Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
EWJ vs EWY: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, EWJ returned +18.1% to EWY's +79.7%; 0% of their weight is in the same names.
askIQ about this page
askIQ about EWJ and EWY
Net assets on Oct 28, 2026: $23.9bn for iShares MSCI Japan ETF and $24.4bn for iShares MSCI South Korea ETF.
Pair scorecard
EWJ costs 0.10 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 61.6 points.
| Measure | EWJ | EWY |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +18.1% | +79.7% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 4.4%, high on Oct 6, 2026 | 24.3%, high on Jun 18, 2026 |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | MSCI Japan Index | MSCI Korea 25/50 Daily 25 Capped Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.49% | 0.59% |
| Net assets | $23.9bn | $24.4bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 29.5% | 60.9% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
May 19, 2000 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,379 weekly returnsEach against its own benchmark: EWJ against ACWX, Apr 11, 2008 to Oct 23, 2026; EWY against EEM, Apr 25, 2003 to Oct 23, 2026.
EWY returned more: +991.0% to +138.3%. EWJ swung less: 19.0% to 31.1%. EWJ fell less at its worst: −57.6% to −70.1%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | EWJ | EWY | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +138.3% | +991.0% | EWY | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +3.3% | +9.4% | EWY | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +62.2% | +683.3% | EWY | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 19.0% | 31.1% | EWJ | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 13.6% | 21.2% | EWJ | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −57.6% | −70.1% | EWJ | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 75.1% | 115.0% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 87.1% | 103.2% | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. | |
| Beta | 0.76 | 1.08 | Not an edge | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.67 | 0.74 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.17 | 0.39 | EWY | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.24 | 0.57 | EWY | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | 0.071 | 0.124 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | 0.06 | 0.13 | EWY | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | ACWX | EEM | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | +1.6% a year | +2.5% a year | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | 0.65 | 0.83 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | −3.2% to +6.4% | −3.4% to +8.5% | Includes zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. |
| Information ratio | 0.03 | 0.22 | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 11.6% | 14.8% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,379 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, EWJ and EWY 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
EWJ and EWY on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
EWJ and EWY do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. EWJ follows MSCI Japan Index and EWY follows MSCI Korea 25/50 Daily 25 Capped 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 EWJ returned +18.1% and EWY +79.7% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 61.6 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
The two-page PDF for this pair is coming. Save the comparison to follow its changes. Free. It needs an email sign-in, once.
EWJ
EWJ tracks the MSCI Japan. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +18.1% 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 169 positions, with the top ten at 29.5%. It sat 4.4% below its high of Oct 6, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
EWY
EWY tracks the MSCI South Korea. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +79.7% with distributions reinvested, against +16.3% for its benchmark, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.59% 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 78 positions, with the top ten at 60.9%. It sat 24.3% below its high of Jun 18, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, EWJ or EWY?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EWJ returned +18.1% and EWY +79.7%.
- Which is cheaper, EWJ or EWY?
- EWJ is cheaper, by 0.10 percentage points a year. That is about $10 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.
Cite this pageCitation, APA and Markdown
ETFIQ, EWJ against EWY, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ewj-vs-ewy
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). EWJ against EWY. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ewj-vs-ewy
[EWJ against EWY (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ewj-vs-ewy)
Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.