iShares MSCI Ireland ETF

iShares MSCI Ireland ETF (EIRL) is a BlackRock index fund that tracks the MSCI All Ireland Capped Index, a basket of large, mid and small Irish companies. It is a narrow, concentrated fund. As of August 31, 2026, it held 28 stocks, and its 10 largest made up about 76% of assets. Two banks led the list: AIB Group and Bank of Ireland, about 34% combined. It costs 0.50% a year.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, EIRL returned +20.6%.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +8.4% and its 10-year +10.1%.
• In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 42.5% and regained its old high 7.8 months after the low.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2018 (-21.9%); its best was 2013 (+45.6%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 46.5% (Jan 24, 2018 to Mar 18, 2020), recovered by Dec 1, 2020.

As of Aug 31, 2026, the fund held 28 securities; the ten largest made up 75.89% of assets.

• Over the three months to Aug 31, 2026, investors withdrew a net $224K (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +3.73%, +1.42%, +4.47%.

The fund follows the MSCI All Ireland Capped Index. MSCI builds the index from companies it classifies as Irish. It also includes firms that are headquartered or listed in Ireland and have strong ties there, judged by their shareholders, revenue, assets, management and staff. If that gives fewer than 25 securities or 20 issuers, MSCI adds companies that earn more than 10% of their revenue in Ireland. Each of these generally gets a weight of no more than 1%.

Stocks are weighted by free-float market value, meaning the value of the shares available to public investors. To limit concentration, no single corporate group can exceed 25% of the index. Groups weighing more than 5% are capped at 50% combined. At each quarterly rebalance, MSCI trims these further, to 22.5% and 45%, to leave room for price moves. Even so, AIB Group alone was about 19% of the fund as of August 31, 2026.

BlackRock uses representative sampling. That means it holds a set of stocks chosen to match the index's profile, which may not include every index stock. At least 80% of assets go into index stocks or close equivalents. Up to 20% can go into futures, swaps, cash or other securities that help the fund track the index. As of August 31, 2026, derivatives were under 0.1% of assets and cash was about 0.4%. The prospectus lists portfolio turnover of 46%.

• EIRL charges 0.5% a year.
• Of that, 0.49% is the management fee; the rest covers other fund expenses.
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $51 in the first year and $628 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

It is a concentrated bet on one small economy, with more than a third of its assets in two banks and a history of steep drops.

EIRL could add focused exposure to Irish banks, food companies and builders. Its declines have been deep, though. It fell 42.5% in the 2020 COVID crash and 37% in the 2022 bear market. It took about 8 and 9 months, respectively, to recover from those lows. Its worst calendar year was 2018, when it lost 20.99%. Its deepest drop, 46.5%, ran from January 2018 to March 2020. Anyone who had to sell shares during those stretches would have locked in large losses. The fund launched in 2010, so it has no record from the 2008 crisis. The trailing yield was 2.33% as of October 27, 2026, paid twice a year. In the SEC's standard example, a $10,000 investment costs $51 in the first year and $628 over 10 years. Past results don't predict the future, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports.

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