Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
EFA vs VUSB: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, EFA returned +12.1% to VUSB's +3.5%; 0% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets: $76.8bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares MSCI EAFE ETF, and $9.9bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard Ultra-Short Bond ETF.
Pair scorecard
VUSB costs 0.22 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 8.6 points; EFA is 7.7 times larger.
| Measure | EFA | VUSB |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +12.1% | +3.5% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 4.7%, high on Aug 25, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | MSCI EAFE Index | No index, actively managed |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.32% | 0.10% |
| Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026 | $76.7bn | $9.9bn |
| Holdings | ||
| 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 Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Apr 16, 2021 to Oct 23, 2026 · 288 weekly returnsEach against its own benchmark: EFA against ACWX, Apr 11, 2008 to Oct 23, 2026; VUSB against AGG, Apr 16, 2021 to Oct 23, 2026.
EFA returned more: +53.7% to +20.0%. VUSB swung less: 0.8% to 16.0%. VUSB fell less at its worst: −1.7% to −28.8%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | EFA | VUSB | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +53.7% | +20.0% | EFA | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +8.1% | +3.3% | EFA | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +29.4% | −1.0% | EFA | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 16.0% | 0.8% | VUSB | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 11.2% | 0.6% | VUSB | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −28.8% | −1.7% | VUSB | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 95.1% | 17.4% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 97.5% | −1.3% | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. | |
| Beta | 0.96 | 0.10 | Not an edge | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.96 | 0.45 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.34 | −0.33 | EFA | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.49 | −0.45 | EFA | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | 0.055 | −0.027 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | 0.28 | 1.96 | VUSB | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | ACWX | AGG | 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 | 0.27 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | −1.4% to +2.4% | −0.4% to +0.6% | Includes zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. |
| Information ratio | 0.08 | 0.63 | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 4.2% | 5.1% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 288 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, EFA and VUSB hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.
half
0% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
EFA and VUSB on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
EFA and VUSB do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. EFA follows MSCI EAFE Index and VUSB follows No index, actively managed.
- Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026 and Sep 30, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 EFA returned +12.1% and VUSB +3.5% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 8.6 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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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.
VUSB
VUSB is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +3.5% with distributions reinvested, against −1.4% for its benchmark, the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.10% a year.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, EFA or VUSB?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EFA returned +12.1% and VUSB +3.5%.
- Which is cheaper, EFA or VUSB?
- VUSB is cheaper, by 0.22 percentage points a year. That is about $22 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
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.
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ETFIQ, EFA against VUSB, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/efa-vs-vusb
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). EFA against VUSB. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/efa-vs-vusb
[EFA against VUSB (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/efa-vs-vusb)
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