IXUS vs QEFA: Differences, Returns & Fees

Over the year to Oct 21, 2026, IXUS and QEFA finished level, +16.3% against +16.1%, and they share 42% of their weight. Net assets on Oct 20, 2026: $57.8bn for iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF and $1.0bn for State Street SPDR MSCI EAFE StrategicFactors ETF.

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Answers cite the figures on this page.

IXUS costs 0.23 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 0.2 points; IXUS is far larger, $57.8bn against $1.0bn.

IXUS vs QEFA: Differences, Returns & Fees
IXUSQEFA
Expense ratio0.07%0.30%
Net assets, as of Oct 20, 2026$57.8bn$1.0bn
Total return, 1 year+16.3%+16.1%
What it tracksMSCI ACWI ex USA IMIMSCI EAFE Factor Mix A-Series Index
Holdings in common42%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund13.3%15.1%
Below its high4.7%, high on Sep 4, 2026

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 20, 2026.

+16.3%
IXUS total return, 1 year
+16.1%
QEFA total return, 1 year
0.07%
IXUS expense ratio
0.30%
QEFA expense ratio

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Client brief · page 1 of 2Report BR-3B36A38249

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

  1. What each follows. IXUS follows MSCI ACWI ex USA IMI and QEFA follows MSCI EAFE Factor Mix A-Series Index.
  2. Holdings in common. 42% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 20, 2026).
  3. Number of holdings. IXUS holds 4,596 positions and QEFA holds 626.

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, IXUS and QEFA hold 42% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 20, 2026.

half

42% in common

Positions both hold, largest shared weight first
Holding IXUS QEFA
ASML HOLDING 1.53% 2.02%
ROCHE PS PAR AG 0.80% 2.01%
SHELL 0.72% 1.40%
HSBC HOLDINGS PLC 0.77% 0.69%
NOVARTIS AG 0.67% 2.00%
NESTLE SA 0.62% 1.60%
ASTRAZENECA PLC 0.61% 1.58%
SAP 0.55% 1.19%
BHP GROUP LTD 0.51% 0.99%
BANCO SANTANDER 0.45% 0.47%
TOYOTA MOTOR 0.45% 0.57%
ALLIANZ 0.44% 1.03%
Only in IXUS
TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING 4.36%
SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS LTD 1.79%
SK HYNIX 1.22%
TENCENT HOLDINGS 0.77%
ROYAL BANK OF CANADA 0.66%
ALIBABA GROUP HOLDING 0.54%
MITSUBISHI UFJ FINANCIAL GROUP 0.54%
SHOPIFY SUBORDINATE VOTING CLASS A 0.51%
Only in QEFA
NOVO NORDISK A/S B 0.78%
MUENCHENER RUECKVER AG REG 0.59%
MITSUBISHI UFJ FINANCIAL GRO 0.46%
SUMITOMO MITSUI FINANCIAL GR 0.33%
HONG KONG EXCHANGES + CLEAR 0.29%
NOMURA RESEARCH INSTITUTE LT 0.22%
MS+AD INSURANCE GROUP HOLDIN 0.22%
VOLKSWAGEN AG PREF 0.21%

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On the same fields

IXUS
iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF
QEFA
State Street SPDR MSCI EAFE StrategicFactors ETF
Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF
What it is Tracks the MSCI Total International Stock Tracks an index
Total return, 1 year +16.3% +16.1%
Its benchmark over the same days +16.4% (ACWX) +16.4% (ACWX)
Gap to its benchmark −0.2 pts vs ACWX −0.3 pts vs ACWX
Expense ratio 0.07% 0.30%
Already in the S&P 500 0.0% 0.0%
Holdings 4596 626
Net assets, as of Oct 20, 2026 $57.8bn $1.0bn

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

About IXUS

IXUS tracks the MSCI Total International Stock. Over the year to Oct 21, 2026 it returned +16.3% with distributions reinvested, against +16.4% 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 20, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 4,596 positions, with the top ten at 13.3%. It sat 4.7% below its high of Sep 4, 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. 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 626 positions, with the top ten at 15.1%.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, IXUS or QEFA?
In the year to Oct 21, 2026, with distributions reinvested, IXUS returned +16.3% and QEFA +16.1%.
Which is cheaper, IXUS or QEFA?
IXUS is cheaper, by 0.23 percentage points a year. That is about $23 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do IXUS and QEFA overlap with the S&P 500?
By their latest filed holdings, 0% of IXUS and 0% of QEFA by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.
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ETFIQ, IXUS against QEFA, data as of Oct 21, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ixus-vs-qefa

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