EIRL vs EWC

EIRLCiShares MSCI Ireland ETF

EWCAiShares MSCI Canada ETF

In short

EIRL Ireland in one ticker. Since 2010, EIRL has tracked a capped index of Irish equities, roughly two dozen names, making it one of the few ways US investors get a dedicated slice of a single small European market.

EWC A 1996 original: Canada's large and mid caps in one ticker, back when single-country funds were still a novelty. About 80 names, held through a capped MSCI index built so one giant can't swamp the basket.

Stated mandate

EIRL The Fund seeks to track a broad-based index of Irish equities.

EWC The fund seeks to track an index representing Canadian equities, providing exposure to large- and mid-sized companies in Canada.

Why people hold it

• EIRL Pure-play Ireland exposure in a single trade. It tracks the MSCI All Ireland Capped Index, and the capped design limits how heavy any one name can get at rebalance.ishares.com
• Launched in 2010 and run by iShares, so it comes with a long continuous history and BlackRock's index-fund plumbing behind it.
• The 0.50% expense ratio sits right at the median for developed single-country funds. No novelty premium for the narrow mandate.

• EWC Running since 1996, which makes it one of the oldest US-listed ETFs still trading, and it is a multi-billion-dollar fund today.
• Tracks the MSCI Canada Custom Capped Index closely, one of the tighter index-following records in its single-country developed peer group.ishares.com
• Actively traded with among the easiest fills in its peer group, so the cost of getting in and out stays modest.
• The capped index trims outsized single-name weights, so roughly 80 holdings stay a basket rather than a wager on two or three giants.ishares.com

Worth knowing

• EIRL Roughly two dozen holdings. A few large names and one or two sectors steer the fund far more than they would in a broad international index.
• Thinly traded. Spreads tend to run wider than on the cohort's household names, so limit orders do real work here.
• Cheaper shelf-mates exist in the single-country aisle: Franklin's FLAU and FLKR charge 0.09%. None of them cover Ireland, but the fee gap is real.

• EWC At 0.50%, the fee sits right at the median for single-country developed funds, and cheaper Canada exposure exists: BBCA runs 0.19%.
• One country, about 80 stocks: a concentrated slice of the world, with Canadian dollar moves riding along in your US-dollar return.ishares.com
• Distributions land once or twice a year rather than monthly or quarterly, so income arrives in lumps.

Full EIRL profile⁠

Full EWC profile⁠