EWC vs IZRL

EWCAiShares MSCI Canada ETF

IZRLCARK Israel Innovative Technology 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.

IZRL ARK's odd one out. Instead of Cathie Wood's team picking stocks, IZRL follows a rules-based index of Israeli-incorporated innovators, equally weighted so the small names carry the same load as the household ones.

Stated mandate

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

IZRL IZRL seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the ARK Israeli Innovation Index. The index targets exchange-listed Israeli companies whose operations pursue disruptive innovation across genomics, health care, biotechnology, industrials, manufacturing, the Internet, and information technology.

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

• IZRL Runs on published rules, not conviction calls: it tracks the ARK Israeli Innovation Index, which screens for companies incorporated or domiciled in Israel and listed in the US or Israel.sec.gov
• 0.49% a year, below the typical disruptive-innovation fund and level with peers like TRFM while undercutting FDTX.
• Equal weighting across roughly 80 stocks means no single giant sets the tone, and smaller Israeli tech names get real room in the basket.stockanalysis.comsec.gov
• A pure local read on Israeli innovation, spanning genomics, biotech, manufacturing and information technology, and trading in the US since its 2017 launch.

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.

• IZRL Thinly traded and modest in size, so the gap between bid and ask can be wider than on the big innovation funds.
• One country, one theme. Israeli market moves, shekel swings and regional headlines land on this portfolio with nothing to offset them.
• Income is an afterthought here: distributions arrive once or twice a year, not monthly.

Full EWC profile⁠

Full IZRL profile⁠