EWJV vs IVLU

EWJVBiShares MSCI Japan Value ETF

IVLUBiShares MSCI Intl Value Factor ETF

In short

EWJV Most international value funds spread the bet across the whole developed world. EWJV skips the buffet and orders one dish: cheap-looking large- and mid-cap Japanese stocks, roughly 110 of them, for 0.15% a year.

IVLU iShares' value screen for the developed world outside the US: roughly 300 stocks picked by MSCI's Enhanced Value index, at a fee below the typical international value fund. A deep tilt, not a light one.

Stated mandate

EWJV The fund seeks to track large- and mid-capitalization Japanese equities with value characteristics and relatively lower valuations.

IVLU The fund seeks to track an index of international developed-market stocks selected for value characteristics, providing targeted exposure to undervalued companies outside the U.S. for potential long-term growth.

Why people hold it

• EWJV At 0.15% a year, it is the cheapest fund in its international-value peer group, well under the group's typical fee and below broad rivals like DFIV and EFV.
• A clean single-country expression: the MSCI Japan Value Index screens large- and mid-cap Japanese equities for value characteristics and lower valuations, so the country call and the style call arrive together.ishares.com
• Plain index plumbing from iShares, running since 2019, and it has stayed close to the benchmark it advertises.
• One of the stronger builds in its cohort on cost and mandate discipline, sitting in the upper half of the international-value field.

• IVLU 0.31% a year, under the typical fee in its international-value group and level with iShares' own EAFE value fund, EFV.
• About 300 names means the screen actually bites: a filtered slice of developed markets, not a broad index with a faint value lean.
• Rules-based by design. It follows the published MSCI World ex USA Enhanced Value Index, so the selection logic is on paper, not in a manager's head.ishares.com
• A multi-billion-dollar fund that has traded actively since its 2015 launch, so it is a well-worn ticker rather than a thin newcomer.

Worth knowing

• EWJV One country, one style, roughly 110 names. Nothing in the portfolio cushions a stretch when Japan or value is out of fashion.
• Moderately traded, not a volume machine. Limit orders earn their keep on larger tickets.
• Distributions arrive once or twice a year rather than quarterly, so income lands in lumps.

• IVLU Cheaper doors into the same idea exist: Fidelity's FIVA runs 0.18%.
• A concentrated value screen moves out of step with broad developed-market indexes for long stretches. That is the deal you are signing.
• Distributions arrive once or twice a year, not quarterly or monthly, so income timing is lumpy.

Full EWJV profile⁠

Full IVLU profile⁠