EFAV vs VEFA

EFAVAiShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF

VEFACVanEck MSCI EAFE Analyst Sentiment 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.

VEFA Most EAFE factor funds sort on volatility, momentum or quality. VEFA uses a different signal: it tracks an MSCI index that picks developed-market stocks outside the US and Canada on analyst sentiment, holding roughly 110 names.

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.

VEFA The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the MSCI EAFE Analyst Sentiment Select Index. That index provides exposure to developed-market companies outside the United States and Canada showing positive analyst-sentiment signals.

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.

• VEFA The screen is the story. Instead of the usual factor menu, the index selects developed ex-US, ex-Canada companies showing positive analyst-sentiment signals, a rules-based read on where the Street is turning.vaneck.com
• 0.30% a year, below the typical fee in its international-factor peer group.
• Roughly 110 stocks, not a thousand. That is a focused expression of the signal rather than a broad EAFE index with a tilt bolted on.

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

• VEFA Launched in 2026, so there is no long record of how closely it hugs its index or how the sentiment screen behaves across a full cycle.
• A small, lightly traded newcomer next to entrenched EAFE factor names like EFAV and IDMO, which can mean wider bid-ask spreads.
• Cheaper shelf-mates exist in the cohort: QLVD at 0.15% and EFAV at 0.20% undercut it, though neither uses an analyst-sentiment screen.

Full EFAV profile⁠

Full VEFA profile⁠