Which returned more over the last year, EWJ or IWC?

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EWJ returned +18.1% and IWC +16.5%.

Which is cheaper, EWJ or IWC?

EWJ is cheaper, by 0.11 percentage points a year. That is about $11 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.

How much do EWJ and IWC overlap with the S&P 500?

By their latest filed holdings, 0% of EWJ and 92% of IWC by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

EWJ vs IWC: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, EWJ returned +18.1% to IWC's +16.5%; 0% of their weight is in the same names.

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Net assets: $23.9bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares MSCI Japan ETF, and $1.2bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares Micro-Cap ETF.

EWJ on its own →IWC on its own →

At a glance

+18.1%

EWJ total return, 1 year

+16.5%

IWC total return, 1 year

0.49%

EWJ expense ratio

0.60%

IWC expense ratio

Pair scorecard

EWJ costs 0.11 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 1.6 points; EWJ is 19.8 times larger.

EWJ vs IWC: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	EWJ	IWC
Return
Measure	EWJ	IWC
Total return, 1 year	+18.1%	+16.5%
Drawdown
Measure	EWJ	IWC
Below its high	4.4%, high on Oct 6, 2026	9.5%, high on Aug 14, 2026
Benchmark
Measure	EWJ	IWC
What it tracks	MSCI Japan Index	Russell Microcap Index
Cost and size
Measure	EWJ	IWC
Expense ratio	0.49%	0.60%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$23.8bn	$1.2bn
Holdings
Measure	EWJ	IWC
Holdings in common	0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	29.5%	5.9%

Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, EWJ and IWC hold 0% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Oct 27, 2026.

50%

0 half 100%

half

0% in common

Positions both hold · largest shared weight first EWJ IWC

Only in one fund ↓

Only in EWJ

MITSUBISHI UFJ FINANCIAL GROUP 4.40%

TOYOTA MOTOR 3.59%

ADVANTEST 3.03%

HITACHI 3.03%

RECRUIT HOLDINGS LTD 3.03%

SONY GROUP 2.89%

SUMITOMO MITSUI FINANCIAL GROUP 2.83%

TOKYO ELECTRON 2.55%

Only in IWC

CAREDX 0.88%

PENGUIN SOLUTIONS INC 0.73%

NURIX THERAPEUTICS 0.63%

SELLAS LIFE SCIENCES GROUP INC 0.60%

VIRIDIAN THERAPEUTICS ORS 0.59%

OUSTER 0.53%

INTERFACE 0.52%

STRIVE INC CLASS A 0.50%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

EWJ iShares MSCI Japan ETF IWC iShares Micro-Cap ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Stock ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Tracks the MSCI Japan Tracks the Russell Microcap

Total return, 1 year +18.1% +16.5%

Its benchmark over the same days +14.3% (ACWX) +13.3% (IWV)

Gap to its benchmark +3.8 pts vs ACWX +3.2 pts vs IWV

Expense ratio 0.49% 0.60%

Already in the S&P 500 0.0% 91.7%

Holdings 169 1365

Net assets, EWJ as of Oct 28, 2026 and IWC as of Oct 27, 2026 $23.9bn $1.2bn

EWJ and IWC on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.

Alert

About each fund

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.

IWC

Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +16.5% with distributions reinvested, against +13.3% for its benchmark, the Russell 3000 Index.

IWC tracks the Russell Microcap. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.60% 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 1,365 positions, with the top ten at 5.9%. It sat 9.5% below its high of Aug 14, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, EWJ or IWC?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EWJ returned +18.1% and IWC +16.5%.
Which is cheaper, EWJ or IWC?: EWJ is cheaper, by 0.11 percentage points a year. That is about $11 on $10,000 held for a year. Fees come from each fund's prospectus.
How much do EWJ and IWC overlap with the S&P 500?: By their latest filed holdings, 0% of EWJ and 92% of IWC by weight is stocks the S&P 500 already holds.

Other comparisons

EWJ vs IJT EWJ vs VB EWJ vs IJR EWJ vs VTWO EWT vs IWC EWZ vs IWC EZU vs IWC IWC vs VPL

Where to next

EWJ on its own →IWC on its own →Hold both: look the portfolio through →Rankings →EWJ dividend history →EWJ holdings →IWC dividend history →IWC holdings →Standards and sources →

Sources and dates

EWJ filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

EWJ prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for EWJ ↗

IWC filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

IWC prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for IWC ↗

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 IWC, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ewj-vs-iwc

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