Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
EWJ vs SPYM: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, EWJ returned +18.1% to SPYM's +13.7%; 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 $185.0bn on Oct 27, 2026 for State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF.
Pair scorecard
SPYM costs 0.47 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 4.4 points; SPYM is 7.8 times larger.
| Measure | EWJ | SPYM |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +18.1% | +13.7% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 4.4%, high on Oct 6, 2026 | |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | MSCI Japan Index | S&P 500 Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.49% | 0.02% |
| Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026 | $23.8bn | $185.0bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 0% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 29.5% | 38.1% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Nov 25, 2005 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,091 weekly returnsEach against its own benchmark: EWJ against ACWX, Apr 11, 2008 to Oct 23, 2026; SPYM against IVV, Nov 25, 2005 to Oct 23, 2026.
SPYM returned more: +793.5% to +166.2%. SPYM swung slightly less: 17.2% to 18.5%. EWJ fell slightly less at its worst: −52.4% to −53.9%.
Full scorecard
19 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | EWJ | SPYM | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +166.2% | +793.5% | SPYM | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +4.8% | +11.0% | SPYM | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +87.9% | +516.4% | SPYM | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 18.5% | 17.2% | SPYM (slight) | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 13.3% | 12.1% | SPYM (slight) | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −52.4% | −53.9% | EWJ (slight) | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Upside capture | 75.1% | 94.1% | Share of its benchmark's rise caught in the weeks it rose. | |
| Downside capture | 87.1% | 96.9% | Share of its benchmark's fall taken in the weeks it fell. Lower is better. | |
| Beta | 0.76 | 0.96 | Not an edge | How far it moves for each 1% its benchmark moves. |
| R squared | 0.67 | 0.95 | Not an edge | Share of its weekly moves its benchmark explains. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.25 | 0.59 | SPYM | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.35 | 0.84 | SPYM | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Treynor | 0.071 | 0.106 | Return above Treasury bills per unit of beta. | |
| Calmar | 0.09 | 0.20 | SPYM | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
| Against the benchmark | ||||
| Benchmark | ACWX | IVV | The ETF each fund is measured against. | |
| Alpha | +1.6% a year | +0.4% a year | Not significant | Yearly return beyond what its beta to the benchmark predicts. |
| Alpha t-stat | 0.65 | 0.53 | Not an edge | How sure the alpha is. Below 2, it could be chance. |
| Alpha range | −3.2% to +6.4% | −1.2% to +2.0% | Includes zero | The 95% range for the yearly alpha. |
| Information ratio | 0.03 | 0.00 | Return against its benchmark per unit of tracking error. | |
| Tracking error | 11.6% | 3.8% | Not an edge | How far weekly returns stray from the benchmark, annualized. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,091 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, EWJ and SPYM 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 SPYM on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
EWJ and SPYM do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. EWJ follows MSCI Japan Index and SPYM follows S&P 500 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 SPYM +13.7% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 4.4 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.
SPYM
SPYM tracks the S&P 500. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +13.7% with distributions reinvested, against +13.7% for its benchmark, the S&P 500 Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.02% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer for Oct 27, 2026, 100% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 506 positions, with the top ten at 38.1%.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, EWJ or SPYM?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EWJ returned +18.1% and SPYM +13.7%.
- Which is cheaper, EWJ or SPYM?
- SPYM is cheaper, by 0.47 percentage points a year. That is about $47 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 SPYM, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ewj-vs-spym
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