EWM vs VNAM

EWMBiShares MSCI Malaysia ETF

VNAMCGlobal X MSCI Vietnam ETF

In short

EWM Malaysia in one ticker, running since 1996. EWM tracks the MSCI Malaysia index, a cap-weighted slice of Kuala Lumpur's largest listed companies, and charges less than the typical single-country emerging markets fund.

VNAM Vietnam in a single US-listed ticker: about 70 locally listed large and mid caps, with index rules that stop one conglomerate from becoming the whole fund. It also prices under the typical single-country emerging-market ETF.

Stated mandate

EWM The fund seeks to track an index composed of Malaysian equities.

VNAM The fund seeks to track the performance of the MSCI Vietnam Select 25-50 Index before fees and expenses. It uses an indexing approach and invests primarily in securities represented by that index.

Why people hold it

• EWM Listed in 1996, which puts it among the oldest ETFs still trading. Nearly three decades of doing one job: hold Malaysian equities, track the index.ishares.com
• 0.50% a year, under the median for its single-country emerging markets peer group and below iShares siblings EPOL and EZA at 0.59%.
• Sits in the upper tier of the single-country emerging markets funds we grade, helped by a low fee and a milder volatility profile than much of that group.
• No guesswork about the mandate: BlackRock builds it as a way to express a single-country view on Malaysian companies, and the index name is right on the tin.ishares.com

• VNAM Pure-play access to a market most US brokerage accounts cannot reach directly: roughly 70 Vietnamese large and mid caps in one index fund.globalxetfs.com
• At 0.51% a year, it prices below the median fee in its single-country emerging-market peer group.
• The 25-50 index rules cap the largest group at 25% and hold everything above 5% to 50% combined, a real check in a top-heavy market.msci.com
• Plain vanilla build: a standard 1940 Act index fund, no leverage, no swaps.

Worth knowing

• EWM Market-cap weighting in a modest-sized market means a short list of Kuala Lumpur heavyweights drives most of the fund's day-to-day move.stockanalysis.com
• One country, one currency. The holdings trade in ringgit and the fund is unhedged, so currency moves against the dollar land in your return alongside the stocks.ishares.com
• Volume is moderate rather than deep, and payouts arrive once or twice a year instead of quarterly. Limit orders are the friendlier way in and out.

• VNAM Thinly traded with a small asset base, so spreads can run wider than on big-name ETFs and small funds carry more closure risk.
• One country, one market, and the caps still allow half the fund in a few large names, so Vietnam's swings arrive undiluted.msci.com
• Cash comes back once or twice a year rather than quarterly.

Full EWM profile⁠

Full VNAM profile⁠