EFV vs ISVL

EFVAiShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF

ISVLBiShares International Developed Small Cap Value Factor ETF

In short

EFV Running since 2005, EFV is the big, heavily traded way to own the value half of developed markets outside North America: roughly 400 stocks tracking the MSCI EAFE Value Index for 0.31% a year.

ISVL Small-cap value, index-fund plain and index-fund cheap. ISVL screens roughly 500 beaten-down small companies across developed markets outside the US (Korea excluded), the corner most international value funds skip on their way to the blue chips.

Stated mandate

EFV The fund seeks to track an index of developed-market equities outside the United States and Canada that exhibit value characteristics.

ISVL The Fund tracks an index of international developed-market small-cap stocks outside the U.S. and Korea that exhibit prominent value characteristics.

Why people hold it

• EFV 0.31% a year, below the typical fee among international-value funds, for a mandate that has been running since 2005.
• Tracks the MSCI EAFE Value Index closely and trades actively as a multi-billion-dollar fund, which keeps the cost of getting in and out low.
• About 400 developed-market value stocks in one ticker, picked by index rule rather than a manager's judgment.
• Sits among the strongest implementations in its international-value peer group, next to Dimensional's DFIV.

• ISVL Costs 0.31% a year, under the typical fee in its international value peer group. Low overhead in a specialized niche is not the norm.
• Literal about its job: it follows the FTSE Developed ex US ex Korea Small Cap Focused Value Index, and tracking has been tight. One of the stronger implementations in its group.
• Roughly 500 holdings, so no single small-cap name steers the fund. Broad by design rather than a concentrated stock picker's list.
• Fills a gap its own cohort mostly ignores: names like DFIV and EFV work the large-cap end of international value. This one goes down the size ladder.ishares.com

Worth knowing

• EFV By design it holds only the cheap side of the EAFE universe, so its sector mix and results can look very different from a broad international index.
• Developed markets only: no US, no Canada, no emerging markets. It's a slice of international, not the whole thing.
• Not the cheapest seat in the room: FIVA runs 0.18% for its own version of international value.

• ISVL Thinly traded for its size, so bid-ask spreads can widen, especially around the open and close.
• Korea sits outside the index, so this is not a full developed-markets ex-US sweep.
• Small caps plus a value screen means a bumpier ride than large-cap international, and cash comes back once or twice a year, not quarterly.

Full EFV profile⁠

Full ISVL profile⁠