iShares MSCI Sweden ETF

The iShares MSCI Sweden ETF (EWD) is a BlackRock index fund that tracks the MSCI Sweden 25/50 Index, which holds large and midsize Swedish companies such as Spotify, Investor AB, Volvo and Atlas Copco. It holds only Sweden, while broad Europe funds hold many countries, and it costs more: 0.51% a year, compared with 0.09% for the JPMorgan BetaBuilders Europe ETF. Its top 10 holdings made up about 58% of assets as of August 31, 2026.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, EWD returned +7.8%.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +4.6% and its 10-year +9.8%.
• In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 36.2% and regained its old high 3.7 months after the low.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2008 (-46.9%); its best was 2009 (+55.3%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 68.1% (Jul 12, 2007 to Mar 5, 2009), recovered by Apr 21, 2011.

As of Aug 31, 2026, the fund held 45 securities; the ten largest made up 57.99% of assets.

• Over the three months to Aug 31, 2026, investors added a net $416.4M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: -3.05%, +4.60%, +2.02%.

EWD tracks the MSCI Sweden 25/50 Index, which MSCI builds and maintains. The index covers the large- and mid-cap parts of the Swedish stock market. It weights companies by free float-adjusted market value. That means bigger companies count for more, and only shares available for public trading are counted.

The "25/50" in the name is a pair of limits. No single group entity can exceed 25% of the index. A group entity is a set of companies that MSCI judges to be under common control. All group entities above 5% together can't exceed 50%. The index is rebalanced every quarter. An optimization process keeps it as close as possible to the uncapped MSCI Sweden Index. These limits matter in a small market where a few companies dominate.

The fund's adviser uses representative sampling. This means it may not own every stock in the index, but it holds a mix built to match the index's profile. At least 80% of assets go into index stocks or close equivalents. Up to 20% can go into futures, options, swaps and cash. As of August 31, 2026, it held tiny positions in OMXS30 index futures. The fund can lend out up to one-third of its assets. It doesn't try to beat the index or move into cash when markets fall. Portfolio turnover was 20%, according to the prospectus.

• EWD charges 0.51% a year, versus an average of 0.09% for the similar funds below.
• 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 $52 in the first year and $640 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

It is a high-cost bet on a single country that has lost more than two-thirds of its value in one past crisis, so it fits better as a small side position than as a core holding.

EWD adds Swedish industrial, bank and media companies, which a portfolio built mostly from US stocks may barely hold. Its trailing 12-month yield was 3.49% as of October 27, 2026. It pays twice a year, not monthly. Costs are high for an index fund: the SEC's standard example puts them at $52 in the first year and $640 over 10 years on a $10,000 investment.

The bigger concern is how far it can fall. EWD lost 67.6% in the 2008 crisis and needed about 25 months after the March 2009 low to get back to its old peak. It fell 36.2% in the 2020 COVID crash and 41.7% in 2022. The 2022 loss wasn't fully regained until September 2024. Anyone who had to sell during those stretches would have locked in deep losses. Past results don't predict the future, and a plan should look at the whole portfolio, not one fund.

Matched by closest holdings overlap from the latest N-PORT reports (no similar fund shares 20% or more of its holdings).