EFAV vs IPKW

EFAVAiShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF

IPKWCInvesco International BuyBack Achievers 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.

IPKW Buybacks are an American obsession. IPKW exports the screen: non-US companies that actually shrank their share count by 5% or more in their latest fiscal year, roughly 160 of them, in one ticker.

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.

IPKW The fund tracks an index of common stocks of foreign companies that satisfy the requirements for classification as BuyBack AchieversTM.

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.

• IPKW The overseas counterpart to Invesco's US buyback fund: same core test, non-US companies. A niche corner of the ETF shelf that few issuers bother to fill.invesco.com
• The rule is checkable, not a black box: a net 5% cut in shares outstanding in the latest fiscal year, plus $250M minimum market cap and $1M average daily dollar volume.sec.govnasdaq.com
• Spread across roughly 160 names instead of a handful of big repurchasers, with distributions paid quarterly.
• Running since 2014, so the strategy has a decade-plus of live track record behind it rather than a backtest.

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

• IPKW 0.55% a year is a premium price in factor land, where broad peers like MGV (0.05%) and SIZE (0.15%) charge a sliver of that.
• The screen looks backward. It rewards repurchases already booked in the last fiscal year, and the roster only changes on the index's scheduled rebalance dates.sec.govnasdaq.com
• It trades lightly next to mainstream international funds, so spreads and order type carry more weight at the point of trade.

Full EFAV profile⁠

Full IPKW profile⁠