EPU vs EWW

EPUCiShares MSCI Peru and Global Exposure ETF

EWWAiShares MSCI Mexico ETF

In short

EPU Peru in one ticker. iShares has run this since 2009, tracking a capped MSCI Peru index that holds only about two dozen names, and the fund's own title flags exposure reaching beyond Lima-listed shares.

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

EPU The Fund seeks to track an equity index with exposure to Peru, specifically the MSCI All Peru Capped Index.

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

Why people hold it

• EPU Launched in 2009, a long run for a single-country emerging-market fund, and still run by iShares.
• No clever overlay. It samples the MSCI All Peru Capped Index, a capped design that limits how large any single name gets in the basket.ishares.com
• Priced at 0.59%, the middle of its single-country emerging-market cohort. Same sticker as the iShares Poland (EPOL) and South Africa (EZA) funds.
• Lands in the upper half of its single-country emerging-market peer group on our review.

• 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

• EPU Around 25 holdings in one emerging market. That is a concentrated slice of the world, and it moves with a handful of large names rather than a broad economy.
• Moderately traded rather than heavily traded, so bid-ask spreads deserve a look before an order goes in.
• Distributions land once or twice a year, not monthly. Fine for total-return holders, lumpy for anyone budgeting off payouts.

• 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 EPU profile⁠

Full EWW profile⁠