Data as of Sep 12, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.
BSV vs EWJ: how they differ
BSV and EWJ hold 0% of their weight in the same names, and EWJ returned more over the year.
Vanguard Short-Term Bond Index Fund and iShares MSCI Japan ETF.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, BSV and EWJ hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Only in BSV | Only in EWJ |
|---|---|
| United States Treasury Note/Bond 1.13% | Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. 4.08% |
| United States Treasury Note/Bond 0.90% | TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION 3.45% |
| United States Treasury Note/Bond 0.89% | SoftBank Group Corp. 3.37% |
| United States Treasury Note/Bond 0.82% | Tokyo Electron Limited 2.90% |
| United States Treasury Note/Bond 0.81% | Hitachi, Ltd. 2.86% |
| United States Treasury Note/Bond 0.81% | Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. 2.58% |
| United States Treasury Note/Bond 0.80% | Sony Group Corporation 2.56% |
| United States Treasury Note/Bond 0.78% | ADVANTEST CORPORATION 2.41% |
Weight overlap is an ETFIQ calculation: for every security both funds hold, the smaller of the two weights, summed. Above 50%, holding both is close to holding one of them twice. Holdings dated Jun 30, 2026 and May 31, 2026.
| BSV Vanguard Short-Term Bond Index Fund | EWJ iShares MSCI Japan ETF | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | Core index fund | Core index fund |
| Issuer | Vanguard | iShares |
| What it is | Short-Term Bond | MSCI Japan |
| Total return, 1 year | +1.1% | +26.5% |
| S&P 500 over the same days | +17.5% | +17.5% |
| Gap to the S&P 500 | −16.4 pts | +9.0 pts |
| Expense ratio | 0.03% | 0.49% |
| Holdings | 3185 | 179 |
BSV in plain words
BSV is a bond fund tracking the Short-Term Bond. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +1.1% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year.
EWJ in plain words
EWJ is an index equity fund tracking the MSCI Japan. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +26.5% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.49% a year. By its holdings filed for May 31, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 179 positions, with the top ten at 28.4%.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, BSV or EWJ?
- In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, BSV returned +1.1% and EWJ returned +26.5%, so EWJ returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
- Which is cheaper, BSV or EWJ?
- BSV charges 0.03% a year and EWJ charges 0.49%, so BSV is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Other comparisons
Where to next
Where these figures came from
ETFIQ links to the documents behind every figure. It is not affiliated with any issuer, and a link is not an endorsement.
Cite this page. ETFIQ, BSV against EWJ, data as of Sep 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/BSV-EWJ Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources