The iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF (IEFA) tracks the MSCI EAFE Index, providing exposure to large and mid-cap stocks from developed markets in Europe, Australasia, and the Far East.
Understanding true investment performance requires examining returns after accounting for inflation's erosive effects on purchasing power. This page adjusts the historical price of IEFA for inflation, using the US Consumer Price Index, to reveal its real performance over time.
Nominal prices are adjusted for stock splits and assume reinvestment of any dividends to reflect total return. Inflation-adjusted prices use February 2026 as the baseline (latest available CPI).
The current value of the iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF is 89.78 (as of the close of Mar 13, 2026), 8.91% lower than the all-time high of 98.56 (Feb 25, 2026).
Since October 24, 2012, the inflation-adjusted total return for the ETF has been 95.26%, which is equivalent to an annual growth rate of 5.13%.
In nominal values, the total return since this date has been 175.85%, or an annualized rate of 7.88%.
This data presents the ETF's end-of-month closing levels over time. Inflation-adjusted figures show what past levels would be worth using roughly today's purchasing power (based on the latest CPI data). The latest entry in the table will have equal nominal and adjusted values until the next CPI figures are released.
| Date | Inflation-Adjusted | Nominal value |
|---|---|---|
| Mar 2026 | 89.78 | 89.78 |
| Feb 2026 | 98.32 | 98.32 |
| Jan 2026 | 94.49 | 94.05 |
| Dec 2025 | 90.21 | 89.46 |
| Nov 2025 | 87.91 | 87.19 |
| Oct 2025 | 86.45 | 86.45 |
| Sep 2025 | 86.21 | 85.69 |
| Aug 2025 | 84.65 | 83.92 |
| Jul 2025 | 81.28 | 80.35 |
| Jun 2025 | 83 | 81.93 |
| May 2025 | 80.94 | 79.62 |
| Apr 2025 | 77.32 | 75.91 |
| Mar 2025 | 74.55 | 72.96 |
| Feb 2025 | 74.45 | 72.7 |
| Jan 2025 | 73 | 70.96 |
| Dec 2024 | 70.18 | 67.78 |
| Nov 2024 | 72.45 | 69.95 |
| Oct 2024 | 72.54 | 70.07 |
| Sep 2024 | 76.83 | 74.13 |
| Aug 2024 | 76.1 | 73.31 |
| Jul 2024 | 73.79 | 71.02 |
| Jun 2024 | 71.76 | 68.99 |
| May 2024 | 73.28 | 70.43 |
| Apr 2024 | 69.85 | 67.02 |
| Mar 2024 | 72.49 | 69.28 |
| Feb 2024 | 70.58 | 67.02 |
| Jan 2024 | 69.11 | 65.22 |
| Dec 2023 | 69.96 | 65.67 |
| Nov 2023 | 66.2 | 62.2 |
| Oct 2023 | 60.99 | 57.42 |
| Sep 2023 | 62.91 | 59.25 |
| Aug 2023 | 65.58 | 61.61 |
| Jul 2023 | 68.46 | 64.04 |
| Jun 2023 | 66.57 | 62.15 |
| May 2023 | 64.12 | 59.67 |
| Apr 2023 | 66.95 | 62.15 |
| Mar 2023 | 65.41 | 60.42 |
| Feb 2023 | 63.84 | 58.77 |
| Jan 2023 | 66.21 | 60.61 |
| Dec 2022 | 61.34 | 55.71 |
| Nov 2022 | 62.22 | 56.68 |
| Oct 2022 | 54.93 | 50.09 |
| Sep 2022 | 52.13 | 47.35 |
| Aug 2022 | 57.82 | 52.4 |
| Jul 2022 | 61.53 | 55.78 |
| Jun 2022 | 58.35 | 52.9 |
| May 2022 | 64.91 | 58.06 |
| Apr 2022 | 64.54 | 57.09 |
| Mar 2022 | 69.6 | 61.24 |
| Feb 2022 | 70.31 | 61.04 |
| Jan 2022 | 73.33 | 63.09 |
| Dec 2021 | 77.07 | 65.75 |
| Nov 2021 | 74.21 | 63.12 |
| Oct 2021 | 78.18 | 66.17 |
| Sep 2021 | 76.51 | 64.22 |
| Aug 2021 | 79.3 | 66.38 |
| Jul 2021 | 78.22 | 65.34 |
| Jun 2021 | 77.88 | 64.75 |
