Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
EWY vs VEA: Differences, Returns & Fees
Over the year to Oct 28, 2026, EWY returned +79.7% to VEA's +17.1%; 8% of their weight is in the same names.
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Net assets: $24.4bn on Oct 28, 2026 for iShares MSCI South Korea ETF, and $231.6bn on Sep 30, 2026 for Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF.
Pair scorecard
VEA costs 0.56 points a year less; their one-year returns differ by 62.6 points; VEA is 8.8 times larger.
| Measure | EWY | VEA |
|---|---|---|
| Return | ||
| Total return, 1 year | +79.7% | +17.1% |
| Drawdown | ||
| Below its high | 24.3%, high on Jun 18, 2026 | 4.4%, high on Aug 25, 2026 |
| Benchmark | ||
| What it tracks | MSCI Korea 25/50 Daily 25 Capped Index | FTSE Developed All Cap ex US Index |
| Cost and size | ||
| Expense ratio | 0.59% | 0.03% |
| Net assets, as of Sep 30, 2026 | $26.2bn | $231.6bn |
| Holdings | ||
| Holdings in common | 8% | |
| Top ten holdings, share of the fund | 60.9% | 13.6% |
Holdings in common uses holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026. Method
Risk and return
Aug 3, 2007 to Oct 23, 2026 · 1,003 weekly returnsEWY returned more: +228.6% to +160.9%. VEA swung less: 19.5% to 29.8%. VEA fell less at its worst: −59.0% to −70.1%.
Full scorecard
9 measures, with how each is measured Open ↓
| Measure | EWY | VEA | Edge | How it is measured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return | ||||
| Total return | +228.6% | +160.9% | EWY | Price change plus distributions, reinvested. |
| Annualized | +6.4% | +5.1% | EWY | Total return as a yearly rate. |
| Price return | +143.8% | +46.4% | EWY | Price change alone, distributions left out. |
| Risk | ||||
| Volatility | 29.8% | 19.5% | VEA | Spread of weekly returns, annualized. Lower is steadier. |
| Downside deviation | 20.6% | 14.2% | VEA | Like volatility, counting only weeks below the Treasury bill rate. |
| Max drawdown | −70.1% | −59.0% | VEA | Deepest fall from a high to the low after it. |
| Risk-adjusted | ||||
| Sharpe | 0.31 | 0.28 | EWY (slight) | Return above Treasury bills per unit of volatility. |
| Sortino | 0.44 | 0.38 | EWY | Return above Treasury bills per unit of downside deviation. |
| Calmar | 0.09 | 0.09 | EWY (slight) | Annualized return divided by the max drawdown. |
Computed by ETFIQ from Tiingo daily prices and ETFIQ's distribution records, 1,003 weekly returns. Cash rate: the 13-week Treasury bill.
What they share
By the books each fund has filed, EWY and VEA hold 8% of their money in the same securities at the same weight. Holdings dated Sep 30, 2026 and Oct 27, 2026.
half
8% in common
Only in one fund ↓
Side by side
EWY and VEA on the fields both publish, as of Oct 28, 2026. Source: ETFIQ.
EWY and VEA do different jobs. What does each one do in a portfolio?
- What each follows. EWY follows MSCI Korea 25/50 Daily 25 Capped Index and VEA follows FTSE Developed All Cap ex US Index.
- Holdings in common. 8% of the weight is in the same securities (holdings dated Oct 27, 2026 and Sep 30, 2026).
- One-year total return. Over 1 year to Oct 28, 2026 EWY returned +79.7% and VEA +17.1% with distributions reinvested, a gap of 62.6 points.
Data as of Oct 28, 2026.
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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.
VEA
VEA tracks an index of Developed markets ex US. Over the year to Oct 28, 2026 it returned +17.1% with distributions reinvested. The prospectus expense ratio is 0.03% a year. By its holdings published by its issuer as of Sep 30, 2026, 0% of the fund by weight is stocks the S&P 500 also holds, across 3,906 positions, with the top ten at 13.6%. It sat 4.4% below its high of Aug 25, 2026 on Oct 28, 2026.
Questions people ask
- Which returned more over the last year, EWY or VEA?
- In the year to Oct 28, 2026, with distributions reinvested, EWY returned +79.7% and VEA +17.1%.
- Which is cheaper, EWY or VEA?
- VEA is cheaper, by 0.56 percentage points a year. That is about $56 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, EWY against VEA, data as of Oct 28, 2026. https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ewy-vs-vea
ETFIQ. (Oct 28, 2026). EWY against VEA. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ewy-vs-vea
[EWY against VEA (ETFIQ, Oct 28, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/compare/any/ewy-vs-vea)
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