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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IEFA returned +12.3% and VYMI +22.3%.

Which is cheaper, IEFA or VYMI?

Neither: IEFA and VYMI both charge 0.07% a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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

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

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

IEFA vs VYMI: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IEFA returned +12.3% to VYMI's +22.3%; 46% 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 $21.4bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard International High Dividend Yield ETF.

IEFA on its own →VYMI on its own →

At a glance

+12.3%

IEFA total return, 1 year

+22.3%

VYMI total return, 1 year

0.07%

IEFA expense ratio

0.07%

VYMI expense ratio

Pair scorecard

Both cost 0.07% a year; their one-year returns differ by 10.0 points; IEFA is 8.9 times larger.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

IEFA vs VYMI: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IEFA	VYMI
Return
Measure	IEFA	VYMI
Total return, 1 year	+12.3%	+22.3%
Drawdown
Measure	IEFA	VYMI
Below its high	4.7%, high on Aug 25, 2026	4.6%, high on Sep 3, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	IEFA	VYMI
What it tracks	MSCI EAFE IMI Index	FTSE All-World ex US High Dividend Yield Index
Cost and size
Measure	IEFA	VYMI
Expense ratio	0.07%	0.07%
Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026	$190.2bn	$21.4bn
Holdings
Measure	IEFA	VYMI
Holdings in common	46%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	12.3%	13.8%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method

Risk and return

Mar 11, 2016 to Oct 23, 2026 · 554 weekly returns

IEFA VYMI

Return

Total return edge VYMI +148.6% +188.1%

Annualized edge VYMI +8.9% +10.4%

Price return edge VYMI (slight) +80.3% +86.8%

Risk

Volatility edge VYMI (slight) 16.8% 15.9%

Max drawdown edge IEFA −34.1% −38.3%

Risk-adjusted

Sharpe edge VYMI 0.45 0.55

Sortino edge VYMI 0.64 0.78

Calmar edge VYMI (slight) 0.26 0.27

Reading

VYMI returned more: +188.1% to +148.6%. VYMI swung slightly less: 15.9% to 16.8%. IEFA fell less at its worst: −34.1% to −38.3%.

Full scorecard

9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓

Risk and return: IEFA vs VYMI: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IEFA	VYMI	Edge	How it is measured
Return
Total return	+148.6%	+188.1%	VYMI	Price change plus distributions, reinvested.
Annualized	+8.9%	+10.4%	VYMI	Total return as a yearly rate.
Price return	+80.3%	+86.8%	VYMI (slight)	Price change alone, distributions left out.
Risk
Volatility	16.8%	15.9%	VYMI (slight)	Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier.
Downside deviation	11.8%	11.4%	VYMI (slight)	Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate.
Max drawdown	−34.1%	−38.3%	IEFA	Deepest fall from a high to the low after it.
Risk-adjusted
Sharpe	0.45	0.55	VYMI	Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility.
Sortino	0.64	0.78	VYMI	Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation.
Calmar	0.26	0.27	VYMI (slight)	Annualized return divided by the max drawdown.

Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 554 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.

What they share

46%

By the books each fund has filed, IEFA and VYMI hold 46% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

46% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first IEFA VYMI

ROCHE PS PAR AG 1.36% 1.56%

SHELL 1.21% 1.48%

HSBC HOLDINGS PLC 1.18% 1.81%

NOVARTIS AG 1.14% 1.42%

NESTLE SA 1.04% 1.25%

MITSUBISHI UFJ FINANCIAL GROUP 0.92% 1.35%

BHP GROUP LTD 0.83% 1.15%

COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA 0.77% 0.93%

TOYOTA MOTOR 0.75% 1.03%

ALLIANZ 0.74% 0.96%

BANCO SANTANDER 0.72% 1.07%

TOTALENERGIES 0.72% 0.92%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in IEFA

ASML HOLDING 2.55%

ASTRAZENECA PLC 1.04%

SAP 0.97%

ADVANTEST 0.63%

HITACHI 0.63%

RECRUIT HOLDINGS LTD 0.63%

SONY GROUP 0.60%

ROLLS-ROYCE HOLDINGS PLC 0.55%

Only in VYMI

Royal Bank of Canada 1.47%

MediaTek Inc 1.21%

Toronto-Dominion Bank 1.04%

SLBBH1142 0.68%

Novo Nordisk A/S 0.65%

Bank of Montreal 0.63%

Bank of Nova Scotia 0.60%

China Construction Bank Corp 0.59%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

IEFA iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF VYMI Vanguard International High Dividend Yield ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares Vanguard

What it is Tracks the MSCI EAFE Tracks an index of International High Dividend Yield

Total return, 1 year +12.3% +22.3%

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% 0.07%

Already in the S&P 500 0.0% 0.0%

Holdings 2629 1509

Net assets, IEFA as of Oct 28, 2026 and VYMI as of Sep 30, 2026 $190.4bn $21.4bn

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

Client brief · page 1 of 2 Report BR-16981181F3

IEFA and VYMI do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?

What each follows. IEFA follows MSCI EAFE IMI Index and VYMI follows FTSE All-World ex US High Dividend Yield Index.
Holdings in common. 46% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026 and Sep 30, 2026).
One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 IEFA returned +12.3% and VYMI +22.3% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 10.0 points.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

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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.

VYMI

VYMI tracks an index of International High Dividend Yield. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +22.3% with distributions reinvested. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 1,509 positions, with the top ten at 13.8%. It sat 4.6% below its high of Sep 3, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, IEFA or VYMI?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IEFA returned +12.3% and VYMI +22.3%.
Which is cheaper, IEFA or VYMI?: Neither: IEFA and VYMI both charge 0.07% a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do IEFA and VYMI overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 0% of IEFA and 0% of VYMI by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

IEFA vs VGK IEFA vs VPL IEFA vs VT AVDV vs IEFA VXUS vs VYMI VEA vs VYMI EFA vs VYMI SCHF vs VYMI

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

IEFA filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IEFA prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IEFA ↗

VYMI filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

VYMI prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

Vanguard page for VYMI ↗

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

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