Data as of Sep 12, 2026. Both funds on the fields they both publish, from the same sources.
EWJ vs XLV: how they differ
EWJ and XLV hold 0% of their weight in the same names, and EWJ returned more over the year.
iShares MSCI Japan ETF and State Street(R) Health Care Select Sector SPDR(R) ETF.
What they hold in common
By the books each fund has filed, EWJ and XLV hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight.
| Only in EWJ | Only in XLV |
|---|---|
| Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. 4.08% | Eli Lilly & Co 16.56% |
| TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION 3.45% | Johnson & Johnson 10.67% |
| SoftBank Group Corp. 3.37% | AbbVie Inc 7.76% |
| Tokyo Electron Limited 2.90% | UnitedHealth Group Inc 6.59% |
| Hitachi, Ltd. 2.86% | Merck & Co Inc 5.54% |
| Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. 2.58% | Amgen Inc 3.41% |
| Sony Group Corporation 2.56% | Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc 3.25% |
| ADVANTEST CORPORATION 2.41% | Abbott Laboratories 2.76% |
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.
| EWJ iShares MSCI Japan ETF | XLV State Street(R) Health Care Select Sector SPDR(R) ETF | |
|---|---|---|
| Where it sits | Core index fund | Core index fund |
| Issuer | iShares | State Street |
| What it is | MSCI Japan | Health care |
| Total return, 1 year | +26.5% | +20.4% |
| S&P 500 over the same days | +17.5% | +17.5% |
| Gap to the S&P 500 | +9.0 pts | +2.9 pts |
| Expense ratio | 0.49% | 0.08% |
| Already in the S&P 500 | 0.0% | 100.0% |
| Holdings | 179 | 59 |
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%.
XLV in plain words
XLV is an index equity fund tracking the Health care. Over the year to Sep 11, 2026 it returned +20.4% with distributions reinvested, against +17.5% for the S&P 500 and +23.0% for the Nasdaq-100. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.08% a year. By its holdings filed for Jun 30, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 59 positions, with the top ten at 61.7%. It sat 5.9% below its high of Aug 19, 2026 on Sep 11, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, EWJ or XLV?
- In the year to Sep 12, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EWJ returned +26.5% and XLV returned +20.4%, so EWJ returned more. One year is one year; the longer windows are in the table.
- Which is cheaper, EWJ or XLV?
- EWJ charges 0.49% a year and XLV charges 0.08%, so XLV is cheaper. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
- How much do EWJ and XLV overlap with the S&P 500?
- By their latest filed holdings, 0% of EWJ and 100% of XLV 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, EWJ against XLV, data as of Sep 12, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/EWJ-XLV Free to use with attribution; the underlying files are at Open data.
A comparison is not a recommendation. Standards and sources