# IVAL ETF: fees, returns, drawdowns and holdings

> What IVAL holds, its 0.38% yearly fee, returns by year, its worst drop, and which Tactfolio strategies hold it. Updated daily.

Alpha Architect International Quantitative Value ETF (IVAL) is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) run by Alpha Architect. This fund owns about 50 stocks from developed countries outside the US and Canada, such as Japan and countries in Europe. It charges 0.38% a year. From December 2014 to October 2026 it returned about 6.7% a year, and its worst drop was −46.1%.

Written by [the Tactfolio research team](https://tactfolio.com/about/editorial-policy). Fund facts checked October 16, 2026. Prices through October 16, 2026.

## Key points

- Expense ratio: 0.38% a year (about $38 on $10,000).
- Started trading on December 16, 2014.
- Last close: $36.83 on October 16, 2026.
- Return over the last year: 24.9%.
- Worst drop since 2014: −46.1%.
- 2 Tactfolio classic strategies hold it.

## How has IVAL done since 2014?

From December 2014 to October 2026, IVAL returned about 6.7% a year. The S&P 500 returned about 13.8% a year over the same dates. Say you put in $10,000 at the start. It would have been worth about $21,509 at the end, with every dividend reinvested.

| Period | IVAL | S&P 500 (SPY) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 month | 0.1% | 1.5% |
| 3 months | 6.0% | 1.9% |
| 6 months | 6.2% | 9.3% |
| Year to date | 19.6% | 12.8% |
| 1 year | 24.9% | 16.8% |
| 3 years, per year | 20.5% | 22.0% |
| 5 years, per year | 11.1% | 12.8% |
| 10 years, per year | 8.0% | 15.4% |
| Since 2014, per year | 6.7% | 13.8% |

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.

## IVAL returns by month and year

IVAL rose in 85 of its 143 months (59%). Its best month was January 2019, at 11.9%. Its worst was March 2020, at −17.1%.

| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Full year |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026 (part) | 6.8% | 9.3% | −7.1% | 2.9% | 2.4% | −3.7% | 6.2% | 2.7% | −2.4% | 2.1% |  |  | 19.6% |
| 2025 | 1.6% | 1.9% | 2.9% | 3.3% | 5.1% | 2.1% | −1.2% | 8.0% | 1.7% | 0.2% | 2.2% | 2.9% | 34.9% |
| 2024 | 2.0% | 1.5% | 4.6% | −4.7% | 3.7% | −4.8% | 0.6% | 2.1% | 0.9% | −4.2% | −0.2% | −1.5% | −0.7% |
| 2023 | 8.7% | −2.2% | 1.6% | −0.8% | −4.3% | 7.5% | 5.0% | −2.3% | −0.7% | −5.1% | 7.8% | 5.2% | 20.6% |
| 2022 | −0.8% | 0.0% | 1.6% | −6.4% | 5.3% | −14.0% | 4.7% | −3.5% | −10.8% | 8.0% | 11.6% | −3.2% | −10.1% |
| 2021 | −0.1% | 0.5% | 4.9% | 0.7% | 3.0% | −2.6% | −0.8% | −2.1% | −3.3% | 1.1% | −7.0% | 6.2% | −0.2% |
| 2020 | −5.1% | −9.8% | −17.1% | 9.1% | 6.3% | 0.9% | −1.8% | 8.2% | −2.9% | −4.3% | 10.1% | 5.2% | −4.9% |
| 2019 | 11.9% | 2.0% | −1.4% | 3.9% | −12.0% | 6.5% | −2.9% | −3.1% | 6.7% | 5.3% | 1.3% | 3.4% | 21.3% |
| 2018 | 3.2% | −2.6% | −1.6% | 0.3% | −2.9% | −2.0% | 2.2% | −2.9% | 0.9% | −10.3% | −2.6% | −6.2% | −22.5% |
| 2017 | 3.3% | 4.1% | 2.3% | 3.7% | 2.7% | 0.5% | 3.7% | 1.4% | 1.7% | 2.3% | −0.6% | 2.4% | 31.0% |
| 2016 | −6.1% | −2.6% | 6.5% | 0.4% | 0.1% | −5.7% | 8.7% | 3.3% | 0.9% | 4.0% | −1.9% | 2.6% | 9.4% |
| 2015 | 0.2% | 5.5% | −0.6% | 4.5% | 0.1% | −3.2% | −2.1% | −6.5% | −5.1% | 8.3% | −1.5% | −2.3% | −3.6% |
| 2014 (part) |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 0.4% | 0.4% |

Each month runs from the last close of the month before. The first month counts from the first close.

## How risky is IVAL compared with the S&P 500?

Measured from October 2021 to October 2026, on the days both traded.

- **Beta 0.69.** When the S&P 500 moved 1% in a day, IVAL tended to move about 0.69%.
- **Correlation 0.67.** IVAL moved with the S&P 500 some of the time.
- **Up and down months.** In months the S&P 500 rose, IVAL rose 85% as much on average. In months it fell, IVAL fell 80% as much.

| Measure | IVAL | S&P 500 (SPY) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Return per year | 11.3% | 12.8% |
| Volatility | 17.6% | 17.1% |
| Worst drop | −27.2% | −24.5% |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.70 | 0.79 |
| Sortino ratio | 1.00 | 1.15 |
| Calmar ratio | 0.42 | 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 IVAL above its 200-day average?

IVAL closed 6.1% above its 200-day average on October 16, 2026. A rule that holds IVAL only above that average would hold it today.

- Its 50-day average is 5.3% above its 200-day average.
- It closed 1.0% below its highest close of the last 52 weeks.

A moving average is the average close over the last so many days. Trend rules such as [the 10-month moving average strategy](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/faber-10-month-moving-average.md) hold a fund only while it is above one. You can [build that rule for IVAL](https://tactfolio.com/builder) and backtest it in a minute.

## What was IVAL's worst drop?

A drawdown is how far a fund falls from its last high point. IVAL's worst fall was −46.1%, from January 24, 2018 to March 23, 2020. It got back to that high on March 19, 2025. On October 16, 2026 it was 1.0% below its highest close.

| Drop | Started | Bottom | Back to the high | Fall took | Recovery took |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −46.1% | Jan 24, 2018 | Mar 23, 2020 | Mar 19, 2025 | 2.2 years | 5.0 years |
| −25.8% | May 18, 2015 | Feb 11, 2016 | Feb 21, 2017 | 9 months | 12 months |
| −13.1% | Mar 19, 2025 | Apr 8, 2025 | Apr 28, 2025 | 20 days | 20 days |
| −11.2% | Feb 27, 2026 | Mar 20, 2026 | Jul 29, 2026 | 21 days | 4 months |
| −5.2% | Oct 27, 2025 | Nov 20, 2025 | Dec 4, 2025 | 24 days | 14 days |

Big drops are normal for some funds. They matter because selling during a drop locks in the loss.

## What does IVAL hold?

This fund owns about 50 stocks from developed countries outside the US and Canada, such as Japan and countries in Europe. A set of rules picks the ones that look cheap compared with their business profits. Its results can differ a lot from the overall international market.

It does not track an index. Its managers choose what it holds. It had 50 holdings as of October 16, 2026, according to Alpha Architect.

| Fact | IVAL |
| --- | --- |
| Full name | Alpha Architect International Quantitative Value ETF |
| Issuer | Alpha Architect |
| Expense ratio | 0.38% a year |
| Started trading | December 16, 2014 |
| Tracks | No index (actively managed) |
| Type | International stocks, ETF |
| Holdings | 50 holdings as of October 16, 2026 |
| Facts checked | October 16, 2026 on the [Alpha Architect fund page](https://funds.alphaarchitect.com/ival/) |

## What is the IVAL expense ratio?

IVAL charges 0.38% a year. An expense ratio is the yearly fee a fund takes to run itself. On $10,000, a 0.38% fee comes to about $38 a year. Of the 162 ETFs on Tactfolio, 15% 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 IVAL?

