PXF vs VEA

PXFCInvesco RAFI Developed Markets ex-U.S. ETF

VEAAVanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF

In short

PXF Most developed-market index funds size a company by its stock price. PXF uses the RAFI method instead, weighting roughly 1,000 non-US names by fundamental measures of the business, which pulls the portfolio toward value.

VEA Everything developed outside the US in one line item: roughly 3,900 stocks across Canada, Europe and the Pacific, small caps included. Vanguard has run it since 2007 at three basis points.

Stated mandate

PXF The Fund seeks to track the investment results of its underlying index before fees and expenses, primarily by investing in securities that make up that index.

VEA Seeks to track the FTSE Developed All Cap ex US Index through an indexing strategy investing substantially all assets in the index’s large-, mid-, and small-cap stocks across Canada, Europe, and the Pacific region.

Why people hold it

• PXF The RAFI screen sizes holdings by fundamental measures of the business rather than share price, so a stock does not get a bigger slot just for going up.invesco.com
• Roughly 1,000 companies across developed markets outside the US, wide enough that no single name carries the fund.
• Live since 2007 and now a multibillion-dollar fund: the long-standing fundamental-weighted option in a category otherwise built on market cap.
• Straight index tracking with no manager discretion, and it has hugged the FTSE RAFI Developed ex US 1000 Index it is built to follow. Pays quarterly.

• VEA Charges 0.03% a year against a 0.18% median for its peer group. Low cost is the whole point of index exposure, and this sits at the cheap end of it.
• The index reaches down to small caps and keeps Canada in, so you own about 3,900 companies across Canada, Europe and the Pacific, not just the mega-cap layer.vanguard.com
• Tracks its FTSE benchmark closely and trades in heavy volume, which keeps the spread to get in or out slim, whether the order is small or institutional.
• Live since 2007 and one of the largest international stock funds on the market. Distributions come quarterly.

Worth knowing

• PXF 0.43% a year against 0.03% at cap-weighted peers like VEA, SPDW and SCHF. The fundamental weighting comes with a real price tag.
• Volume is moderate next to the category giants, so spreads and limit orders matter more on large or hurried trades.
• A value tilt is a deliberate departure from the market, and it can trail cap-weighted developed funds for long stretches when the biggest growth names lead.

• VEA Developed markets only, and no US stocks. Emerging markets and the home market sit outside the mandate entirely.vanguard.com
• The 0.03% fee is matched, not owned: SPDW and SCHF price the same and IDEV is a hair above. The separator here is index construction, not cost.
• Plain index exposure, no buffer or downside protection. Foreign markets and the small-cap sleeve can swing hard, and the fund holds the full ride.

Full PXF profile⁠

Full VEA profile⁠