| May 2021 | 79.52 | 65.51 |
| Apr 2021 | 77.56 | 63.38 |
| Mar 2021 | 75.82 | 61.46 |
| Feb 2021 | 74.53 | 59.99 |
| Jan 2021 | 73.08 | 58.5 |
| Dec 2020 | 73.93 | 58.93 |
| Nov 2020 | 70.32 | 56 |
| Oct 2020 | 61.7 | 49.17 |
| Sep 2020 | 63.98 | 50.96 |
| Aug 2020 | 65.29 | 51.93 |
| Jul 2020 | 62.22 | 49.33 |
| Jun 2020 | 61.25 | 48.32 |
| May 2020 | 59.64 | 46.8 |
| Apr 2020 | 56.45 | 44.29 |
| Mar 2020 | 52.75 | 41.67 |
| Feb 2020 | 61.66 | 48.81 |
| Jan 2020 | 67.13 | 52.99 |
| Dec 2019 | 69.29 | 54.49 |
| Nov 2019 | 66.82 | 52.59 |
| Oct 2019 | 66.17 | 52.11 |
| Sep 2019 | 64.05 | 50.33 |
| Aug 2019 | 62.28 | 48.89 |
| Jul 2019 | 63.37 | 49.75 |
| Jun 2019 | 64.56 | 50.6 |
| May 2019 | 61.25 | 48 |
| Apr 2019 | 64.66 | 50.56 |
| Mar 2019 | 63.14 | 49.12 |
| Feb 2019 | 62.99 | 48.73 |
| Jan 2019 | 61.57 | 47.43 |
| Dec 2018 | 57.82 | 44.45 |
| Nov 2018 | 60.99 | 47.04 |
| Oct 2018 | 60.58 | 46.88 |
| Sep 2018 | 66.16 | 51.11 |
| Aug 2018 | 65.85 | 50.81 |
| Jul 2018 | 67.14 | 51.78 |
| Jun 2018 | 65.54 | 50.54 |
| May 2018 | 66.82 | 51.44 |
| Apr 2018 | 68.13 | 52.23 |
| Mar 2018 | 67.62 | 51.64 |
| Feb 2018 | 68.04 | 51.84 |
| Jan 2018 | 71.85 | 54.5 |
| Dec 2017 | 68.67 | 51.8 |
| Nov 2017 | 67.61 | 51.04 |
| Oct 2017 | 67.02 | 50.59 |
| Sep 2017 | 65.87 | 49.75 |
| Aug 2017 | 64.67 | 48.59 |
| Jul 2017 | 64.79 | 48.53 |
| Jun 2017 | 62.98 | 47.21 |
| May 2017 | 62.81 | 47.04 |
| Apr 2017 | 60.73 | 45.44 |
| Mar 2017 | 59.3 | 44.24 |
| Feb 2017 | 57.51 | 42.87 |
| Jan 2017 | 56.96 | 42.32 |
| Dec 2016 | 55.42 | 40.94 |
| Nov 2016 | 54.05 | 39.92 |
| Oct 2016 | 54.96 | 40.66 |
| Sep 2016 | 56.36 | 41.64 |
| Aug 2016 | 55.6 | 40.98 |
| Jul 2016 | 55.44 | 40.82 |
| Jun 2016 | 53.13 | 39.18 |
| May 2016 | 54.74 | 40.24 |
| Apr 2016 | 54.89 | 40.19 |
| Mar 2016 | 54.07 | 39.4 |
| Feb 2016 | 50.75 | 36.82 |
| Jan 2016 | 52.45 | 38.03 |
| Dec 2015 | 55.71 | 40.32 |
| Nov 2015 | 56.56 | 41.08 |
| Oct 2015 | 56.78 | 41.33 |
| Sep 2015 | 53.35 | 38.85 |
| Aug 2015 | 55.64 | 40.58 |
| Jul 2015 | 59.68 | 43.59 |
| Jun 2015 | 58.73 | 42.89 |
| May 2015 | 60.54 | 44.05 |
| Apr 2015 | 60.65 | 43.91 |
| Mar 2015 | 58.59 | 42.34 |
| Feb 2015 | 59.76 | 42.92 |
| Jan 2015 | 56.47 | 40.38 |
| Dec 2014 | 55.73 | 40.04 |
| Nov 2014 | 57.58 | 41.61 |
| Oct 2014 | 57.28 | 41.62 |
| Sep 2014 | 57.31 | 41.74 |
| Aug 2014 | 59.8 | 43.53 |
| Jul 2014 | 59.58 | 43.44 |
| Jun 2014 | 61.13 | 44.59 |
| May 2014 | 60.68 | 44.18 |
| Apr 2014 | 59.94 | 43.48 |
| Mar 2014 | 59.43 | 42.97 |
| Feb 2014 | 60.07 | 43.16 |
| Jan 2014 | 56.83 | 40.68 |
| Dec 2013 | 59.96 | 42.76 |
| Nov 2013 | 58.58 | 41.78 |
| Oct 2013 | 58.14 | 41.55 |
| Sep 2013 | 56.09 | 40.19 |
| Aug 2013 | 52.04 | 37.25 |
| Jul 2013 | 52.99 | 37.88 |
| Jun 2013 | 50.21 | 35.88 |
| May 2013 | 51.76 | 36.9 |
| Apr 2013 | 53.58 | 38.13 |
| Mar 2013 | 51.08 | 36.39 |
| Feb 2013 | 50.43 | 35.82 |
| Jan 2013 | 51.35 | 36.19 |
| Dec 2012 | 49.72 | 34.93 |
| Nov 2012 | 47.59 | 33.53 |
| Oct 2012 | 46.18 | 32.69 |
How much did an investment in the IEFA ETF really grow each year after accounting for inflation? The following chart contains the inflation-adjusted real annual percentage returns.
