ETF comparison

DFAI vs IEFA

Both International Developed.

Dimensional International Core Equity Market ETF · iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF

Holdings overlap

Weighted by ISIN/CUSIP
75.0 %

2,082 positions appear in both funds. Buying equal dollars of DFAI and IEFA would leave roughly 75.0% of each dollar exposed to the same underlying securities.

DFAI only 18.4% Shared 75.0% IEFA only 24.0%
In DFAI only
1,648 positions
Shared
2,082 positions
In IEFA only
539 positions

Side by side

DFAI

Dimensional International Core Equity Market ETF

Dimensional · International Developed

88 composite / 100
Expense ratio
0.18%
Net assets
$16.83B
TTM yield
2.32%
Top-10 conc.
9.8%
IEFA

iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF

iShares · International Developed

92 composite / 100
Expense ratio
0.070%
Net assets
$186.54B
TTM yield
3.37%
Top-10 conc.
11.4%

Sub-score comparison

82
Cost
93
78
Tax efficiency
76
100
Liquidity
100
100
Concentration
98
Tracking quality
DFAI sub-score IEFA

Tracking quality isn't part of the composite — see what we don't score for why.

Cost difference

IEFA is 11 bps cheaper than DFAI. On a $100,000 position that's about $110/yr more in fees for DFAI.

Fee figure is the annual expense charged on $100,000. To see how the gap compounds over a multi-decade holding period, open the cost calculator pre-filled with DFAI vs IEFA.

Top shared holdings

2,082 shared in total
# Holding In DFAI In IEFA Overlap
1 HSBC HOLDINGS PLC 1.04% 1.24% 1.04%
2 SHELL PLC 1.05% 1.02% 1.02%
3 Roche Holding AG 0.97% 1.13% 0.97%
4 ASTRAZENECA PLC 0.95% 1.16% 0.95%
5 Nestle S.A. 0.90% 1.03% 0.90%
6 Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. 0.66% 0.80% 0.66%
7 TOTALENERGIES SE 0.65% 0.73% 0.65%
8 TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION 0.64% 0.71% 0.64%
9 BHP GROUP LIMITED 0.56% 0.79% 0.56%
10 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft 0.55% 0.89% 0.55%
11 COMMONWEALTH BANK OF AUSTRALIA 0.54% 0.83% 0.54%
12 ADVANTEST CORPORATION 0.49% 0.56% 0.49%

Only in DFAI

1,648 total
  • DIMENSIONAL FUND ADVISORS LP 1.51%
  • ASML Holding N.V. 1.42%
  • Novartis AG 0.64%
  • ROYAL BANK OF CANADA 0.27%
  • Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A. 0.27%
  • NATIONAL BANK OF CANADA 0.21%
  • BHP GROUP LIMITED 0.20%
  • UBS Group AG 0.20%
  • Intact Financial Corporation 0.18%
  • FAIRFAX FINANCIAL HOLDINGS LIMITED 0.18%

Only in IEFA

539 total
  • SoftBank Group Corp. 0.50%
  • Investor Aktiebolag 0.29%
  • SPOTIFY TECHNOLOGY S.A. 0.28%
  • Prosus N.V. 0.25%
  • GOODMAN GROUP 0.17%
  • ORIX CORPORATION 0.15%
  • 3I GROUP PLC 0.14%
  • SEA LIMITED 0.13%
  • JAPAN POST BANK Co.,Ltd. 0.12%
  • Nebius Group N.V. 0.12%

Open DFAI or IEFA at a brokerage

Both funds trade commission-free at major US brokerages.

Affiliate links — opening an account through these earns PlainIndex a one-time referral. Scoring is computed before any affiliate consideration; see our methodology and funding disclosure.

Holdings overlap is the sum of min(weight_a, weight_b) over positions matched on ISIN (CUSIP fallback). Methodology: see /methodology/.

Comparing two funds doesn't endorse swapping one for the other. Tax-lot history, account type, and personal goals matter — PlainIndex publishes data and methodology, not investment advice.