Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
IEFA vs SPY: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IEFA returned +12.3% to SPY's +13.6%; 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 $814.8bn on Oct 27, 2026 for SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust.
Pair scorecard
IEFA costs 0.02 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.3 points; SPY is 4.3 times larger.
| Measure | IEFA | SPY |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +12.3% | +13.6% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 4.7%, high on Aug 25, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | MSCI EAFE IMI Index | S&P 500 Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.07% | 0.09% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $190.1bn | $814.8bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 1% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 12.3% | 38.1% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Nov 2, 2012 to Oct 23, 2026 · 729 weekly returnsEach against its own benchmark: IEFA against ACWX, Nov 2, 2012 to Oct 23, 2026; SPY against VOO, Sep 17, 2010 to Oct 23, 2026.
SPY returned more: +583.1% to +199.1%. SPY swung slightly less: 15.8% to 16.2%. SPY fell slightly less at its worst: −31.8% to −34.1%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | IEFA | SPY | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +199.1% | +583.1% | SPY | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +8.1% | +14.7% | SPY | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +100.2% | +436.9% | SPY | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 16.2% | 15.8% | SPY (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 11.5% | 10.9% | SPY (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −34.1% | −31.8% | SPY (slight) | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 98.1% | 99.8% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 97.7% | 100.0% | 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 | 0.45 | 0.83 | SPY | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.64 | 1.21 | SPY | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | 0.073 | 0.133 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | 0.24 | 0.46 | SPY | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | ACWX | VOO | 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 | −0.51 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | −0.9% to +2.5% | −0.3% to +0.1% | Includes zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. |
| Information ratio | 0.25 | −0.15 | 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, 729 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, IEFA and SPY 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 SPY on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
IEFA and SPY do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. IEFA follows MSCI EAFE IMI Index and SPY follows S&P 500 Index.
- Holdings in common. 1% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
- Number of holdings. IEFA holds 2,629 positions and SPY holds 504.
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.
SPY
SPY tracks the S&P 500. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.6% with distributions reinvested, against +13.7% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.09% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 504 positions, with the top ten at 38.1%.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, IEFA or SPY?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IEFA returned +12.3% and SPY +13.6%.
- Which is cheaper, IEFA or SPY?
- IEFA is cheaper, by 0.02 percentage points a year. That is about $2 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 SPY, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iefa-vs-spy
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[IEFA against SPY (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iefa-vs-spy)
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