Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
EWG vs EWU: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, EWG returned +2.2% to EWU's +13.9%; 0% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets on Oct 28, 2026: $1.5bn for iShares MSCI Germany ETF and $3.7bn for iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF.
Pair scorecard
EWG costs 0.01 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 11.7 points; EWU is 2.5 times larger.
| Measure | EWG | EWU |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +2.2% | +13.9% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 6.3%, high on Aug 28, 2026 | 4.3%, high on Aug 25, 2026 |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | MSCI Germany 25/50 Index | MSCI United Kingdom Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.49% | 0.50% |
| Net assets | $1.5bn | $3.7bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 63.4% | 53.0% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Apr 11, 2008 to Oct 23, 2026 · 967 weekly returns · each against ACWXEWU returned more: +121.5% to +104.6%. EWU swung less: 20.9% to 24.6%. EWU fell slightly less at its worst: −58.6% to −60.9%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | EWG | EWU | ACWX | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | |||||
| Total return | +104.6% | +121.5% | +129.8% | EWU | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +3.9% | +4.4% | +4.6% | EWU | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +29.7% | +8.3% | +42.8% | EWG | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | |||||
| Volatility | 24.6% | 20.9% | 19.8% | EWU | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 17.7% | 15.2% | 14.4% | EWU | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −60.9% | −58.6% | −59.4% | EWU (slight) | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 117.2% | 87.8% | 100.0% | EWG | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. |
| Downside capture | 106.9% | 95.2% | 100.0% | EWU | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. |
| Beta | 1.14 | 0.97 | 1.00 | EWU lower | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.84 | 0.84 | 1.00 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | |||||
| Sharpe | 0.22 | 0.24 | 0.25 | EWU (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.31 | 0.33 | 0.35 | EWU (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | 0.048 | 0.052 | 0.050 | EWU (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. |
| Calmar | 0.06 | 0.07 | 0.08 | EWU | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | |||||
| Benchmark | ACWX | ACWX | ACWX | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | −0.3% a year | +0.2% a year | 0.0% | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | −0.12 | 0.09 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. | |
| Alpha range | −4.7% to +4.2% | −3.6% to +4.0% | Both include zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. | |
| Information ratio | 0.04 | 0.00 | EWG | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 10.1% | 8.3% | 0.0% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 967 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, EWG and EWU hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.
half
0% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
EWG and EWU on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
EWG and EWU are built for the same job. How do they differ in cost, holdings and results?
- What each follows. EWG follows MSCI Germany 25/50 Index and EWU follows MSCI United Kingdom Index.
- Holdings in common. 0% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 EWG returned +2.2% and EWU +13.9% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 11.7 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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EWG
EWG tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +2.2% with distributions reinvested, against +14.3% for its benchmark, the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.49% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 52 positions, with the top ten at 63.4%. It sat 6.3% below its high of Aug 28, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
EWU
EWU tracks an index. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.9% with distributions reinvested, against +14.3% for its benchmark, the MSCI ACWI ex USA Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.50% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 67 positions, with the top ten at 53.0%. It sat 4.3% below its high of Aug 25, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, EWG or EWU?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EWG returned +2.2% and EWU +13.9%.
- Which is cheaper, EWG or EWU?
- EWG is cheaper, by 0.01 percentage points a year. That is about $1 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
Links are sources, not endorsements. A comparison is not a recommendation.
How this is computed
Overlap adds up the smaller of the two weights for each security both funds hold.
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ETFIQ, EWG against EWU, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ewg-vs-ewu
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). EWG against EWU. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ewg-vs-ewu
[EWG against EWU (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ewg-vs-ewu)
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