XSC.TO vs. XEF.TO

Last updated Apr 2, 2026

Compare and contrast key facts about iShares Conservative Short Term Strategic Fixed Income ETF (XSC.TO) and iShares Core MSCI EAFE IMI Index ETF (XEF.TO).

XSC.TO and XEF.TO are both exchange-traded funds (ETFs), meaning they are traded on stock exchanges and can be bought and sold throughout the day. XSC.TO is an actively managed fund by iShares. It was launched on Sep 1, 2015. XEF.TO is a passively managed fund by iShares that tracks the performance of the Morningstar DM xNA GR CAD. It was launched on Apr 10, 2013.

Performance

XSC.TO vs. XEF.TO - Performance Comparison

The chart below illustrates the hypothetical performance of a CA$10,000 investment in iShares Conservative Short Term Strategic Fixed Income ETF (XSC.TO) and iShares Core MSCI EAFE IMI Index ETF (XEF.TO). The values are adjusted to include any dividend payments, if applicable.

XSC.TO vs. XEF.TO - Yearly Performance Comparison

	2026 (YTD)	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017
XSC.TO iShares Conservative Short Term Strategic Fixed Income ETF	-0.46%	3.92%	4.78%	6.48%	-7.77%	-0.58%	4.01%	5.39%	0.22%	2.12%
XEF.TO iShares Core MSCI EAFE IMI Index ETF	3.89%	25.69%	12.04%	15.21%	-9.53%	10.36%	6.13%	15.86%	-6.65%	18.19%

Returns By Period

In the year-to-date period, XSC.TO achieves a -0.46% return, which is significantly lower than XEF.TO's 3.89% return. Over the past 10 years, XSC.TO has underperformed XEF.TO with an annualized return of 2.06%, while XEF.TO has yielded a comparatively higher 9.49% annualized return.

XSC.TO

• 1D: 0.00%
• 1M: -1.05%
• YTD: -0.46%
• 6M: -0.23%
• 1Y: 1.90%
• 3Y*: 4.14%
• 5Y*: 1.41%
• 10Y*: 2.06%

XEF.TO

• 1D: 1.56%
• 1M: -3.22%
• YTD: 3.89%
• 6M: 6.14%
• 1Y: 21.90%
• 3Y*: 15.95%
• 5Y*: 10.17%
• 10Y*: 9.49%

*Multi-year figures are annualized to reflect compound growth (CAGR)

XSC.TO vs. XEF.TO - Expense Ratio Comparison

XSC.TO has a 0.44% expense ratio, which is higher than XEF.TO's 0.22% expense ratio.

XSC.TO

iShares Conservative Short Term Strategic Fixed Income ETF

XEF.TO

iShares Core MSCI EAFE IMI Index ETF

Return for Risk

XSC.TO vs. XEF.TO — Risk / Return Rank

Compare risk-adjusted metric ranks to identify better-performing investments over the past 12 months.

XSC.TO

XSC.TO Risk / Return Rank: 33
XSC.TO Sharpe Ratio Rank: 33
XSC.TO Sortino Ratio Rank: 28
XSC.TO Omega Ratio Rank: 30
XSC.TO Calmar Ratio Rank: 35
XSC.TO Martin Ratio Rank: 37

XEF.TO

XEF.TO Risk / Return Rank: 71
XEF.TO Sharpe Ratio Rank: 73
XEF.TO Sortino Ratio Rank: 72
XEF.TO Omega Ratio Rank: 72
XEF.TO Calmar Ratio Rank: 72
XEF.TO Martin Ratio Rank: 69

The rank (0–100) shows how this investment's returns compare to the risk taken. Higher = better. Based on the past 12 months of data, combining Sharpe, Sortino, and other metrics used by quantitative funds and institutional investors.

XSC.TO vs. XEF.TO - Risk-Adjusted Trends Comparison

This table presents a comparison of risk-adjusted performance metrics for iShares Conservative Short Term Strategic Fixed Income ETF (XSC.TO) and iShares Core MSCI EAFE IMI Index ETF (XEF.TO). Risk-adjusted metrics are performance indicators that assess an investment's returns in relation to its risk, enabling a more accurate comparison of different investment options.

