EWW vs EZA

EWWAiShares MSCI Mexico ETF

EZABiShares MSCI South Africa ETF

In short

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.

EZA Since 2003, the plain US-listed way to own the Johannesburg market: about 27 large and mid-cap South African stocks, with index caps keeping any one corporate group from taking over the portfolio.

Stated mandate

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

EZA The fund seeks to track an index made up of South African equities.

Why people hold it

• 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.

• EZA Listed since 2003, it is the long-running US-listed pure play on South African equities: one ticker instead of a pile of Johannesburg listings and ADRs.ishares.com
• The 25/50 index rules cap any single company group at 25% of the index and hold all 5%-plus groups to 50% combined, so no one Johannesburg giant can swallow the fund.msci.commsci.com 2
• The index targets the large and mid-cap core of the market, roughly 85% of South Africa's free-float value. You get the country's benchmark, not a stock picker's guess.msci.com
• At 0.59% the fee sits right at the median for single-country emerging-market ETFs, and the fund stands among the stronger implementations in that group.

Worth knowing

• 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.

• EZA Around 27 holdings, with miners and financials doing most of the work. Concentration is the whole point of a single-country fund, and it cuts both ways.ishares.com
• The stocks trade in rand, the fund reports in dollars. Currency moves ride along with the share prices, in both directions.ishares.com
• 0.59% is normal for a single-country fund but well above broad emerging-market index funds, and cash comes back once or twice a year, not quarterly.

Full EWW profile⁠

Full EZA profile⁠