What is the expense ratio of EWJ vs EWZ?

EWJ has an expense ratio of 0.49%, while EWZ has an expense ratio of 0.59%.

EWJ vs EWZ

iShares MSCI Japan ETF vs iShares MSCI Brazil ETF

Last updated: 2026-04-02

iShares MSCI Japan ETF (EWJ) is an exchange-traded fund that provides exposure to japan equity securities. It charges an above-average expense ratio of 0.49%. The fund offers a high dividend yield of 4.22%. Launched in 1996, the fund has a 30-year track record.

AUM: $18.0B ER: 0.49% Yield: 4.22% Since: Mar 12, 1996

EWZ

iShares MSCI Brazil ETF (EWZ) is an exchange-traded fund that provides exposure to brazil equity securities. It charges a high expense ratio of 0.59%. The fund offers a high dividend yield of 4.30%. Launched in 2000, the fund has a 26-year track record.

AUM: $9.3B ER: 0.59% Yield: 4.30% Since: Jul 10, 2000

Quick Verdict

EWJ is significantly cheaper at 0.49% vs 0.59% expense ratio, saving you approximately $191 per $10,000 invested over 10 years. Over the past year, EWZ has significantly outperformed with a 46.8% return vs 26.8%.

Key Metrics

Metric	EWJ	EWZ
Expense Ratio	0.49%	0.59%
Dividend Yield	4.2%	4.3%
Fund Family	N/A	N/A
Category	Japan Equity	Brazil Equity

Performance Chart

Indexed to 100 at start (5-year comparison)

EWJ +23.6%

EWZ +14.3%

Performance Comparison

Period	EWJ	EWZ	Difference
1 Month	-4.12%	-0.70%	-3.42%
3 Months	+6.33%	+19.16%	-12.83%
6 Months	+5.75%	+26.51%	-20.76%
YTD	+6.33%	+19.16%	-12.83%
1 Year	+26.80%	+46.79%	-19.99%
3 Years	+46.68%	+40.60%	+6.08%
5 Years	+23.58%	+14.26%	+9.32%

Fee Impact Over Time

Estimated fee cost difference assuming 8% annual returns

Investment	Period	EWJ Fees	EWZ Fees	You Save
$10.000	10 years	$960	$1.151	$191
$10.000	20 years	$4.052	$4.837	$785
$10.000	30 years	$12.832	$15.249	$2.417
$50.000	10 years	$4.799	$5.754	$955
$50.000	30 years	$64.162	$76.247	$12.085
$100.000	30 years	$128.324	$152.494	$24.171

Risk Metrics

Based on 5 years of daily returns

Metric	EWJ	EWZ
Annualized Volatility	18.3%	28.5%
Max Drawdown	-34.6%	-46.6%
Sharpe Ratio	0.08	0.08

Dividend Comparison

Metric	EWJ	EWZ
Annual Dividend (per share)	$3.65	$1.65
Dividend Yield	4.22%	4.30%
Distribution Frequency	Semi-Annual or Annual	Quarterly

Top Holdings

0 of top 9 holdings overlap (0% overlap in top holdings)

EWJ Top Holdings

Name	Weight
Toyota Motor Corporation!tyo/7203	4.27%
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc.!tyo/8306	4.05%
Hitachi, Ltd.!tyo/6501	2.86%
Sony Group Corporation!tyo/6758	2.61%
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc.!tyo/8316	2.54%
Mitsubishi Corporation!tyo/8058	2.46%
Tokyo Electron Limited!tyo/8035	2.33%
Advantest Corporation!tyo/6857	2.23%
Mitsui & Co., Ltd.!tyo/8031	2.14%
Mizuho Financial Group, Inc.!tyo/8411	2.10%

EWZ Top Holdings

Name	Weight
Vale S.A.!bvmf/VALE3	10.33%
Nu Holdings Ltd.NU	8.81%
Itaú Unibanco Holding S.A.!bvmf/ITUB4	8.27%
Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. - Petrobras!bvmf/PETR3	7.33%
B3 S.A. - Brasil, Bolsa, Balcão!bvmf/B3SA3	3.51%
Banco Bradesco S.A.!bvmf/BBDC4	3.28%
WEG S.A.!bvmf/WEGE3	3.09%
Companhia de Saneamento Básico do Estado de São Paulo - SABESP!bvmf/SBSP3	2.91%
Ambev S.A.!bvmf/ABEV3	2.72%

Which One Should You Choose?

Choose EWJ if...

you want the lowest fees and plan to buy and hold long-term. Over decades, the expense ratio difference compounds significantly.

Choose EWZ if...

recent performance momentum matters to your strategy. Note that past performance doesn't guarantee future results.

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