iShares MSCI Spain ETF

The iShares MSCI Spain ETF (EWP) is a BlackRock index fund that tracks the MSCI Spain 25/50 Index, which holds large and mid-sized Spanish companies. It leans heavily on Spanish banks and utilities: as of August 31, 2026, its top 10 holdings made up about 76% of assets, led by Banco Santander, BBVA and Iberdrola. Its 0.50% expense ratio (annual fee) is above the 0.28% average of comparable Europe funds.

• Over the year to Oct 27, 2026, EWP returned +18.3%, 1st of 7 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +19.4% and its 10-year +11.3%.
• In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 38.5% and regained its old high 13.4 months after the low.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2008 (-36.8%); its best was 2025 (+78.0%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 61.2% (Dec 10, 2007 to Mar 9, 2009), recovered by Aug 23, 2024.

As of Aug 31, 2026, the fund held 22 securities; the ten largest made up 75.82% of assets.

• Over the three months to Aug 31, 2026, investors added a net $418.3M (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: +4.41%, +3.41%, +1.36%.

EWP tracks the MSCI Spain 25/50 Index, which MSCI builds and maintains. The index covers large and midsize Spanish companies. It weights each one by free float-adjusted market value, meaning the value of shares actually available to trade, so bigger companies count for more. A cap stops things from getting too lopsided. No single corporate group can exceed 25% of the index, and groups weighing more than 5% can't add up to more than 50% combined. The index is rebalanced every quarter to stay as close as the caps allow to the uncapped MSCI Spain Index.

BlackRock uses "representative sampling." That means it may hold a sample of index stocks that behaves like the whole index, rather than every one. At least 80% of assets go into index stocks or close equivalents. Up to 20% can go into futures, swaps, cash and similar tools. As of August 31, 2026, the fund held 22 companies, and stocks made up about 99.4% of assets. Swaps on Redeia and IBEX 35 index futures made up less than 0.3%. The fund may also lend out up to one-third of its assets to earn extra income. Portfolio turnover was 29%.

Two mechanical points matter. First, the stocks trade in euros but the fund is valued in dollars, so a weaker euro reduces returns. Second, the fund never moves into cash to avoid a falling market.

• EWP charges 0.5% a year, versus an average of 0.28% for the similar funds below (5th of 7, cheapest first).
• 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 single-country fund dominated by a few banks and utilities, with deep past losses, so it fits best as a small add-on to broader holdings.

EWP adds direct exposure to Spain's big banks and utilities, which make up only a small part of broad global funds. The trade-off is volatility. The fund fell 61.2% from December 2007 to March 2009 and didn't get back to its old peak until August 2024, about 15 years later. It dropped 38.5% in the 2020 COVID crash and took about 13 months to recover. In 2022 it fell 27.9% and recovered in about 3 months. Its worst calendar year was 2008, at -36.8%. Anyone forced to sell shares for spending money in a slump like that would have locked in heavy losses. The trailing 12-month yield was 2.88% as of October 27, 2026, paid twice a year. Costs run $51 in the first year on the SEC's $10,000 example. 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).