iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF (IEFA)
$96.53−0.09%close of Oct 16, 2026
iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF (IEFA) is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) run by iShares (BlackRock). This fund owns thousands of large, medium and small companies in developed countries outside the US and Canada. It charges 0.07% a year. From October 2012 to October 2026 it returned about 8.3% a year, and its worst drop was −34.8%.
Written by the Tactfolio research team. Fund facts checked October 17, 2026. Prices through October 16, 2026.
- Yearly fee
- 0.07%
- about $7 on $10,000
- 1-year return
- 13.6%
- to Oct 16, 2026
- Return per year
- 8.3%
- since October 2012
- Worst drop
- −34.8%
- since 2012
- Below its high
- −4.8%
- now
- Volatility
- 16.6%
- yearly swings
- Issuer
- iShares (BlackRock)
- Tracks
- MSCI EAFE IMI Index (Net)
- Started trading
- October 18, 2012
- Type
- International stocks, ETF
- Holdings
- 2,626 holdings as of October 15, 2026
- Expense ratio
- 0.07% a year
How has IEFA done since 2012?#
From October 2012 to October 2026, IEFA returned about 8.3% a year. The S&P 500 returned about 14.8% a year over the same dates. Say you put in $10,000 at the start. It would have been worth about $30,322 at the end, with every dividend reinvested.
| Period | IEFA | S&P 500 (SPY) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 month | −1.5% | 1.5% |
| 3 months | −0.2% | 1.9% |
| 6 months | 2.0% | 9.3% |
| Year to date | 9.7% | 12.8% |
| 1 year | 13.6% | 16.8% |
| 3 years per year | 18.4% | 22.0% |
| 5 years per year | 8.4% | 12.8% |
| 10 years per year | 9.3% | 15.4% |
| Since 2012 per year | 8.3% | 14.8% |
Periods longer than a year show the return per year (CAGR). Prices through October 16, 2026. Figures use daily closing prices adjusted for splits, with dividends reinvested. They do not include taxes or the cost of buying and selling. Past results do not tell you what will happen next.
IEFA returns by month and year#
IEFA rose in 106 of its 169 months (63%). Its best month was November 2020, at 13.9%. Its worst was March 2020, at −14.6%.
| Year | Total | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 9.7% | 5.1 | 4.5 | −7.9 | 5.5 | 2.6 | 0.1 | 1.7 | 2.1 | −3.4 | −0.4 | ||
| 2025 | 32.1% | 4.7 | 2.5 | 0.4 | 4.0 | 4.9 | 2.9 | −1.9 | 4.5 | 2.1 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 2.6 |
| 2024 | 3.3% | −0.7 | 2.8 | 3.4 | −3.3 | 5.1 | −2.0 | 3.0 | 3.2 | 1.1 | −5.5 | −0.2 | −3.1 |
| 2023 | 17.9% | 8.8 | −3.0 | 2.8 | 2.9 | −4.0 | 4.2 | 3.0 | −3.8 | −3.8 | −3.1 | 8.3 | 5.6 |
| 2022 | −15.2% | −4.1 | −3.2 | 0.3 | −6.8 | 1.7 | −8.8 | 5.4 | −6.1 | −9.6 | 5.8 | 13.2 | −1.7 |
| 2021 | 11.6% | −0.7 | 2.6 | 2.5 | 3.1 | 3.4 | −1.1 | 0.9 | 1.6 | −3.3 | 3.0 | −4.6 | 4.2 |
| 2020 | 8.2% | −2.7 | −7.9 | −14.6 | 6.3 | 5.7 | 3.3 | 2.1 | 5.3 | −1.9 | −3.5 | 13.9 | 5.3 |
| 2019 | 22.6% | 6.7 | 2.7 | 0.8 | 3.0 | −5.1 | 5.5 | −1.7 | −1.7 | 2.9 | 3.5 | 0.9 | 3.6 |
| 2018 | −14.1% | 5.2 | −4.9 | −0.4 | 1.2 | −1.5 | −1.7 | 2.5 | −1.9 | 0.6 | −8.3 | 0.3 | −5.5 |
| 2017 | 26.6% | 3.4 | 1.3 | 3.2 | 2.7 | 3.5 | 0.4 | 2.8 | 0.1 | 2.4 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 1.5 |
| 2016 | 1.6% | −5.7 | −3.2 | 7.0 | 2.0 | 0.1 | −2.6 | 4.2 | 0.4 | 1.6 | −2.4 | −1.8 | 2.6 |
| 2015 | 0.7% | 0.9 | 6.3 | −1.4 | 3.7 | 0.3 | −2.6 | 1.6 | −6.9 | −4.3 | 6.4 | −0.6 | −1.8 |
| 2014 | −6.3% | −4.9 | 6.1 | −0.4 | 1.2 | 1.6 | 1.0 | −2.6 | 0.2 | −4.1 | −0.3 | 0.0 | −3.8 |
| 2013 | 22.5% | 3.6 | −1.0 | 1.6 | 4.8 | −3.2 | −2.7 | 5.6 | −1.7 | 7.9 | 3.4 | 0.6 | 2.4 |
| 2012 | 7.3% | 0.4 | 2.6 | 4.2 |
Each month runs from the last close of the month before. The first month counts from the first close.
How risky is IEFA compared with the S&P 500?#
Measured from October 2021 to October 2026, on the days both traded.
