Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
IEF vs IEFA: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IEF returned −3.2% to IEFA's +12.3%; 0% of their weight is in the same names.
askIQ about this page
askIQ about IEF and IEFA
Net assets: $43.5bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares 7-10 Year Treasury Bond ETF, and $190.4bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF.
Pair scorecard
IEFA costs 0.08 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 15.5 points; IEFA is 4.4 times larger.
| Measure | IEF | IEFA |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | −3.2% | +12.3% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 13.1%, high on Aug 4, 2020 | 4.7%, high on Aug 25, 2026 |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | ICE U.S. Treasury 7-10 Year Bond Index | MSCI EAFE IMI Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.15% | 0.07% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $43.5bn | $190.1bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
| In the S&P 500, by weight | 0% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 12.3% | |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Nov 2, 2012 to Oct 23, 2026 · 729 weekly returnsIEFA returned more: +199.1% to +15.2%. IEF swung less: 6.2% to 16.2%. IEF fell less at its worst: −23.3% to −34.1%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | IEF | IEFA | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +15.2% | +199.1% | IEFA | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +1.0% | +8.1% | IEFA | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | −15.4% | +100.2% | IEFA | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 6.2% | 16.2% | IEF | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 4.5% | 11.5% | IEF | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −23.3% | −34.1% | IEF | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | −0.10 | 0.45 | IEFA | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | −0.14 | 0.64 | IEFA | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.04 | 0.24 | IEFA | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
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
By the books each fund has filed, IEF and IEFA hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.
half
0% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
IEF and IEFA on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
IEF and IEFA do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. IEF follows ICE U.S. Treasury 7-10 Year Bond Index and IEFA follows MSCI EAFE IMI Index.
- Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 IEF returned −3.2% and IEFA +12.3% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 15.5 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
The two-page PDF for this pair is coming. Save the comparison to follow its changes. Free. It needs an email sign-in, once.
IEF
IEF tracks an index of 7-10 Year Treasury Bond. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −3.2% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. It sat 13.1% below its high of Aug 4, 2020 on Oct 28, 2026.
IEFA
IEFA tracks the MSCI EAFE. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +12.3% 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 2,629 positions, with the top ten at 12.3%. It sat 4.7% below its high of Aug 25, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, IEF or IEFA?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IEF returned −3.2% and IEFA +12.3%.
- Which is cheaper, IEF or IEFA?
- IEFA is cheaper, by 0.08 percentage points a year. That is about $8 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.
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown
ETFIQ, IEF against IEFA, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ief-vs-iefa
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). IEF against IEFA. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ief-vs-iefa
[IEF against IEFA (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ief-vs-iefa)
Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.