IQLT vs QEFA: Differences, Returns & Fees

Over the year to Oct 21, 2026, IQLT and QEFA finished level, +16.0% against +16.1%, and they share 50% of their weight. Net assets on Oct 20, 2026: $13.8bn for iShares MSCI Intl Quality Factor ETF and $1.0bn for State Street SPDR MSCI EAFE StrategicFactors ETF.

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Answers cite the figures on this page.

Both cost 0.30% a year; their one-year returns differ by 0.1 points; IQLT is 13.2 times larger.

Points (pts) are percentage points.

IQLT vs QEFA: Differences, Returns & Fees
IQLTQEFA
Expense ratio0.30%0.30%
Net assets, as of Oct 20, 2026$13.8bn$1.0bn
Total return, 1 year+16.0%+16.1%
What it tracksMSCI World ex USA Sector Neutral Quality IndexMSCI EAFE Factor Mix A-Series Index
Holdings in common50%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund23.3%15.1%
Below its high3.4%, high on Aug 25, 2026

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 20, 2026.

+16.0%
IQLT total return, 1 year
+16.1%
QEFA total return, 1 year
0.30%
IQLT expense ratio
0.30%
QEFA expense ratio

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Client brief · page 1 of 2Report BR-7D5DFC9259

IQLT and QEFA are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?

  1. What each follows. IQLT follows MSCI World ex USA Sector Neutral Quality Index and QEFA follows MSCI EAFE Factor Mix A-Series Index.
  2. Holdings in common. 50% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 20, 2026).
  3. Size. IQLT has $13.8bn in net assets and QEFA $1.0bn (net assets, as of Oct 20, 2026); IQLT is 13.8 times larger.

Data as of Oct 21, 2026. The differences are picked by a fixed rule, in a fixed order; the PDF prints it. Page 2 has the returns, overlap, risks and sources.

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What they hold in common

By the books each fund has filed, IQLT and QEFA hold 50% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 20, 2026.

half

50% in common

Positions both hold, largest shared weight first
Holding IQLT QEFA
ASML HOLDING 5.43% 2.02%
ROCHE PS PAR AG 2.40% 2.01%
NOVARTIS AG 1.76% 2.00%
NESTLE SA 1.84% 1.60%
ASTRAZENECA PLC 1.68% 1.58%
SHELL 1.90% 1.40%
UNILEVER PLC 1.39% 1.23%
ALLIANZ 2.64% 1.03%
ZURICH INSURANCE GROUP AG 1.82% 1.02%
BHP GROUP LTD 1.49% 0.99%
TOTALENERGIES 1.36% 0.89%
RECRUIT HOLDINGS LTD 1.95% 0.83%
Only in IQLT
MUENCHENER RUECKVERSICHERUNGS-GESE 1.13%
CANADIAN NATURAL RESOURCES LTD 1.10%
HONG KONG EXCHANGES AND CLEARING 1.04%
NOVO NORDISK CLASS B 0.94%
MANULIFE FINANCIAL 0.86%
SUNCOR ENERGY INC 0.71%
MS&AD INSURANCE GROUP HOLDINGS 0.60%
AGNICO EAGLE MINES 0.56%
Only in QEFA
SAP SE 1.19%
NOVO NORDISK A/S B 0.78%
TAKEDA PHARMACEUTICAL CO LTD 0.69%
HSBC HOLDINGS PLC 0.69%
ENI SPA 0.66%
EQUINOR ASA 0.65%
SONY GROUP CORP 0.64%
BP PLC 0.61%

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On the same fields

IQLT
iShares MSCI Intl Quality Factor ETF
QEFA
State Street SPDR MSCI EAFE StrategicFactors ETF
Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF
What it is Tracks an index Tracks an index
Total return, 1 year +16.0% +16.1%
Its benchmark over the same days +16.4% (ACWX) +16.4% (ACWX)
Gap to its benchmark −0.4 pts vs ACWX −0.3 pts vs ACWX
Expense ratio 0.30% 0.30%
Already in the S&P 500 0.0% 0.0%
Holdings 302 626
Net assets, as of Oct 20, 2026 $13.8bn $1.0bn

IQLT and QEFA on the fields both publish, as of Oct 21, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

About IQLT

IQLT tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 21, 2026 it returned +16.0% with distributions reinvested, against +16.4% for its benchmark, the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.30% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 20, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 302 positions, with the top ten at 23.3%. It sat 3.4% below its high of Aug 25, 2026 on Oct 21, 2026.

About QEFA

QEFA tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 21, 2026 it returned +16.1% with distributions reinvested, against +16.4% for its benchmark, the MSCI All Country World ex USA Index. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 20, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 626 positions, with the top ten at 15.1%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, IQLT or QEFA?
In the year to Oct 21, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IQLT returned +16.0% and QEFA +16.1%.
Which is cheaper, IQLT or QEFA?
Neither: IQLT and QEFA both charge 0.30% a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do IQLT and QEFA overlap with the S&P 500?
By their latest filed holdings, 0% of IQLT and 0% of QEFA by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown

ETFIQ, IQLT against QEFA, data as of Oct 21, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/iqlt-vs-qefa

Open data

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