What is the expense ratio of EWG vs EWJ?

EWG has an expense ratio of 0.49%, while EWJ has an expense ratio of 0.49%.

EWG vs EWJ

iShares MSCI Germany ETF vs iShares MSCI Japan ETF

Last updated: 2026-04-10

EWG iShares

iShares MSCI Germany ETF (EWG) is an exchange-traded fund issued by iShares that provides exposure to germany equity securities. It charges an above-average expense ratio of 0.49%. The fund offers a moderate dividend yield of 1.63%. Launched in 1996, the fund has a 30-year track record.

AUM: $1.4B ER: 0.49% Yield: 1.63% Since: Mar 12, 1996

EWJ iShares

iShares MSCI Japan ETF (EWJ) is an exchange-traded fund issued by iShares 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 4.14%. Launched in 1996, the fund has a 30-year track record.

AUM: $19.7B ER: 0.49% Yield: 4.14% Since: Mar 12, 1996

Quick Verdict

Over the past year, EWJ has significantly outperformed with a 37.0% return vs 16.1%. Income investors may prefer EWJ for its higher yield (4.1% vs 1.6%).

Key Metrics

Metric	EWG	EWJ
Expense Ratio	0.49%	0.49%
Dividend Yield	1.6%	4.1%
Fund Family	iShares	iShares
Category	Germany Equity	Japan Equity

Performance Chart

Indexed to 100 at start (5-year comparison)

EWG +20.2%

EWJ +27.1%

Performance Comparison

Period	EWG	EWJ	Difference
1 Month	+1.85%	+2.66%	-0.81%
3 Months	-5.19%	+3.19%	-8.38%
6 Months	-0.54%	+11.00%	-11.54%
YTD	-2.36%	+8.21%	-10.57%
1 Year	+16.08%	+37.04%	-20.96%
3 Years	+45.04%	+52.06%	-7.02%
5 Years	+20.24%	+27.11%	-6.87%

Fee Impact Over Time

Estimated fee cost difference assuming 8% annual returns

Investment	Period	EWG Fees	EWJ Fees	You Save
$10,000	10 years	$960	$960	$0
$10,000	20 years	$4,052	$4,052	$0
$10,000	30 years	$12,832	$12,832	$0
$50,000	10 years	$4,799	$4,799	$0
$50,000	30 years	$64,162	$64,162	$0
$100,000	30 years	$128,324	$128,324	$0

Risk Metrics

Based on 5 years of daily returns

Metric	EWG	EWJ
Annualized Volatility	20.6%	18.4%
Max Drawdown	-46.5%	-34.6%
Sharpe Ratio	0.06	0.11

Dividend Comparison

Metric	EWG	EWJ
Annual Dividend (per share)	$0.68	$3.65
Dividend Yield	1.63%	4.15%
Distribution Frequency	Semi-Annual or Annual	Semi-Annual or Annual

Top Holdings

0 of top 10 holdings overlap (0% overlap in top holdings)

EWG Top Holdings

Name	Weight
Siemens Aktiengesellschaft!etr/SIE	10.55%
SAP SE!etr/SAP	9.37%
Allianz SE!etr/ALV	8.62%
Siemens Energy AG!etr/ENR	7.68%
Deutsche Telekom AG!etr/DTE	6.94%
Rheinmetall AG!etr/RHM	4.35%
Münchener Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft Aktiengesellschaft in München!etr/MUV2	4.32%
Infineon Technologies AG!etr/IFX	3.35%
Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft!etr/DBK	2.99%
Deutsche Börse AG!etr/DB1	2.86%

EWJ Top Holdings

Name	Weight
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc.!tyo/8306	4.13%
Toyota Motor Corporation!tyo/7203	4.07%
Hitachi, Ltd.!tyo/6501	2.86%
Sony Group Corporation!tyo/6758	2.65%
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc.!tyo/8316	2.62%
Advantest Corporation!tyo/6857	2.45%
Tokyo Electron Limited!tyo/8035	2.41%
Mitsubishi Corporation!tyo/8058	2.23%
Mizuho Financial Group, Inc.!tyo/8411	2.20%
Mitsui & Co., Ltd.!tyo/8031	2.00%

Which One Should You Choose?

Choose EWJ if...

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

Choose EWJ if...

you prioritize dividend income and want higher regular distributions from your portfolio.

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