EWC vs EWP

EWCAiShares MSCI Canada ETF

EWPBiShares MSCI Spain ETF

In short

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.

EWP Spain in one ticker. Trading since 1996, back when single-country ETFs were a novelty, EWP still does one job: track an index of Spanish equities and hold a capped basket of the country's largest listed companies.

Stated mandate

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

EWP The fund seeks to track an index composed of Spanish equities.

Why people hold it

• 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

• EWP An ETF-industry original: launched in 1996, decades before most country funds existed, and still running the same plain mandate of tracking an index of Spanish stocks.
• The 25/50 caps in the index do real work in a top-heavy market: no single company can run away with the basket, and the biggest positions are limited as a group.ishares.com
• Undiluted country exposure. No Europe-wide blend, no US filler, just Spanish equities, which makes it a clean single dial for anyone tilting a portfolio toward one market.
• A billion-dollar-plus fund from the biggest ETF shop on the street, which is rare staying power for a single-country wrapper.

Worth knowing

• 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.

• EWP At 0.50% a year it runs above the typical index tracker and many times a broad core fund like VT at 0.06%. One country's worth of exposure carries a premium.
• The stocks trade in euros while the fund trades in dollars, so the currency swing rides along on top of whatever the Spanish market does.
• Volume is moderate rather than heavy, and cash comes once or twice a year instead of quarterly. Limit orders and patience are the tools here.

Full EWC profile⁠

Full EWP profile⁠