND 4.32%

TREASURY BOND 4.12%

TREASURY BOND (OLD) 4.07%

TREASURY BOND 4.02%

TREASURY BOND 3.93%

TREASURY BOND 3.92%

TREASURY BOND 3.89%

TREASURY BOND 3.88%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

EFA iShares MSCI EAFE ETF TLT iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Bond ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Tracks an index of Developed markets ex US Tracks an index of 20+ year Treasuries

Total return, 1 year +12.1% −7.9%

Its benchmark over the same days +14.3% (ACWX) −7.8% (BBLB)

Gap to its benchmark −2.2 pts vs ACWX −0.1 pts vs BBLB

Expense ratio 0.32% 0.15%

Holdings 665 47

Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 $76.8bn $47.4bn

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

Alert

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.

TLT

TLT tracks an index of 20+ year Treasuries. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −7.9% with distributions reinvested, against −7.8% for its benchmark, the ICE U.S. Treasury 20+ Year Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. It sat 42.6% below its high of Aug 4, 2020 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, EFA or TLT?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EFA returned +12.1% and TLT −7.9%.
Which is cheaper, EFA or TLT?: TLT is cheaper, by 0.17 percentage points a year. That is about $17 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

Other comparisons

EFA vs VGLT EDV vs EFA EFA vs IUSB EFA vs IEF TLT vs VXUS IEFA vs TLT TLT vs VEA SCHF vs TLT

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

EFA and TLT filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

EFA prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for EFA ↗

TLT prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for TLT ↗

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

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