	XSC.TO	XEF.TO	Difference
Sharpe ratio Return per unit of total volatility	0.67	1.34	-0.66
Sortino ratio Return per unit of downside risk	0.91	1.86	-0.96
Omega ratio Gain probability vs. loss probability	1.13	1.27	-0.14
Calmar ratio Return relative to maximum drawdown	1.03	1.91	-0.88
Martin ratio Return relative to average drawdown	3.94	7.22	-3.27
Data is calculated on a 1-year rolling basis and updated daily. The trend shows the change in the indicator over the past month.

XSC.TO vs. XEF.TO - Sharpe Ratio Comparison

The current XSC.TO Sharpe Ratio is 0.67, which is lower than the XEF.TO Sharpe Ratio of 1.34. The chart below compares the historical Sharpe Ratios of XSC.TO and XEF.TO, offering insights into how both investments have performed under varying market conditions. These values are calculated using daily returns over the previous 12 months.

Sharpe Ratios by Period

	XSC.TO	XEF.TO	Difference
Sharpe Ratio (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	0.67	1.34	-0.66
Sharpe Ratio (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period	0.42	0.76	-0.35
Sharpe Ratio (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period	0.46	0.65	-0.19
Sharpe Ratio (All Time) Calculated using the full available price history	0.45	0.68	-0.23

Correlation

The correlation between XSC.TO and XEF.TO is 0.22, which is considered to be low. This implies their price changes are not closely related. A low correlation is generally favorable for portfolio diversification, as it helps to reduce overall risk by spreading it across multiple assets with different performance patterns.

Dividends

XSC.TO vs. XEF.TO - Dividend Comparison

XSC.TO's dividend yield for the trailing twelve months is around 4.20%, more than XEF.TO's 2.34% yield.

	TTM	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015
XSC.TO iShares Conservative Short Term Strategic Fixed Income ETF	4.20%	4.21%	4.14%	4.05%	3.17%	2.63%	2.56%	2.74%	2.69%	2.82%	3.15%	1.14%
XEF.TO iShares Core MSCI EAFE IMI Index ETF	2.34%	2.43%	2.76%	2.75%	2.93%	2.42%	1.93%	2.72%	2.76%	2.10%	2.42%	2.42%

Drawdowns

XSC.TO vs. XEF.TO - Drawdown Comparison

The maximum XSC.TO drawdown since its inception was -13.52%, smaller than the maximum XEF.TO drawdown of -28.51%. Use the drawdown chart below to compare losses from any high point for XSC.TO and XEF.TO.

Drawdown Indicators

	XSC.TO	XEF.TO	Difference
Max Drawdown Largest peak-to-trough decline	-13.52%	-28.51%	+14.99%
Max Drawdown (1Y) Largest decline over 1 year	-2.11%	-11.28%	+9.17%
Max Drawdown (5Y) Largest decline over 5 years	-11.28%	-24.58%	+13.30%
Max Drawdown (10Y) Largest decline over 10 years	-13.52%	-28.51%	+14.99%
Current Drawdown Current decline from peak	-1.32%	-5.37%	+4.05%
Average Drawdown Average peak-to-trough decline	-1.93%	-4.64%	+2.71%
Ulcer Index Depth and duration of drawdowns from previous peaks	0.57%	2.98%	-2.41%

Volatility

XSC.TO vs. XEF.TO - Volatility Comparison

The current volatility for iShares Conservative Short Term Strategic Fixed Income ETF (XSC.TO) is 0.99%, while iShares Core MSCI EAFE IMI Index ETF (XEF.TO) has a volatility of 7.13%. This indicates that XSC.TO experiences smaller price fluctuations and is considered to be less risky than XEF.TO based on this measure. The chart below showcases a comparison of their rolling one-month volatility.

Volatility by Period

	XSC.TO	XEF.TO	Difference
Volatility (1M) Calculated over the trailing 1-month period	0.99%	7.13%	-6.14%
Volatility (6M) Calculated over the trailing 6-month period	1.56%	10.49%	-8.93%
Volatility (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	2.84%	16.46%	-13.62%
Volatility (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period, annualized	3.39%	13.38%	-9.99%
Volatility (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period, annualized	4.55%	14.76%	-10.21%