ETF comparison
EFA vs EWS
Both International Developed.
Holdings overlap
16 positions appear in both funds. Buying equal dollars of EFA and EWS would leave roughly 1.8% of each dollar exposed to the same underlying securities.
Unmatched is the part of a fund's weight the other fund doesn't match: names only it holds, plus any extra weight it puts in names both funds hold.
Side by side
Sub-score comparison
Tracking quality isn't part of the composite — see what we don't score for why.
Cost difference
EFA is 18 bps cheaper than EWS. On a $100,000 position that's about $180/yr more in fees for EWS.
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 EFA vs EWS.
Top shared holdings
16 shared in total| # | Holding | In EFA | In EWS | Overlap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | DBS GROUP HOLDINGS LTD | 0.54% | 24.02% | 0.54% |
| 2 | OVERSEA-CHINESE BANKING CORPORATION LIMITED | 0.34% | 20.37% | 0.34% |
| 3 | UNITED OVERSEAS BANK LIMITED | 0.19% | 4.26% | 0.19% |
| 4 | SEA LIMITED | 0.18% | 3.66% | 0.18% |
| 5 | SINGAPORE TELECOMMUNICATIONS LIMITED | 0.12% | 3.90% | 0.12% |
| 6 | KEPPEL LTD. | 0.06% | 3.64% | 0.06% |
| 7 | SINGAPORE TECHNOLOGIES ENGINEERING LTD | 0.05% | 4.92% | 0.05% |
| 8 | CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust | 0.05% | 2.77% | 0.05% |
| 9 | SINGAPORE AIRLINES LIMITED | 0.04% | 4.21% | 0.04% |
| 10 | GRAB HOLDINGS LIMITED | 0.04% | 3.63% | 0.04% |
| 11 | CapitaLand Ascendas REIT | 0.04% | 4.21% | 0.04% |
| 12 | YANGZIJIANG SHIPBUILDING (HOLDINGS) LTD. | 0.03% | 4.56% | 0.03% |
Only in EFA
658 total- ASML Holding N.V. 2.90%
- HSBC HOLDINGS PLC 1.66%
- Roche Holding AG 1.39%
- Novartis AG 1.30%
- Nestle S.A. 1.17%
- SHELL PLC 1.17%
- ASTRAZENECA PLC 1.17%
- Siemens Aktiengesellschaft 1.10%
- Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. 1.08%
- BHP GROUP LIMITED 0.97%
Only in EWS
1 total- SINGAPORE EXCHANGE LIMITED 5.25%
Related comparisons
More comparisons with EFA
- EFA vs DISV · Dimensional International Small Cap Value ETF 1.4%
- EFA vs AVDV · Avantis International Small Cap Value ETF 0.3%
- EFA vs VWO · Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets Index Fund ETF Shares 0.0%
- EFA vs DLS · WisdomTree International SmallCap Dividend Fund 0.0%
- EFA vs EWC · iShares MSCI Canada ETF 0.0%
- EFA vs HEFA · iShares Currency Hedged MSCI EAFE ETF 0.0%
More comparisons with EWS
- EWS vs IEFA · iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF 1.6%
- EWS vs EFG · iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF 1.6%
- EWS vs AVIV · Avantis International Large Cap Value ETF 1.5%
- EWS vs DBEF · Xtrackers MSCI EAFE Hedged Equity ETF 1.5%
- EWS vs BBIN · JPMorgan BetaBuilders International Equity ETF 1.5%
- EWS vs JIRE · JPMorgan International Research Enhanced Equity ETF 1.5%
Percentages are holdings overlap with the named fund.
Open EFA or EWS 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.