EFAV
iShares MSCI EAFE Min Vol Factor ETF · iShares
Intl & Global
1Y Return
+12.2%
Expense Ratio
0.20%
AUM
$5.4B
Dividend Yield
3.07%
Avg Annual Growth (10Y)
+6.3%
Issuer
BlackRock iShares

Overview

Developed international stocks engineered for minimum volatility — the EAFE market's calmest portfolio, rebuilt from correlations rather than yield.

Top Holdings

TickerHoldingWeight
NESNNestlé SA1.8%
ROGRoche Holding1.6%
NOVNNovartis AG1.5%
9432NTT Corp.1.4%
SNYSanofi1.3%
DTEDeutsche Telekom1.3%
4502Takeda Pharmaceutical1.2%
ZURNZurich Insurance1.2%
SGSNSGS SA1.1%
6178Japan Post Holdings1.0%

Fund Details

Index
MSCI EAFE Minimum Volatility
# Holdings
~293
Inception
Oct 2011
Exchange
Cboe BZX
Structure
Open-End Fund
Distribution
Semi-Annual
Avg Annual Growth (10Y)
+6.3%
Avg Annual Yield (10Y)
2.92%

Investment Thesis

Min-vol works better abroad than at home: international markets carry more macro shocks, and EFAV's optimiser — which builds the least-volatile portfolio rather than just picking boring stocks — has historically delivered most of EAFE's return with meaningfully smaller drawdowns. A +12% year with a 3% yield is the strategy doing its job: participate, cushion, pay.

Who It's For

Conservative international allocators who want developed-market exposure they can hold through turbulence, and income investors drawn to the yield with less white-knuckle.

10-Year History

Annual Closing Price
YearClose% Chg
2016$49.64--
2017$59.07+19.0%
2018$54.35-8.0%
2019$64.13+18.0%
2020$62.85-2.0%
2021$68.50+9.0%
2022$59.60-13.0%
2023$66.75+12.0%
2024$70.09+5.0%
2025$82.00+17.0%
Annual Dividend Yield
YearYield
20162.90%
20172.70%
20183.10%
20193.00%
20202.40%
20212.50%
20223.20%
20233.10%
20243.20%
20253.10%
Annual AUM
YearAUM% Chg
2016$6B--
2017$8B+33.3%
2018$9B+12.5%
2019$11B+22.2%
2020$8B-27.3%
2021$8.5B+6.3%
2022$6B-29.4%
2023$5B-16.7%
2024$4.5B-10.0%
2025$5B+11.1%

Historical figures are ETFHub estimates modelled from asset-class return patterns and may differ from official fund records. Data as of August 2026.

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