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IEFA vs ILOW: Differences, Returns & Fees

IEFA and ILOW hold 19% of their weight in the same names, and IEFA returned +13.9% over the year. Net assets: $189.5bn on Oct 9, 2026 for iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF, and $1.8bn on Oct 8, 2026 for AB International Low Volatility Equity ETF.

IEFA costs 0.43 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 4.9 points; IEFA is far larger, $188.1bn against $1.8bn.

IEFAILOW
Expense ratio0.07%0.50%
Net assets, as of Oct 8, 2026$188.1bn$1.8bn
Total return, 1 year+13.9%+9.0%
What it tracksMSCI EAFE IMI IndexNo index, actively managed
Holdings in common19%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund12.2%20.7%
Below its high4.8%, high on Aug 25, 20264.9%, high on Aug 25, 2026

Holdings in common uses holdings dated May 31, 2026 and Oct 8, 2026.

+13.9%
IEFA total return, 1 year
+9.0%
ILOW total return, 1 year
0.07%
IEFA expense ratio
0.50%
ILOW expense ratio

What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, IEFA and ILOW hold 19% 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 May 31, 2026 and Oct 8, 2026.

half

19% in common

Positions both hold, largest shared weight first
Holding IEFA ILOW
ASML HOLDING 2.87% 2.87%
SHELL 1.17% 1.33%
NOVARTIS AG 1.05% 1.95%
ASTRAZENECA PLC 0.96% 1.67%
MITSUBISHI UFJ FINANCIAL GROUP 0.95% 1.51%
SAP 0.85% 0.95%
TOTALENERGIES 0.68% 1.08%
SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC 0.65% 2.10%
HITACHI 0.63% 1.34%
SUMITOMO MITSUI FINANCIAL GROUP 0.61% 1.45%
ABB LTD 0.59% 1.77%
SONY GROUP 0.55% 1.33%
Only in IEFA
HSBC HOLDINGS PLC 1.26%
ROCHE PS PAR AG 1.20%
NESTLE SA 0.95%
BHP GROUP LTD 0.88%
SIEMENS N AG 0.87%
ADVANTEST 0.77%
BANCO SANTANDER 0.77%
ALLIANZ 0.71%
Only in ILOW
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co Ltd 2.50%
Prysmian SpA 2.13%
Enel SpA 1.71%
Tryg A/S 1.66%
Toronto-Dominion Bank/The 1.57%
KBC Group NV 1.50%
UniCredit SpA 1.48%
Nordea Bank Abp 1.47%

Check overlap with more funds →

On the same fields

IEFA
iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF
ILOW
AB International Low Volatility Equity ETF
Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF
Issuer iShares AllianceBernstein
What it is Tracks the MSCI EAFE Actively managed
Total return, 1 year +13.9% +9.0%
S&P 500 over the same days +17.3% +17.3%
Gap to the S&P 500 −3.3 pts −8.2 pts
Expense ratio 0.07% 0.50%
Already in the S&P 500 0.0% 0.6%
Holdings 2628 84
Net assets, IEFA as of Oct 9, 2026 and ILOW as of Oct 8, 2026 $189.5bn $1.8bn

IEFA and ILOW on the fields both publish, as of Oct 9, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

IEFA in plain words

IEFA tracks the MSCI EAFE. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 it returned +13.9% with distributions reinvested, against +17.3% for the S&P 500. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.07% 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 2,628 positions, with the top ten at 12.2%. It sat 4.8% below its high of Aug 25, 2026 on Oct 9, 2026.

ILOW in plain words

ILOW is actively managed and tracks no index. Over the year to Oct 9, 2026 it returned +9.0% with distributions reinvested, against +17.3% for the S&P 500. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.50% a year. By its holdings filed for May 31, 2026, 1% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 84 positions, with the top ten at 20.7%. It sat 4.9% below its high of Aug 25, 2026 on Oct 9, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, IEFA or ILOW?
In the year to Oct 9, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IEFA returned +13.9% and ILOW +9.0%.
Which is cheaper, IEFA or ILOW?
IEFA is cheaper, by 0.43 percentage points a year. That is about $43 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do IEFA and ILOW overlap with the S&P 500?
By their latest filed holdings, 0% of IEFA and 1% of ILOW by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.
Other comparisons
IEFA vs IMFLGSID vs IEFAIEFA vs VXUSIEFA vs VEAILOW vs VXUSILOW vs VEAILOW vs VEUILOW vs SCHF
IEFA on its own →ILOW on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →Standards and sources →
Where these figures came from
IEFA filings on SEC EDGAR ↗IEFA prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗iShares page for IEFA ↗ILOW filings on SEC EDGAR ↗ILOW prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure; a link is not an endorsement. 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, IEFA against ILOW, data as of Oct 9, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iefa-vs-ilow

Open data

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