ECH vs EWW

ECHBiShares MSCI Chile ETF

EWWAiShares MSCI Mexico 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.

EWW Mexico in one ticker, doing that job since 1996. Roughly 40 of the country's biggest listed names, capped so no single company runs the show, for 0.50% a year.

Stated mandate

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

EWW The fund seeks to track an index composed of Mexican equities and provides targeted exposure to companies in Mexico.

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.

• EWW 0.50% a year, below the typical single-country emerging-market fund. Cheap is not the pitch here, but you are not paying a premium for the exposure.
• A billion-dollar-plus fund that trades actively, which is why it has long been the default way US investors get Mexico exposure in a brokerage account.
• The 25/50 index rules keep any one issuer from swallowing the portfolio, a real safeguard in a market where a handful of giants dominate the exchange.ishares.com
• Tracks its MSCI Mexico index tightly and ranks among the strongest builds in the single-country emerging-market group.

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.

• EWW About 40 stocks, one country, one currency. Peso moves and Mexican politics land straight in the return, with no diversification to soften them.
• FLMX tracks Mexico for 0.19%. If cost is the deciding factor, that gap is the trade-off against EWW's deeper trading and longer track record.
• Distributions come once or twice a year, not monthly. This is an equity exposure vehicle, not a steady income line.

Full ECH profile⁠

Full EWW profile⁠