Data as of Sep 12, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.
CTA vs EWJ: how they differ
CTA and EWJ hold 0% of their weight in the same names, and EWJ returned more over the year.
Simplify Managed Futures Strategy ETF and iShares MSCI Japan ETF.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, CTA and EWJ hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Only in CTA | Only in EWJ |
|---|---|
| SIMPLIFY EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS 81.69% | Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. 4.08% |
| UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - BUREAU OF THE 3.72% | TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION 3.45% |
| UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - BUREAU OF THE 3.44% | SoftBank Group Corp. 3.37% |
| UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - BUREAU OF THE 2.76% | Tokyo Electron Limited 2.90% |
| UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - BUREAU OF THE 2.75% | Hitachi, Ltd. 2.86% |
| UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - BUREAU OF THE 2.20% | Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. 2.58% |
| UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - BUREAU OF THE 1.37% | Sony Group Corporation 2.56% |
| UNITED STATES OF AMERICA - BUREAU OF THE 1.07% | 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.
| CTA Simplify Managed Futures Strategy ETF | EWJ iShares MSCI Japan ETF | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | Core index fund | Core index fund |
| Issuer | Simplify | iShares |
| What it is | Simplify Managed Futures Strategy | MSCI Japan |
| Total return, 1 year | +17.0% | +26.5% |
| S&P 500 over the same days | +17.5% | +17.5% |
| Gap to the S&P 500 | −0.5 pts | +9.0 pts |
| Expense ratio | 0.75% | 0.49% |
| Already in the S&P 500 | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Holdings | 10 | 179 |
CTA in plain words
CTA is an index equity fund tracking the Simplify Managed Futures Strategy. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +17.0% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.75% a year. By its holdings filed for Jun 30, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 10 positions, with the top ten at 100.0%. It sat 5.3% below its high of May 4, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.
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, CTA or EWJ?
- In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, CTA returned +17.0% and EWJ returned +26.5%, so EWJ returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
- Which is cheaper, CTA or EWJ?
- CTA charges 0.75% a year and EWJ charges 0.49%, so EWJ is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
- How much do CTA and EWJ overlap with the S&P 500?
- By their latest filed holdings, 0% of CTA and 0% of EWJ by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds. Between the two funds, 0% of their books are the same securities at the same weight.
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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, CTA against EWJ, data as of Sep 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/CTA-EWJ Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources