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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IEFA returned +12.3% and USMV +10.8%.

Which is cheaper, IEFA or USMV?

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.

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

By their latest filed holdings, 0% of IEFA and 93% of USMV by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

IEFA vs USMV: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IEFA returned +12.3% to USMV's +10.8%; 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 $24.1bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF.

IEFA on its own →USMV on its own →

At a glance

+12.3%

IEFA total return, 1 year

+10.8%

USMV total return, 1 year

0.07%

IEFA expense ratio

0.15%

USMV expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IEFA costs 0.08 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.5 points; IEFA is 7.9 times larger.

IEFA vs USMV: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IEFA	USMV
Return
Measure	IEFA	USMV
Total return, 1 year	+12.3%	+10.8%
Drawdown
Measure	IEFA	USMV
Below its high	4.7%, high on Aug 25, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	IEFA	USMV
What it tracks	MSCI EAFE IMI Index	MSCI USA Minimum Volatility (USD) Index
Cost and size
Measure	IEFA	USMV
Expense ratio	0.07%	0.15%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$190.1bn	$24.1bn
Holdings
Measure	IEFA	USMV
Holdings in common	1%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	12.3%	14.8%

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

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, IEFA and USMV 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 USMV

ROCHE PS PAR AG 1.36% 1.12%

ARISTOCRAT LEISURE 0.10% 0.54%

MERCK 0.08% 1.37%

TELENOR 0.03% 0.58%

AEROPORTS DE PARIS SA 0.02% 0.08%

NEMETSCHEK 0.02% 0.38%

RESOLUTE MINING 0.01% 1.31%

AEP PLANTATIONS PLC 0.00% 0.48%

CORTICEIRA AMORIM SA 0.00% 1.25%

ELEVRA LITHIUM LTD 0.00% 0.31%

GENUIT GROUP PLC 0.00% 0.23%

LINDIAN RESOURCES LTD 0.00% 0.65%

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 USMV

MICROSOFT 1.61%

EXXONMOBIL HOLDINGS CORP 1.54%

BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC CLASS B 1.50%

CHUBB 1.50%

MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS INC 1.48%

AMPHENOL CORP CLASS A 1.47%

NVIDIA 1.47%

JOHNSON & JOHNSON 1.44%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

IEFA iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF USMV iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Tracks the MSCI EAFE Tracks the MSCI USA Min Vol Factor

Total return, 1 year +12.3% +10.8%

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% 0.15%

Already in the S&P 500 0.0% 93.0%

Holdings 2629 176

Net assets, IEFA as of Oct 28, 2026 and USMV as of Oct 27, 2026 $190.4bn $24.1bn

IEFA and USMV 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.

USMV

USMV tracks the MSCI USA Min Vol Factor. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +10.8% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 93% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 176 positions, with the top ten at 14.8%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, IEFA or USMV?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IEFA returned +12.3% and USMV +10.8%.
Which is cheaper, IEFA or USMV?: 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.
How much do IEFA and USMV overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 0% of IEFA and 93% of USMV by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

IEFA vs RDVY CGGR vs IEFA IEFA vs SPMO DFUS vs IEFA USMV vs VEA USMV vs VXUS SCHF vs USMV USMV vs VEU

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

IEFA and USMV filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IEFA and USMV prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IEFA ↗

iShares page for USMV ↗

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 USMV, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iefa-vs-usmv

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