EZU vs GREK

EZUAiShares MSCI Eurozone ETF

GREKCGlobal X MSCI Greece ETF

In short

EZU Europe minus the UK, Switzerland and the Nordics. EZU holds only developed countries that use the euro, about 220 large and mid caps, and it has been doing that job since 2000.

GREK Greece in one ticker. Launched in 2011 with Athens at the center of Europe's debt crisis, GREK is still the only US-listed ETF built to hold Greek stocks directly: roughly 30 names, with banks in the driver's seat.

Stated mandate

EZU The fund seeks to track an index of large- and mid-cap equities from developed countries that use the euro, providing diversified Eurozone equity exposure.

GREK The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the MSCI All Greece Select 25/50 Index.

Why people hold it

• EZU The euro-only cut of Europe: the MSCI EMU index covers large and mid caps in developed countries inside the currency union, so no UK, Swiss or Nordic names ride along.msci.com
• Trading since 2000 and now a multi-billion-dollar, actively traded fund, one of the established ways to own the Eurozone through a single US-listed ticker.
• Roughly 220 stocks reaching about 85% of the euro bloc's free-float market value: the whole currency union, not a country or sector wager.msci.com
• Tracking is the strong suit here. It has followed its benchmark closely, which is most of the job description for a plain index wrapper.

• GREK Global X calls it the first and only US-listed ETF that directly targets Greek stocks, so the exposure comes from Athens-listed companies, not a sliver of a broad Europe fund.globalxetfs.com
• The index reaches past the handful of giants: companies classified, headquartered or listed in Greece that do most of their business there, filtered by a minimum trading-liquidity screen.msci.com
• The 25/50 rule stops any one name from swallowing the fund: no single issuer above 25%, and all positions over 5% capped together at under half the index.msci.com
• The 0.56% fee sits right at the median for single-country Europe funds, so a hard-to-reach market costs no novelty premium.

Worth knowing

• EZU 0.50% a year sits above the 0.45% median for index wrappers in its group and far above global one-fund options like VT at 0.06%.
• Currency comes with the package. The euro's moves against the dollar flow straight into your dollar return; iShares runs HEZU on the same index for the hedged version.ishares.com
• Large and mid caps only. Eurozone small caps and non-euro Europe (UK, Switzerland) sit outside the mandate by design.msci.com

• GREK About 30 stocks, concentrated in Greek shares and the financials sector, means one country's politics or one sector's stumble moves the whole fund.sec.gov
• The prospectus flags banking industry and currency risk: interest rates, regulation, credit conditions and the euro's path all show up in results.globalxetfs.com
• Cheaper single-country Europe options exist (DAX at 0.20%), and GREK trades moderately rather than heavily, so order size and timing matter more here.

Full EZU profile⁠

Full GREK profile⁠