Category Review
Index option income was not one bet this year
iShares MSCI China Small-Cap ETF
$27.34+0.07 (+0.25%)
- 0.59%
- $62M
- −19.7%
- 6.96%
- 0M sh
- $27.60
- low $26.84high $37.82
The ETF.net ECNS Grade
B
Score 64 out of 100
- 8 of 30
Score 64 of 100 falls in the B band. A is 70 or higher, B 55 to under 70, C 40 to under 55, D 25 to under 40, F under 25.
Cost
The fund’s net expense ratio, ranked against its category.A79 out of 100Rank 5 of 30Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.A75 out of 100Rank 13 of 22Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.C46 out of 100Rank 19 of 30Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.F19 out of 100Rank 27 of 30Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.A83 out of 100Rank 2 of 28Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.B69 out of 100Rank 12 of 30
Our read on ECNS
BMost US-listed China funds fish in large-cap waters. ECNS works the other end of the market: an index of small-cap Chinese equities, roughly 300 of them, from iShares, running since 2010.
The fund seeks to track an index composed of small-cap Chinese equities.
Why people hold it
- Tracks the MSCI China Small Cap Index, roughly 300 names, reaching the smaller Chinese companies that broad-market China funds such as MCHI and GXC largely leave out.ishares.com
- Expense ratio of 0.59%, below the median fee across its US-listed China peer group.ishares.com
- Live since September 2010, giving it a continuous record through several full China market cycles, and it sits in the upper half of its China cohort on our review.
- Spreads exposure across a wide basket rather than leaning on a handful of index heavyweights, so no single name drives the fund.
Worth knowing
- Thinly traded with a modest asset base, so spreads can be wider than in the household-name China funds. Limit orders do more work here.
- Single-country small caps are the volatile corner of an already volatile market, carrying China-specific regulatory and currency exposure.
- Distributions arrive annually or semiannually, not on a monthly schedule.
ECNS Holdings
- Stocks
- 255
- 15%
- 0268.HK
Sectors
- Health Care21.6%
- Industrials14.1%
- Information Technology12.6%
- Consumer Discretionary12.1%
- Communication9.4%
- Materials8.7%
- Real Estate8.3%
- Consumer Staples5.9%
- Financials3.6%
- Utilities2.0%
- Energy1.8%
Geography
- China70.53%
- Hong Kong25.32%
- Taiwan1.77%
- Singapore1.67%
- United States0.71%
Developed 27% · Emerging 73%
ECNS Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
ECNS$8,030
Returns run to the Oct 12, 2026 close, with cash distributions reinvested. Each period starts on the same date that many months or years earlier. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
| Period | ECNS |
|---|---|
| Year to date | −15.5% |
| 1 month | −1.9% |
| 3 months | −5.0% |
| 1 year | −19.7% |
| 3 years | +6.1% |
| 5 years | −6.7% |
| 10 years | −0.5% |
Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.
| Year | Return bar | ECNS |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | −15.5% | |
| 2025 | +36.5% | |
| 2024 | +5.6% | |
| 2023 | −23.0% | |
| 2022 | −24.6% | |
| 2021 | +2.2% | |
| 2020 | +25.4% |
ECNS in the news
ECNS Dividends
- 6.96%
- $1.90
- $0.45 per share
- Twice a year
Distribution history
ECNS Risk
- 25.5%
How it’s calculated: standard deviation
The sample standard deviation of monthly total returns, multiplied by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Total returns include reinvested distributions.
- 0.20
How it’s calculated: Sharpe ratio
Subtract each month’s Treasury-bill return from the fund’s monthly total return.
Divide the average of those excess returns by their sample standard deviation, then multiply by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Each month uses the Treasury yield quoted at the end of the previous month.
- −55.6%
How it’s calculated: maximum drawdown
The largest percentage decline from an earlier peak, using total returns with reinvested distributions.
Uses up to five years through the last close, with at least 12 months required.
- 0.81
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
ECNS Cost
0.59%
ECNS0.59%
- The middle half of China funds
- Median 0.65%
3 of the 29 China funds charge less.
Other funds in China
- ACNYAiShares MSCI China A ETFExpense ratio 0.60%1 year return +2.0%
- BTCHIiShares MSCI China Multisector Tech ETFExpense ratio 0.59%1 year return −12.8%
- BASHSXtrackers Harvest CSI 500 China A-Shares Small Cap ETFExpense ratio 0.65%1 year return +7.3%
- BJCHIJPMorgan Active China ETF Active China ETFExpense ratio 0.65%1 year return −7.4%
- BFXIiShares China Large-Cap ETFExpense ratio 0.73%1 year return −9.3%