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

In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EWJ returned +18.1% and TLT −7.9%.

Which is cheaper, EWJ or TLT?

TLT 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.

Data as of Oct 28, 2026.

Across categories

EWJ vs TLT: Differences, Returns & Fees

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Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, EWJ returned +18.1% to TLT's −7.9%; 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 $47.4bn on Oct 27, 2026 for iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF.

EWJ on its own →TLT on its own →

At a glance

+18.1%

EWJ total return, 1 year

−7.9%

TLT total return, 1 year

0.49%

EWJ expense ratio

0.15%

TLT expense ratio

Pair scorecard

TLT costs 0.34 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 26.0 points; TLT is 2.0 times larger.

EWJ vs TLT: Differences, Returns & Fees
Measure	EWJ	TLT
Return
Measure	EWJ	TLT
Total return, 1 year	+18.1%	−7.9%
Drawdown
Measure	EWJ	TLT
Below its high	4.4%, high on Oct 6, 2026	42.6%, high on Aug 4, 2020
Benchmark
Measure	EWJ	TLT
What it tracks	MSCI Japan Index	ICE U.S. Treasury 20+ Year Bond Index
Cost and size
Measure	EWJ	TLT
Expense ratio	0.49%	0.15%
Net assets, as of Oct 27, 2026	$23.8bn	$47.4bn
Holdings
Measure	EWJ	TLT
Holdings in common	0%
In the S&P 500, by weight	0%
Top ten holdings, share of the fund	29.5%

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

What they share

By the books each fund has filed, EWJ and TLT 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 TLT

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 TLT

TREASURY BOND 4.32%

TREASURY BOND 4.12%

TREASURY BOND (OLD) 4.07%

TREASURY BOND 4.02%

TREASURY BOND 3.93%

TREASURY BOND 3.92%

TREASURY BOND 3.89%

TREASURY BOND 3.88%

Check overlap with more funds →

Side by side

EWJ iShares MSCI Japan ETF TLT iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF

Where it sits Stock ETF Bond ETF

Issuer iShares iShares

What it is Tracks the MSCI Japan Tracks an index of 20+ year Treasuries

Total return, 1 year +18.1% −7.9%

Its benchmark over the same days +14.3% (ACWX) −7.8% (BBLB)

Gap to its benchmark +3.8 pts vs ACWX −0.1 pts vs BBLB

Expense ratio 0.49% 0.15%

Holdings 169 47

Net assets, EWJ as of Oct 28, 2026 and TLT as of Oct 27, 2026 $23.9bn $47.4bn

EWJ and TLT 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.

TLT

TLT tracks an index of 20+ year Treasuries. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned −7.9% with distributions reinvested, against −7.8% for its benchmark, the ICE U.S. Treasury 20+ Year Bond Index. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.15% a year. It sat 42.6% below its high of Aug 4, 2020 on Oct 28, 2026.

Questions people ask

Which returned more over the last year, EWJ or TLT?: In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EWJ returned +18.1% and TLT −7.9%.
Which is cheaper, EWJ or TLT?: TLT 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.

Other comparisons

EWJ vs VGLT EDV vs EWJ EWJ vs IUSB EWJ vs IEF EWT vs TLT EWZ vs TLT EZU vs TLT TLT vs VPL

Where to next

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

Sources and dates

EWJ filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

EWJ prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for EWJ ↗

TLT filings on SEC EDGAR ↗

TLT prospectus with the expense ratio (SEC) ↗

iShares page for TLT ↗

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

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Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms.