Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
IEFA vs IXUS: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IEFA returned +12.3% to IXUS's +14.1%; 59% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets: $190.4bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF, and $57.6bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF.
Pair scorecard
Both cost 0.07% a year; their one-year returns differ by 1.8 points; IEFA is 3.3 times larger.
Points (pts) are percentage points.
| Measure | IEFA | IXUS |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +12.3% | +14.1% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 4.7%, high on Aug 25, 2026 | 4.9%, high on Sep 4, 2026 |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | MSCI EAFE IMI Index | MSCI ACWI ex USA IMI |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.07% | 0.07% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $190.1bn | $57.6bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 59% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 12.3% | 13.5% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Nov 2, 2012 to Oct 23, 2026 · 729 weekly returns · each against ACWXIEFA returned more: +199.1% to +177.4%. IEFA and IXUS swung about the same: 16.2% and 15.8%. IEFA and IXUS fell about the same at their worst: −34.1% and −34.6%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | IEFA | IXUS | ACWX | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | |||||
| Total return | +199.1% | +177.4% | +169.1% | IEFA | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +8.1% | +7.5% | +7.3% | IEFA (slight) | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +100.2% | +90.2% | +84.9% | IEFA (slight) | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | |||||
| Volatility | 16.2% | 15.8% | 15.9% | Tie | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 11.5% | 11.3% | 11.3% | Tie | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −34.1% | −34.6% | −34.2% | Tie | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 98.1% | 99.6% | 100.0% | Tie | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. |
| Downside capture | 97.7% | 99.4% | 100.0% | Tie | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. |
| Beta | 1.00 | 0.99 | 1.00 | Tie | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.96 | 0.99 | 1.00 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | |||||
| Sharpe | 0.45 | 0.42 | 0.41 | IEFA (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.64 | 0.59 | 0.57 | IEFA (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | 0.073 | 0.068 | 0.065 | IEFA (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. |
| Calmar | 0.24 | 0.22 | 0.21 | IEFA (slight) | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | |||||
| Benchmark | ACWX | ACWX | ACWX | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | +0.8% a year | +0.3% a year | 0.0% | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | 0.96 | 0.64 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. | |
| Alpha range | −0.9% to +2.5% | −0.5% to +1.1% | Both include zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. | |
| Information ratio | 0.25 | 0.14 | IEFA | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 3.2% | 1.5% | 0.0% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
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, IEFA and IXUS hold 59% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.
half
59% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
IEFA and IXUS on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
IEFA and IXUS are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- What each follows. IEFA follows MSCI EAFE IMI Index and IXUS follows MSCI ACWI ex USA IMI.
- Size. IEFA has $190.1bn in net assets and IXUS $57.6bn (net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026); IEFA is 3.3 times larger.
- Holdings in common (similar). 59% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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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.
IXUS
IXUS tracks the MSCI Total International Stock. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +14.1% with distributions reinvested, against +14.3% for its benchmark, the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index. 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 4,584 positions, with the top ten at 13.5%. It sat 4.9% below its high of Sep 4, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
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How this is computed
Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.
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ETFIQ, IEFA against IXUS, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iefa-vs-ixus
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