Data as of Sep 12, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.
EWJ vs URTH: how they differ
EWJ and URTH hold 6% of their weight in the same names, and EWJ returned more over the year.
iShares MSCI Japan ETF and iShares MSCI World ETF.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, EWJ and URTH hold 6% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Holding | EWJ | URTH |
|---|---|---|
| Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. | 4.08% | 0.23% |
| TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION | 3.45% | 0.20% |
| SoftBank Group Corp. | 3.37% | 0.19% |
| Tokyo Electron Limited | 2.90% | 0.17% |
| Hitachi, Ltd. | 2.86% | 0.16% |
| Sony Group Corporation | 2.56% | 0.15% |
| Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. | 2.58% | 0.14% |
| ADVANTEST CORPORATION | 2.41% | 0.14% |
| Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. | 2.16% | 0.12% |
| Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. | 2.02% | 0.12% |
| Mitsubishi Corporation | 1.96% | 0.11% |
| FAST RETAILING CO., LTD. | 1.91% | 0.11% |
| Only in EWJ | Only in URTH |
|---|---|
| TSURUHA HOLDINGS INC. 0.06% | NVIDIA CORPORATION 5.64% |
| APPLE INC. 5.04% | |
| MICROSOFT CORPORATION 3.50% | |
| AMAZON.COM, INC. 2.86% | |
| ALPHABET INC. 2.43% | |
| BROADCOM INC. 2.21% | |
| ALPHABET INC. 2.01% | |
| META PLATFORMS, INC. 1.51% |
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 May 31, 2026.
| EWJ iShares MSCI Japan ETF | URTH iShares MSCI World ETF | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | Core index fund | Core index fund |
| Issuer | iShares | iShares |
| What it is | MSCI Japan | MSCI World |
| Total return, 1 year | +26.5% | +17.4% |
| S&P 500 over the same days | +17.5% | +17.5% |
| Gap to the S&P 500 | +9.0 pts | −0.1 pts |
| Expense ratio | 0.49% | 0.24% |
| Already in the S&P 500 | 0.0% | 70.3% |
| Holdings | 179 | 1322 |
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%.
URTH in plain words
URTH is an index equity fund tracking the MSCI World. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +17.4% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.24% a year. By its holdings filed for May 31, 2026, 70% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 1322 positions, with the top ten at 27.8%.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, EWJ or URTH?
- In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EWJ returned +26.5% and URTH returned +17.4%, so EWJ returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
- Which is cheaper, EWJ or URTH?
- EWJ charges 0.49% a year and URTH charges 0.24%, so URTH is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
- How much do EWJ and URTH overlap with the S&P 500?
- By their latest filed holdings, 0% of EWJ and 70% of URTH by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds. Between the two funds, 6% of their books are the same securities at the same weight.
Other comparisons
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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, EWJ against URTH, data as of Sep 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/EWJ-URTH Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources