# IXUS ETF: fees, returns, drawdowns and holdings

> What IXUS holds, its 0.07% yearly fee, returns by year, its worst drop, and which Tactfolio strategies hold it. Updated daily.

iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF (IXUS) is an exchange-traded fund (ETF) run by iShares (BlackRock). This fund owns thousands of companies outside the US, both big and small. It charges 0.07% a year. From October 2012 to October 2026 it returned about 7.7% a year, and its worst drop was −36.2%.

Written by [the Tactfolio research team](https://tactfolio.com/about/editorial-policy). Fund facts checked October 17, 2026. Prices through October 16, 2026.

## Key points

- Expense ratio: 0.07% a year (about $7 on $10,000).
- Started trading on October 18, 2012.
- Last close: $93.41 on October 16, 2026.
- Return over the last year: 15.4%.
- Worst drop since 2012: −36.2%.
- No Tactfolio classic strategies hold it.

## How has IXUS done since 2012?

From October 2012 to October 2026, IXUS returned about 7.7% 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 $28,142 at the end, with every dividend reinvested.

| Period | IXUS | S&P 500 (SPY) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 month | −2.0% | 1.5% |
| 3 months | −0.5% | 1.9% |
| 6 months | 1.9% | 9.3% |
| Year to date | 11.8% | 12.8% |
| 1 year | 15.4% | 16.8% |
| 3 years, per year | 19.7% | 22.0% |
| 5 years, per year | 8.3% | 12.8% |
| 10 years, per year | 9.3% | 15.4% |
| Since 2012, per year | 7.7% | 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.

## IXUS returns by month and year

IXUS rose in 100 of its 169 months (59%). Its best month was November 2022, at 12.9%. Its worst was March 2020, at −15.7%.

| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Full year |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026 (part) | 5.6% | 5.2% | −7.9% | 7.5% | 3.8% | −0.1% | −0.9% | 3.0% | −2.5% | −1.7% |  |  | 11.8% |
| 2025 | 3.4% | 1.9% | 0.2% | 3.0% | 4.8% | 4.1% | −0.8% | 4.1% | 3.4% | 1.7% | 0.4% | 2.3% | 32.4% |
| 2024 | −1.7% | 3.0% | 3.3% | −2.4% | 4.1% | −0.5% | 2.4% | 2.4% | 2.5% | −4.5% | −0.3% | −2.7% | 5.2% |
| 2023 | 8.8% | −4.3% | 2.8% | 1.9% | −3.6% | 4.5% | 4.0% | −4.5% | −3.5% | −3.5% | 8.4% | 5.2% | 15.8% |
| 2022 | −2.9% | −3.1% | −0.3% | −6.6% | 1.3% | −8.1% | 3.9% | −4.6% | −9.9% | 3.8% | 12.9% | −2.2% | −16.5% |
| 2021 | 0.2% | 2.4% | 2.0% | 2.8% | 3.0% | −0.4% | −1.2% | 1.5% | −3.5% | 2.9% | −4.4% | 3.5% | 8.9% |
| 2020 | −3.2% | −7.0% | −15.7% | 7.1% | 4.9% | 4.3% | 4.2% | 4.5% | −1.7% | −2.1% | 12.4% | 5.8% | 10.8% |
| 2019 | 7.8% | 1.6% | 1.0% | 2.7% | −5.4% | 5.7% | −1.8% | −2.3% | 2.6% | 3.1% | 1.2% | 4.3% | 21.7% |
| 2018 | 5.6% | −5.0% | −0.3% | 0.4% | −1.6% | −2.1% | 2.4% | −2.2% | 0.2% | −8.3% | 1.2% | −4.9% | −14.4% |
| 2017 | 4.1% | 1.5% | 2.7% | 2.4% | 2.8% | 0.8% | 3.6% | 0.7% | 2.0% | 2.0% | 0.6% | 2.1% | 28.1% |
| 2016 | −5.6% | −1.9% | 8.0% | 2.5% | −1.1% | −0.8% | 4.2% | 0.6% | 1.8% | −1.8% | −2.3% | 1.8% | 4.7% |
| 2015 | −0.4% | 5.8% | −1.3% | 4.4% | −0.5% | −2.9% | −0.6% | −7.2% | −3.9% | 6.2% | −1.2% | −2.4% | −4.7% |
| 2014 | −5.0% | 5.1% | 0.4% | 1.4% | 1.9% | 1.6% | −1.7% | 1.3% | −5.2% | −0.6% | −0.2% | −3.5% | −5.0% |
| 2013 | 1.6% | −1.3% | 0.6% | 3.5% | −3.1% | −3.5% | 4.9% | −2.1% | 7.6% | 3.3% | 0.7% | 1.2% | 13.7% |
| 2012 (part) |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 0.1% | 1.9% | 5.5% | 7.6% |

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

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

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

- **Beta 0.78.** When the S&P 500 moved 1% in a day, IXUS tended to move about 0.78%.
- **Correlation 0.81.** IXUS mostly moved with the S&P 500.
- **Up and down months.** In months the S&P 500 rose, IXUS rose 78% as much on average. In months it fell, IXUS fell 86% as much.

| Measure | IXUS | S&P 500 (SPY) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Return per year | 8.4% | 12.8% |
| Volatility | 16.6% | 17.1% |
| Worst drop | −29.4% | −24.5% |
| Sharpe ratio | 0.57 | 0.79 |
| Sortino ratio | 0.83 | 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 IXUS above its 200-day average?

IXUS closed 1.0% above its 200-day average on October 16, 2026. A rule that holds IXUS only above that average would hold it today.

- Its 50-day average is 4.4% above its 200-day average.
- It closed 5.4% 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 IXUS](https://tactfolio.com/builder) and backtest it in a minute.

## What was IXUS's worst drop?

A drawdown is how far a fund falls from its last high point. IXUS's worst fall was −36.2%, from January 26, 2018 to March 23, 2020. It got back to that high on November 16, 2020. On October 16, 2026 it was 5.4% below its highest close.

| Drop | Started | Bottom | Back to the high | Fall took | Recovery took |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| −36.2% | Jan 26, 2018 | Mar 23, 2020 | Nov 16, 2020 | 2.2 years | 8 months |
| −30.0% | Jun 14, 2021 | Oct 12, 2022 | May 15, 2024 | 16 months | 19 months |
| −25.0% | Jul 3, 2014 | Feb 11, 2016 | May 5, 2017 | 19 months | 15 months |
| −13.8% | Mar 19, 2025 | Apr 8, 2025 | May 2, 2025 | 20 days | 24 days |
| −11.4% | Feb 25, 2026 | Mar 30, 2026 | May 6, 2026 | 33 days | 37 days |

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

## What does IXUS hold?

This fund owns thousands of companies outside the US, both big and small. It holds stocks from rich countries and from countries whose economies are still growing. Changes in foreign currency values can also move what the fund is worth in US dollars.

It tracks the MSCI ACWI ex USA IMI Index (Net). It had 4,584 holdings as of October 15, 2026, according to iShares (BlackRock).

| Fact | IXUS |
| --- | --- |
| Full name | iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF |
| Issuer | iShares (BlackRock) |
| Expense ratio | 0.07% a year |
| Started trading | October 18, 2012 |
| Tracks | MSCI ACWI ex USA IMI Index (Net) |
| Type | International stocks, ETF |
| Holdings | 4,584 holdings as of October 15, 2026 |
| Facts checked | October 17, 2026 on the [iShares (BlackRock) fund page](https://www.ishares.com/us/products/244048/ishares-core-msci-total-international-stock-etf) |

## What is the IXUS expense ratio?

IXUS 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 IXUS?

No classic strategy holds IXUS yet. You can add it to your own rules in the [builder](https://tactfolio.com/builder) and see how they would have done.

## How does IXUS compare with similar ETFs?

Funds that can stand in for IXUS:

- [VEU](https://tactfolio.com/etf/VEU.md): Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US ETF, 0.04% a year
- [VXUS](https://tactfolio.com/etf/VXUS.md): Vanguard Total International Stock ETF, 0.05% 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

See [all 8 IXUS alternatives](https://tactfolio.com/alternatives/IXUS.md), compared on the same dates as IXUS.

## Test IXUS 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 IXUS, 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 IXUS 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](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 IXUS?

IXUS 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 IXUS start trading?

IXUS started trading on October 18, 2012. It is run by iShares (BlackRock).

### What does IXUS track?

IXUS tracks the MSCI ACWI ex USA IMI Index (Net). This fund owns thousands of companies outside the US, both big and small.

### How much has IXUS returned per year?

From October 2012 to October 2026, IXUS returned about 7.7% a year with dividends reinvested. Its worst drop was −36.2%. Past returns do not tell you what it will do next.

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

On October 16, 2026, IXUS closed 1.0% above its 200-day moving average. This page updates after each US market close.

### Which strategies use IXUS?

None of Tactfolio's classic strategies hold IXUS yet. You can test it in your own rules in the builder.

## Sources

- [iShares (BlackRock): iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF fund page](https://www.ishares.com/us/products/244048/ishares-core-msci-total-international-stock-etf)

> 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.