EFAV vs FYLD

EFAVAiShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF

FYLDCCambria Foreign Shareholder Yield ETF

In short

EFAV The 2011 original for overseas min vol: roughly 300 developed-market stocks outside the US and Canada, picked for lower-volatility traits, at 0.20% a year. One of the strongest builds in its international factor group.

FYLD Most international income funds stop at dividends. FYLD screens developed-market companies returning cash three ways: dividends, share buybacks and debt paydown, then leans toward the cheap ones.

Stated mandate

EFAV The fund seeks to track an index of developed-market equities outside the United States and Canada that have lower-volatility characteristics.

FYLD The fund targets international companies that return cash to investors through dividends, share buybacks, and debt reduction, collectively described as shareholder yield.

Why people hold it

• EFAV Charges 0.20% a year, less than half the typical fee among international factor funds.
• Running since 2011 and now a multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively, one of the longer records in the international factor aisle.
• Spreads across about 300 names and follows the MSCI EAFE Minimum Volatility Index, so the low-vol call is rules-based rather than a manager's hand-picked list.ishares.com
• Stands among the strongest implementations in its 18-fund international factor peer group.

• FYLD Shareholder yield counts dividends, buybacks and debt paydown, so a company quietly retiring stock or borrowings can qualify without a headline dividend.sec.gov
• Actively managed rather than index-tracking, pairing the yield ranking with value and quality screens instead of a fixed rulebook.sec.gov
• Running since 2013, the developed-markets sibling of Cambria's original shareholder-yield ETF: roughly 100 names, several hundred million in assets, quarterly payouts.cambriafunds.com

Worth knowing

• EFAV The min-vol screen reshapes the lineup, so sector and country weights can sit well away from a plain EAFE index fund and results diverge from it.
• QLVD runs a developed ex-US low-volatility mandate for 0.15%, so cheaper shelf-mates exist in the same aisle.
• Coverage stops at developed markets outside the US and Canada, leaving emerging markets and Canadian stocks to other holdings.ishares.com

• FYLD At 0.59% a year it costs more than the typical international factor fund; index-built peers like QLVD (0.15%) and EFAV (0.20%) charge far less.
• The value-and-yield screen builds a portfolio that can look nothing like a standard developed-markets index in sector, size and country mix.cambriafunds.com
• Volume is moderate rather than mega-fund heavy, so spreads can widen at the edges of the trading day.

Full EFAV profile⁠

Full FYLD profile⁠