2 classic strategies hold IVAL at least some of the time. Each is a set of written rules you can open, test and copy.

- [Robust Asset Allocation Balanced (Alpha Architect RAA)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/robust-asset-allocation-balanced.md), by Wesley Gray (Alpha Architect), 2014
- [Robust Asset Allocation Aggressive (Alpha Architect RAA)](https://tactfolio.com/strategies/robust-asset-allocation-aggressive.md), by Wesley Gray (Alpha Architect), 2014

## How does IVAL compare with similar ETFs?

Funds that can stand in for IVAL:

- [EFV](https://tactfolio.com/etf/EFV.md): iShares MSCI EAFE Value ETF, 0.31% a year
- [SCHF](https://tactfolio.com/etf/SCHF.md): Schwab International Equity ETF, 0.03% a year
- [VEA](https://tactfolio.com/etf/VEA.md): Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF, 0.03% a year
- [IEFA](https://tactfolio.com/etf/IEFA.md): iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF, 0.07% a year

See [all 5 IVAL alternatives](https://tactfolio.com/alternatives/IVAL.md), compared on the same dates as IVAL.

## Test IVAL 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](https://tactfolio.com/builder), add IVAL, 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 IVAL 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 Alpha Architect. We checked them on October 16, 2026. Read [what a backtest simulates](https://tactfolio.com/docs/backtests.md) and [how to read drawdown and CAGR](https://tactfolio.com/docs/concepts/reading-a-backtest.md) for more on these measures.

## Research and test it

- [What is an ETF](https://tactfolio.com/learn/what-is-an-etf): An ETF is a fund that trades like a stock. Learn how ETFs work, what they cost, the main types, and the risks, with SEC sources.
- [Momentum strategy](https://tactfolio.com/learn/momentum-strategy): A momentum strategy buys recent winners by a written rule.
- [ETF screener](https://tactfolio.com/screener.md): A free ETF screener for 162 US-listed funds. Filter by type, issuer and fee, sort by returns or worst drop, and compare funds side by side.
- [ETF expense ratio](https://tactfolio.com/learn/etf-expense-ratio): What an ETF expense ratio is, how the fund charges it, and how 0.03% vs 1% adds up over 10 and 30 years, with real fund examples.
- [Backtest a portfolio](https://tactfolio.com/trading-tools/backtest-portfolio): Backtest a portfolio of US stocks and ETFs. Enter tickers and shares, pick when to rebalance, and get the results with a link to share.
- [Backtesting](https://tactfolio.com/backtesting): Free backtesting software for stocks, ETFs, and crypto perps.

## Common questions

### What is the expense ratio of IVAL?

IVAL charges 0.38% a year, according to Alpha Architect as of October 16, 2026. That is about $38 a year for every $10,000 you hold.

### When did IVAL start trading?

IVAL started trading on December 16, 2014. It is run by Alpha Architect.

### What does IVAL track?

IVAL does not track an index. Its managers choose what it holds.

### How much has IVAL returned per year?

From December 2014 to October 2026, IVAL returned about 6.7% a year with dividends reinvested. Its worst drop was −46.1%. Past returns do not tell you what it will do next.

### Is IVAL above its 200-day moving average?

On October 16, 2026, IVAL closed 6.1% above its 200-day moving average. This page updates after each US market close.

### Which strategies use IVAL?

2 of Tactfolio's classic strategies hold IVAL, including Robust Asset Allocation Balanced (Alpha Architect RAA), Robust Asset Allocation Aggressive (Alpha Architect RAA).

## Sources

- [Alpha Architect: Alpha Architect International Quantitative Value ETF fund page](https://funds.alphaarchitect.com/ival/)

> Not financial advice. Tactfolio is a research and automation tool. It is not a broker or a financial adviser. This page is for education only. Backtests are hypothetical. They show how rules would have done on past prices, not how they will do. All investing involves risk, including losing the money you put in.