Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
EWJ vs IWB: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, EWJ returned +18.1% to IWB's +13.1%; 0% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets on Oct 28, 2026: $23.9bn for iShares MSCI Japan ETF and $49.1bn for iShares Russell 1000 ETF.
Pair scorecard
IWB costs 0.34 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 5.0 points; IWB is 2.1 times larger.
| Measure | EWJ | IWB |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +18.1% | +13.1% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 4.4%, high on Oct 6, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | MSCI Japan Index | Russell 1000 Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.49% | 0.15% |
| Net assets | $23.9bn | $49.1bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 29.5% | 35.3% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
May 26, 2000 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,378 weekly returnsEach against its own benchmark: EWJ against ACWX, Apr 11, 2008 to Oct 23, 2026; IWB against VONE, Oct 1, 2010 to Oct 23, 2026.
IWB returned more: +788.0% to +140.3%. IWB swung slightly less: 17.7% to 19.0%. IWB fell slightly less at its worst: −54.8% to −57.6%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | EWJ | IWB | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +140.3% | +788.0% | IWB | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +3.4% | +8.6% | IWB | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +63.6% | +473.1% | IWB | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 19.0% | 17.7% | IWB (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 13.6% | 12.5% | IWB (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −57.6% | −54.8% | IWB (slight) | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 75.1% | 100.1% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 87.1% | 100.1% | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. | |
| Beta | 0.76 | 1.00 | Not an edge | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.67 | 1.00 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.18 | 0.46 | IWB | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.25 | 0.64 | IWB | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | 0.071 | 0.130 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | 0.06 | 0.16 | IWB | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | ACWX | VONE | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | +1.6% a year | 0.0% a year | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | 0.65 | −0.09 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | −3.2% to +6.4% | −0.5% to +0.5% | Includes zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. |
| Information ratio | 0.03 | −0.03 | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 11.6% | 1.0% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,378 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, EWJ and IWB 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 IWB on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
EWJ and IWB do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. EWJ follows MSCI Japan Index and IWB follows Russell 1000 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 IWB +13.1% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 5.0 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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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.
IWB
IWB tracks the Russell 1000. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.1% with distributions reinvested, against +13.2% for its benchmark, the Russell 1000 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 92% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 1,025 positions, with the top ten at 35.3%.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, EWJ or IWB?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EWJ returned +18.1% and IWB +13.1%.
- Which is cheaper, EWJ or IWB?
- IWB is cheaper, by 0.34 percentage points a year. That is about $34 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, EWJ against IWB, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ewj-vs-iwb
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). EWJ against IWB. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ewj-vs-iwb
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