Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
IEFA vs QQQM: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IEFA returned +12.3% to QQQM's +15.2%; 1% 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 $110.4bn on Oct 27, 2026 for Invesco NASDAQ 100 ETF.
Pair scorecard
IEFA costs 0.08 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 2.9 points; IEFA is 1.7 times larger.
| Measure | IEFA | QQQM |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +12.3% | +15.2% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 4.7%, high on Aug 25, 2026 | 4.5%, high on Oct 6, 2026 |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | MSCI EAFE IMI Index | Nasdaq-100 Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.07% | 0.15% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $190.1bn | $110.4bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 1% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 12.3% | 46.7% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Oct 23, 2020 to Oct 23, 2026 · 313 weekly returnsEach against its own benchmark: IEFA against ACWX, Nov 2, 2012 to Oct 23, 2026; QQQM against QQQ, Oct 23, 2020 to Oct 23, 2026.
QQQM returned more: +157.2% to +87.8%. IEFA swung less: 16.3% to 21.0%. IEFA fell less at its worst: −29.9% to −35.0%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | IEFA | QQQM | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +87.8% | +157.2% | QQQM | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +11.0% | +17.0% | QQQM | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +55.7% | +147.9% | QQQM | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 16.3% | 21.0% | IEFA | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 11.2% | 13.6% | IEFA | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −29.9% | −35.0% | IEFA | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 98.1% | 99.6% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 97.7% | 99.8% | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. | |
| Beta | 1.00 | 1.00 | Not an edge | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.96 | 1.00 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.52 | 0.70 | QQQM | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.76 | 1.07 | QQQM | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | 0.073 | 0.147 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | 0.37 | 0.49 | QQQM | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | ACWX | QQQ | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | +0.8% a year | +0.1% a year | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | 0.96 | 0.62 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | −0.9% to +2.5% | −0.2% to +0.4% | Includes zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. |
| Information ratio | 0.25 | 0.10 | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 3.2% | 0.4% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 313 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, IEFA and QQQM hold 1% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.
half
1% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
IEFA and QQQM on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
IEFA and QQQM do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. IEFA follows MSCI EAFE IMI Index and QQQM follows Nasdaq-100 Index.
- Holdings in common. 1% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 IEFA returned +12.3% and QQQM +15.2% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 2.9 points.
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.
QQQM
QQQM tracks the Nasdaq-100. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +15.2% with distributions reinvested, against +15.2% for its benchmark, the Nasdaq-100 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 96% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 105 positions, with the top ten at 46.7%. It sat 4.5% below its high of Oct 6, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, IEFA or QQQM?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IEFA returned +12.3% and QQQM +15.2%.
- Which is cheaper, IEFA or QQQM?
- 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.
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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 QQQM, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iefa-vs-qqqm
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). IEFA against QQQM. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iefa-vs-qqqm
[IEFA against QQQM (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iefa-vs-qqqm)
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