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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IEFA returned +12.3% and XLF +7.6%.

Which is cheaper, IEFA or XLF?

IEFA is cheaper, by 0.01 percentage points a year. That is about $1 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

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

By their latest filed holdings, 0% of IEFA and 100% of XLF by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

IEFA vs XLF: Differences, Returns & Fees

Share on X Download as PDF

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, IEFA returned +12.3% to XLF's +7.6%; 0% of their weight is in the same names.

askIQ about this page

askIQ about IEFA and XLF

Net assets: $190.4bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF, and $51.6bn on Oct 27, 2026 for State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF.

IEFA on its own →XLF on its own →

At a glance

+12.3%

IEFA total return, 1 year

+7.6%

XLF total return, 1 year

0.07%

IEFA expense ratio

0.08%

XLF expense ratio

Pair scorecard

IEFA costs 0.01 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 4.7 points; IEFA is 3.7 times larger.

IEFA vs XLF: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	IEFA	XLF
Return
Measure	IEFA	XLF
Total return, 1 year	+12.3%	+7.6%
Drawdown
Measure	IEFA	XLF
Below its high	4.7%, high on Aug 25, 2026	3.8%, high on Sep 3, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	IEFA	XLF
What it tracks	MSCI EAFE IMI Index	Financial Select Sector Index
Cost and size
Measure	IEFA	XLF
Expense ratio	0.07%	0.08%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$190.1bn	$51.6bn
Holdings
Measure	IEFA	XLF
Holdings in common	0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	12.3%	57.4%

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

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, IEFA and XLF hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first IEFA XLF

PRUDENTIAL PLC 0.12% 0.51%

ARISTOCRAT LEISURE 0.10% 0.81%

HELVETIA BALOISE HOLDING N AG 0.08% 0.40%

AMP LTD 0.02% 0.55%

BENDIGO AND ADELAIDE BANK 0.02% 0.12%

EURAZEO 0.01% 0.31%

Only in one fund ↓

Only in IEFA

ASML HOLDING 2.55%

ROCHE PS PAR AG 1.36%

SHELL 1.21%

HSBC HOLDINGS PLC 1.18%

NOVARTIS AG 1.14%

ASTRAZENECA PLC 1.04%

NESTLE SA 1.04%

SAP 0.97%

Only in XLF

BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY INC CL B 12.84%

JPMORGAN CHASE + CO 11.33%

VISA INC CLASS A SHARES 8.69%

MASTERCARD INC A 6.26%

BANK OF AMERICA CORP 4.18%

GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP INC 3.37%

WELLS FARGO + CO 3.17%

MORGAN STANLEY 2.83%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

IEFA iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF XLF State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares State Street

What it is Tracks the MSCI EAFE Tracks an index of Financials

Total return, 1 year +12.3% +7.6%

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% 0.08%

Already in the S&P 500 0.0% 99.8%

Holdings 2629 77

Net assets, IEFA as of Oct 28, 2026 and XLF as of Oct 27, 2026 $190.4bn $51.6bn

IEFA and XLF 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.

XLF

XLF tracks an index of Financials. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +7.6% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.08% 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 77 positions, with the top ten at 57.4%. It sat 3.8% below its high of Sep 3, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, IEFA or XLF?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IEFA returned +12.3% and XLF +7.6%.
Which is cheaper, IEFA or XLF?: IEFA is cheaper, by 0.01 percentage points a year. That is about $1 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do IEFA and XLF overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 0% of IEFA and 100% of XLF by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

IEFA vs KRE IEFA vs XLE IEFA vs VNQ IEFA vs XLB VEA vs XLF VXUS vs XLF SCHF vs XLF VEU vs XLF

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

IEFA filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IEFA prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IEFA ↗

XLF filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

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

Open data →

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