- Beta 0.77. When the S&P 500 moved 1% in a day, IEFA tended to move about 0.77%.
- Correlation 0.80. IEFA mostly moved with the S&P 500.
- Up and down months. In months the S&P 500 rose, IEFA rose 81% as much on average. In months it fell, IEFA fell 90% as much.
| Measure | IEFA | S&P 500 (SPY) |
|---|---|---|
| Return per year | 8.5% | 12.8% |
| Volatility | 16.6% | 17.1% |
| Worst drop | −30.0% | −24.5% |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.57 | 0.79 |
| Sortino ratio | 0.85 | 1.15 |
| Calmar ratio | 0.28 | 0.52 |
Volatility is how much the price swings in a year. The Sharpe ratio is return per unit of volatility, the Sortino ratio counts only the falls, and the Calmar ratio is the return per year over the worst drop. Higher ratios mean more return for the risk taken.
Is IEFA above its 200-day average?#
IEFA closed 1.4% above its 200-day average on October 16, 2026. A rule that holds IEFA only above that average would hold it today.
- vs 200-day average
- +1.4%
- above it
- 50-day vs 200-day
- +3.9%
- trend rising
- vs 52-week high
- −4.8%
- high of $101.41
A moving average is the average close over the last so many days. Trend rules such as the 10-month moving average strategy hold a fund only while it is above one. You can build that rule for IEFA and backtest it in a minute.
What was IEFA’s worst drop?#
A drawdown is how far a fund falls from its last high point. IEFA’s worst fall was −34.8%, from January 26, 2018 to March 23, 2020. It got back to that high on November 16, 2020. On October 16, 2026 it was 4.8% below its highest close.
| Drop | From the high | To the bottom | Back to the high |
|---|---|---|---|
| −34.8% | Jan 26, 2018 | Mar 23, 20202.2 years | Nov 16, 20208 months |
| −30.4% | Sep 3, 2021 | Sep 27, 202213 months | Mar 1, 202417 months |
| −22.1% | May 15, 2015 | Feb 11, 20169 months | Apr 25, 201714 months |
| −14.4% | Jul 3, 2014 | Jan 6, 20156 months | May 14, 20154 months |
| −13.8% | Mar 19, 2025 | Apr 8, 202520 days | Apr 29, 202521 days |
Big drops are normal for some funds. They matter because selling during a drop locks in the loss.
What does IEFA hold?#
This fund owns thousands of large, medium and small companies in developed countries outside the US and Canada. Japan, the UK and much of Europe are big parts of it. Changes in foreign currency values can also move what it is worth in US dollars.
It tracks the MSCI EAFE IMI Index (Net). It had 2,626 holdings as of October 15, 2026, according to iShares (BlackRock).
What is the IEFA expense ratio?#
IEFA charges 0.07% a year. An expense ratio is the yearly fee a fund takes to run itself. On $10,000, a 0.07% fee comes to about $7 a year. Of the 162 ETFs on Tactfolio, 69% charge more.
You never get a bill for it. The fund takes the fee out of its own value a little each day.
Which Tactfolio strategies hold IEFA?#
No classic strategy holds IEFA yet. You can add it to your own rules in the builder and see how they would have done.
How does IEFA compare with similar ETFs?#
Funds that can stand in for IEFA:
- SCHF: Schwab International Equity ETF, 0.03% a year
- VEA: Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF, 0.03% a year
- EFA: iShares MSCI EAFE ETF, 0.32% a year
- VEU: Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US ETF, 0.04% a year
See all 8 IEFA alternatives, compared on the same dates as IEFA.
Test IEFA in your own rules#
Tactfolio is a platform where you build rules-based investing strategies, backtest them on decades of real prices, share them, and run them automatically in your own Alpaca account. Open the builder, add IEFA, and see how a rule such as “hold it only above its 200-day average” would have done. Strategies run on daily prices and hold US stocks and ETFs only.
The details#
Prices come from Tactfolio’s stored daily prices for IEFA and SPY. Each close is adjusted for splits, and dividends are reinvested on the day the fund pays them out. CAGR is the steady yearly return that turns the starting value into the ending value. Volatility is the yearly standard deviation of daily returns. Beta and correlation compare daily returns with the S&P 500 over the same dates.
Fund facts come from iShares (BlackRock). We checked them on October 17, 2026. Read what a backtest simulates and how to read drawdown and CAGR for more on these measures.
Common questions#
What is the expense ratio of IEFA?#
IEFA charges 0.07% a year, according to iShares (BlackRock) as of October 17, 2026. That is about $7 a year for every $10,000 you hold.
When did IEFA start trading?#
IEFA started trading on October 18, 2012. It is run by iShares (BlackRock).
What does IEFA track?#
IEFA tracks the MSCI EAFE IMI Index (Net). This fund owns thousands of large, medium and small companies in developed countries outside the US and Canada.
How much has IEFA returned per year?#
From October 2012 to October 2026, IEFA returned about 8.3% a year with dividends reinvested. Its worst drop was −34.8%. Past returns do not tell you what it will do next.
Is IEFA above its 200-day moving average?#
On October 16, 2026, IEFA closed 1.4% above its 200-day moving average. This page updates after each US market close.
Which strategies use IEFA?#
None of Tactfolio’s classic strategies hold IEFA yet. You can test it in your own rules in the builder.