

iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF
$96.64+0.46 (+0.48%)
- 0.07%
- $189.5B
- +15.7%
- 3.42%
- 9.3M sh
- $96.23
- low $85.03high $101.44
The ETF.net IEFA Grade
Score 76 out of 100
- 4 of 21
Score 76 of 100 falls in the A band. A is 70 or higher, B 55 to under 70, C 40 to under 55, D 25 to under 40, F under 25.
Cost
The fund’s net expense ratio, ranked against its category.B68 out of 100Rank 7 of 21Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.A100 out of 100Rank 1 of 18Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.C42 out of 100Rank 13 of 21Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.A78 out of 100Rank 2 of 21Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.A87 out of 100Rank 2 of 20Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.A85 out of 100Rank 2 of 21
Our read on IEFA
ADeveloped markets outside the US and Canada, right down to the small caps: roughly 2,600 stocks for 0.07% a year. The category's workhorse, and one of the biggest, most heavily traded funds on the shelf.
The fund seeks to track an index of large-, mid- and small-capitalization developed-market equities outside the United States and Canada.
Why people hold it
- Charges 0.07% a year, against a 0.18% median for its developed-markets index peers.
- The index reaches past large and mid caps into small caps, so you hold roughly 2,600 names across Europe, Japan and Australasia, not just the blue-chip layer.ishares.com
- Trading since 2012 and now one of the largest and most actively traded funds in its group, which usually means a deep pool of buyers and sellers.
- Sticks tightly to its stated mandate: a plain index wrapper on MSCI EAFE IMI, no active tilts hiding under the hood. Among the stronger builds in its peer group.
Worth knowing
- Not the cheapest option: VEA, SPDW and SCHF each run 0.03%. The few extra basis points buy the EAFE index and its small-cap reach.
- EAFE stops at developed markets and leaves out Canada, so a full international sleeve needs emerging markets (and Canada) from somewhere else.
- Distributions arrive once or twice a year rather than monthly or quarterly.
IEFA Holdings
- Stocks
- 2,636
- 12%
- ASML.AS
Geography
- Japan27.10%
- United Kingdom13.39%
- Switzerland8.99%
- Germany7.93%
- France7.55%
- Australia7.02%
- Netherlands6.08%
- Sweden3.57%
- 18.37%
Developed 98% · Emerging 2%
IEFA Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
Returns run to the Oct 12, 2026 close, with cash distributions reinvested. Each period starts on the same date that many months or years earlier. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
| Period | IEFA |
|---|---|
| Year to date | +9.3% |
| 1 month | −3.3% |
| 3 months | −1.1% |
| 1 year | +15.7% |
| 3 years | +18.2% |
| 5 years | +9.0% |
| 10 years | +9.2% |
Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.
| Year | Return bar | IEFA |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | +9.3% | |
| 2025 | +32.1% | |
| 2024 | +3.3% | |
| 2023 | +18.0% | |
| 2022 | −15.2% | |
| 2021 | +11.7% | |
| 2020 | +8.2% |
IEFA in the news
IEFA Dividends
- 3.42%
- $3.29
- $1.58 per share
- Twice a year
Distribution history
IEFA Risk
- 12.1%
How it’s calculated: standard deviation
The sample standard deviation of monthly total returns, multiplied by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Total returns include reinvested distributions.
- 1.10
How it’s calculated: Sharpe ratio
Subtract each month’s Treasury-bill return from the fund’s monthly total return.
Divide the average of those excess returns by their sample standard deviation, then multiply by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Each month uses the Treasury yield quoted at the end of the previous month.
- −30.0%
How it’s calculated: maximum drawdown
The largest percentage decline from an earlier peak, using total returns with reinvested distributions.
Uses up to five years through the last close, with at least 12 months required.
- 0.89
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
IEFA Cost
- The middle half of Developed International Core funds
- Median 0.09%
6 of the 21 Developed International Core funds charge less.
Other funds in Developed International Core
- AVEAVanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETFExpense ratio 0.03%1 year return +21.3%
- ASPDWState Street SPDR Portfolio Developed World ex-US ETFExpense ratio 0.03%1 year return +21.4%
- ASCHFSchwab International Equity ETFExpense ratio 0.03%1 year return +21.9%
- AVGKVanguard FTSE Europe ETFExpense ratio 0.06%1 year return +11.7%
- ABKIEBNY Mellon International Equity ETFExpense ratio 0.04%1 year return +15.8%