The table below shows the returns for the iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF by year, both inflation-adjusted and nominal. You can sort any column by clicking on the header.
Observe how inflation erodes nominal gains, sometimes resulting in a negative real return even when the ETF nominally increased, as in 2016.
| Year | Inflation-Adjusted Return | Nominal Return |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 0.31% | 3.21% |
| 2023 | 14.06% | 17.89% |
| 2022 | -20.42% | -15.28% |
| 2021 | 4.24% | 11.58% |
| 2020 | 6.7% | 8.15% |
| 2019 | 19.84% | 22.57% |
| 2018 | -15.79% | -14.19% |
| 2017 | 23.91% | 26.52% |
| 2016 | -0.53% | 1.53% |
| 2015 | -0.03% | 0.7% |
| 2014 | -7.07% | -6.36% |
| 2013 | 20.61% | 22.42% |
Annualized returns show the average rate of growth per year, making it easier to compare performance across different time periods. While nominal returns indicate the headline growth, adjusting for inflation reveals the actual change in purchasing power.
This table presents both nominal and inflation-adjusted average annual returns for the iShares Core MSCI EAFE over various trailing periods ending February 28, 2026, offering a clearer view of long-term, real investment performance.
| Period | Avg. Annual Return (Inflation-Adjusted) | Avg. Annual Return (Nominal) |
|---|---|---|
| Last 1 year | 32.06% | 35.25% |
| Last 3 years | 15.48% | 18.71% |
| Last 5 years | 5.7% | 10.39% |
| Last 10 years | 6.84% | 10.32% |
The chart and table below show the nominal and inflation-adjusted value of a hypothetical $100 investment over various long-term historical periods, ending in September 2025.
The inflation-adjusted line, in green, represents the real increase in purchasing power for the initial investment. Observe the gap between both lines, which illustrates the cumulative effect of inflation over time.
Even over just five years, inflation takes a noticeable bite out of investments. Investing $100 in the iShares Core MSCI EAFE five years ago yielded an 42.84% nominal gain, but the real return (the actual increase in buying power) was 15.67%.
As investment periods get longer, the difference between reported nominal returns and the inflation-adjusted gains usually becomes much greater due to the compounding effect of inflation over time.
| Investment Period | What $100 Grew To (Nominal) | Total Nominal Return (%) | Total Inflation-Adjusted Return (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Last 5 years Feb 2021 - Sep 2025 | $142.84 | 42.84% | 15.67% |
| Last 10 years Feb 2016 - Sep 2025 | $232.7 | 132.7% | 69.87% |
The iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF (IEFA) is an exchange-traded fund managed by BlackRock that seeks to track the investment results of the MSCI EAFE Index. Launched in October 2012, IEFA provides investors with broad exposure to large and mid-cap stocks from developed markets in Europe, Australasia, and the Far East (EAFE). The fund offers a cost-effective way to gain international diversification outside of North America, covering companies from countries such as Japan, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Australia. IEFA is designed to be a core holding for investors seeking developed international equity exposure at a low cost.
| Last Close Mar 13, 2026 | 89.78 |
|---|---|
| Highest Feb 25, 2026 | 98.56 |
| Highest, Inflation-Adjusted Feb 25, 2026 | 98.56 |
| Annualized return Since Oct 24, 2012 | 7.88% |
| Annualized return, Inflation-Adjusted Since Oct 24, 2012 | 5.13% |
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Other Inflation-Adjusted Data