ESGD vs QEFA: Differences, Returns & Fees

Over the year to Oct 21, 2026, ESGD returned +13.4% to QEFA's +16.1%; 57% of their weight is in the same names. Net assets on Oct 20, 2026: $11.9bn for iShares ESG Aware MSCI EAFE ETF and $1.0bn for State Street SPDR MSCI EAFE StrategicFactors ETF.

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Answers cite the figures on this page.

ESGD costs 0.10 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 2.7 points; ESGD is 11.4 times larger.

ESGD vs QEFA: Differences, Returns & Fees
ESGDQEFA
Expense ratio0.20%0.30%
Net assets, as of Oct 20, 2026$11.9bn$1.0bn
Total return, 1 year+13.4%+16.1%
What it tracksMSCI EAFE Extended ESG Focus IndexMSCI EAFE Factor Mix A-Series Index
Holdings in common57%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund14.2%15.1%
Below its high4.3%, high on Aug 13, 2026

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 20, 2026.

+13.4%
ESGD total return, 1 year
+16.1%
QEFA total return, 1 year
0.20%
ESGD expense ratio
0.30%
QEFA expense ratio

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Client brief · page 1 of 2Report BR-0698AA53D8

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

  1. What each follows. ESGD follows MSCI EAFE Extended ESG Focus Index and QEFA follows MSCI EAFE Factor Mix A-Series Index.
  2. One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 21, 2026 ESGD returned +13.4% and QEFA +16.1% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 2.7 points.
  3. Cost. ESGD charges 0.20% of assets a year and QEFA 0.30%, a gap of 0.10 points.

Data as of Oct 21, 2026. The differences are picked by a fixed rule, in a fixed order; the PDF prints it. Page 2 has the returns, overlap, risks and sources.

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What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, ESGD and QEFA hold 57% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 20, 2026.

half

57% in common

Positions both hold, largest shared weight first
Holding ESGD QEFA
ASML HOLDING 3.17% 2.02%
NOVARTIS AG 1.54% 2.00%
ROCHE PS PAR AG 1.28% 2.01%
SAP 1.28% 1.19%
SHELL 1.18% 1.40%
NESTLE SA 1.13% 1.60%
ASTRAZENECA PLC 1.04% 1.58%
ALLIANZ 1.05% 1.03%
BHP GROUP LTD 0.92% 0.99%
TOTALENERGIES 0.90% 0.89%
UNILEVER PLC 0.82% 1.23%
RECRUIT HOLDINGS LTD 0.76% 0.83%
Only in ESGD
MITSUBISHI UFJ FINANCIAL GROUP 0.83%
SUMITOMO MITSUI FINANCIAL GROUP 0.83%
NOVO NORDISK CLASS B 0.53%
MUENCHENER RUECKVERSICHERUNGS-GESE 0.34%
HONG KONG EXCHANGES AND CLEARING 0.33%
WARTSILA 0.21%
HOCHTIEF AG 0.16%
NOMURA RESEARCH INSTITUTE 0.15%
Only in QEFA
NOVO NORDISK A/S B 0.78%
BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO PLC 0.75%
ENI SPA 0.66%
MUENCHENER RUECKVER AG REG 0.59%
SWISSCOM AG REG 0.50%
NTT INC 0.46%
MITSUBISHI UFJ FINANCIAL GRO 0.46%
RIO TINTO PLC 0.46%

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On the same fields

ESGD
iShares ESG Aware MSCI EAFE ETF
QEFA
State Street SPDR MSCI EAFE StrategicFactors ETF
Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF
What it is Tracks an index Tracks an index
Total return, 1 year +13.4% +16.1%
Its benchmark over the same days +16.4% (ACWX) +16.4% (ACWX)
Gap to its benchmark −3.0 pts vs ACWX −0.3 pts vs ACWX
Expense ratio 0.20% 0.30%
Already in the S&P 500 0.0% 0.0%
Holdings 334 626
Net assets, as of Oct 20, 2026 $11.9bn $1.0bn

ESGD and QEFA on the fields both publish, as of Oct 21, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

About ESGD

ESGD tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 21, 2026 it returned +13.4% with distributions reinvested, against +16.4% for its benchmark, the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.20% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 20, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 334 positions, with the top ten at 14.2%. It sat 4.3% below its high of Aug 13, 2026 on Oct 21, 2026.

About QEFA

QEFA tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 21, 2026 it returned +16.1% with distributions reinvested, against +16.4% for its benchmark, the MSCI All Country World ex USA Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.30% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 20, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 626 positions, with the top ten at 15.1%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, ESGD or QEFA?
In the year to Oct 21, 2026, with distributions reinvested, ESGD returned +13.4% and QEFA +16.1%.
Which is cheaper, ESGD or QEFA?
ESGD is cheaper, by 0.10 percentage points a year. That is about $10 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do ESGD and QEFA overlap with the S&P 500?
By their latest filed holdings, 0% of ESGD and 0% of QEFA by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.
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ETFIQ, ESGD against QEFA, data as of Oct 21, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/esgd-vs-qefa

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