Which returned more over the last year, IEFA or SDY?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IEFA returned +12.3% and SDY +16.5%.

Which is cheaper, IEFA or SDY?

IEFA is cheaper, by 0.28 percentage points a year. That is about $28 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

How much do IEFA and SDY overlap with the S&P 500?

By their latest filed holdings, 0% of IEFA and 84% of SDY by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

IEFA vs SDY: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IEFA returned +12.3% to SDY's +16.5%; 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 $21.9bn on Oct 27, 2026 for State Street SPDR S&P Dividend ETF.

IEFA on its own →SDY on its own →

At a glance

+12.3%

IEFA total return, 1 year

+16.5%

SDY total return, 1 year

0.07%

IEFA expense ratio

0.35%

SDY expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IEFA costs 0.28 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 4.2 points; IEFA is 8.7 times larger.

IEFA vs SDY: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IEFA	SDY
Return
Measure	IEFA	SDY
Total return, 1 year	+12.3%	+16.5%
Drawdown
Measure	IEFA	SDY
Below its high	4.7%, high on Aug 25, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	IEFA	SDY
What it tracks	MSCI EAFE IMI Index	S&P High Yield Dividend Aristocrats Index
Cost and size
Measure	IEFA	SDY
Expense ratio	0.07%	0.35%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$190.1bn	$21.9bn
Holdings
Measure	IEFA	SDY
Holdings in common	1%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	12.3%	20.4%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, IEFA and SDY hold 1% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

1% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first IEFA SDY

ROCHE PS PAR AG 1.36% 0.59%

COMPAGNIE FINANCIERE RICHEMONT SA 0.43% 0.39%

CSL 0.27% 0.55%

ADMIRAL GROUP PLC 0.05% 1.03%

ORICA 0.03% 0.35%

AEROPORTS DE PARIS SA 0.02% 1.55%

AMP LTD 0.02% 0.59%

BALFOUR BEATTY PLC 0.02% 0.70%

BENDIGO AND ADELAIDE BANK 0.02% 0.41%

EMERALD RESOURCES 0.01% 0.78%

RESOLUTE MINING 0.01% 0.54%

SONAE SA 0.01% 0.21%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in IEFA

ASML HOLDING 2.55%

SHELL 1.21%

HSBC HOLDINGS PLC 1.18%

NOVARTIS AG 1.14%

ASTRAZENECA PLC 1.04%

NESTLE SA 1.04%

SAP 0.97%

MITSUBISHI UFJ FINANCIAL GROUP 0.92%

Only in SDY

ACCENTURE PLC CL A 3.73%

VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS INC 2.81%

CHEVRON CORP 2.15%

REALTY INCOME CORP 1.94%

PEPSICO INC 1.82%

MEDTRONIC PLC 1.79%

TARGET CORP 1.59%

KENVUE INC 1.55%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

IEFA iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF SDY State Street SPDR S&P Dividend ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares State Street

What it is Tracks the MSCI EAFE Tracks the S&P Dividend

Total return, 1 year +12.3% +16.5%

Its benchmark over the same days +14.3% (ACWX) not measured

Gap to its benchmark −2.0 pts vs ACWX not measured

Expense ratio 0.07% 0.35%

Already in the S&P 500 0.0% 84.4%

Holdings 2629 156

Net assets, IEFA as of Oct 28, 2026 and SDY as of Oct 27, 2026 $190.4bn $21.9bn

IEFA and SDY on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Alert

About each fund

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.

SDY

SDY tracks the S&P Dividend. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +16.5% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.35% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 84% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 156 positions, with the top ten at 20.4%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, IEFA or SDY?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IEFA returned +12.3% and SDY +16.5%.
Which is cheaper, IEFA or SDY?: IEFA is cheaper, by 0.28 percentage points a year. That is about $28 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do IEFA and SDY overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 0% of IEFA and 84% of SDY by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

IEFA vs RSP IEFA vs NOBL IEFA vs VOE COWZ vs IEFA SDY vs VXUS SDY vs VEA EFA vs SDY SCHF vs SDY

Where to next

IEFA on its own →SDY on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →IEFA dividend history →IEFA holdings →SDY dividend history →SDY holdings →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

IEFA filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IEFA prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IEFA ↗

SDY filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

SDY prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

State Street website ↗

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, IEFA against SDY, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iefa-vs-sdy

Open data →

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