ECH vs EWM

ECHBiShares MSCI Chile ETF

EWMBiShares MSCI Malaysia ETF

In short

ECH One ticker, one country. Since 2007 ECH has been the iShares route into Chilean equities, tracking the MSCI Chile IMI 25/50 index with a compact basket of roughly 25 stocks.

EWM Malaysia in one ticker, running since 1996. EWM tracks the MSCI Malaysia index, a cap-weighted slice of Kuala Lumpur's largest listed companies, and charges less than the typical single-country emerging markets fund.

Stated mandate

ECH The fund seeks to track an index composed of Chilean equities and provides targeted exposure to companies in Chile.

EWM The fund seeks to track an index composed of Malaysian equities.

Why people hold it

• ECH Launched in 2007 and now a $1B-$5B fund, it is the long-running iShares wrapper for Chile rather than a recent launch chasing a theme.
• The index's 25/50 caps rein in the largest names, so one Chilean heavyweight cannot swallow the whole basket.ishares.com
• Charges 0.59% a year, level with the typical single-country emerging-market fund, and distributes quarterly.
• Moderately traded for such a narrow mandate, and it lands in the upper half of its single-country emerging-market peer group.

• EWM Listed in 1996, which puts it among the oldest ETFs still trading. Nearly three decades of doing one job: hold Malaysian equities, track the index.ishares.com
• 0.50% a year, under the median for its single-country emerging markets peer group and below iShares siblings EPOL and EZA at 0.59%.
• Sits in the upper tier of the single-country emerging markets funds we grade, helped by a low fee and a milder volatility profile than much of that group.
• No guesswork about the mandate: BlackRock builds it as a way to express a single-country view on Malaysian companies, and the index name is right on the tin.ishares.com

Worth knowing

• ECH Around 25 holdings in one small market: a single sector wobble or a Santiago policy headline can move the entire fund.
• Fees sit at the category median, not below it. Cheaper single-country options exist, such as FLMX at 0.19%.
• The shares are priced in dollars while the stocks trade in pesos, so Chilean currency swings ride along with the equities.

• EWM Market-cap weighting in a modest-sized market means a short list of Kuala Lumpur heavyweights drives most of the fund's day-to-day move.stockanalysis.com
• One country, one currency. The holdings trade in ringgit and the fund is unhedged, so currency moves against the dollar land in your return alongside the stocks.ishares.com
• Volume is moderate rather than deep, and payouts arrive once or twice a year instead of quarterly. Limit orders are the friendlier way in and out.

Full ECH profile⁠

Full EWM profile⁠