iShares MSCI South Korea ETF

The iShares MSCI South Korea ETF (EWY) is a BlackRock index fund that tracks the MSCI Korea 25/50 Index, giving targeted exposure to large and mid-sized South Korean companies. It is highly concentrated: Samsung Electronics and SK hynix were about 22% and 21% of assets as of August 31, 2026. Its 0.59% expense ratio is well above the 0.21% average of the broader funds it most overlaps with.

• Over the year to Nov 2, 2026, EWY returned +59.9%, 1st of 7 among similar funds.
• Its 5-year annualized return was +15.9% and its 10-year +12.9%.
• In the 2020 COVID crash it fell 36.2% and regained its old high 4.2 months after the low.
• Its worst full calendar year was 2008 (-56.0%); its best was 2025 (+95.4%).
• The deepest fall in its price history was 74.2% (Oct 31, 2007 to Nov 20, 2008), recovered by May 15, 2017.

As of Aug 31, 2026, the fund held 79 securities; the ten largest made up 58.76% of assets. It also reported 5.48% in a money-market fund, most likely cash collateral from lending out shares rather than uninvested money.

• Over the three months to Aug 31, 2026, investors added a net $5.90B (creations minus redemptions, per the N-PORT report).
• Monthly total returns reported for that quarter: -1.70%, -19.53%, +11.62%.

EWY tracks the MSCI Korea 25/50 Index, which covers large and mid-sized South Korean companies. Each company is weighted by its free-float market value, which counts only shares available to the public, so bigger firms carry more weight. The index also caps "group entities." These are affiliated companies that MSCI judges to be under common control. No group can exceed 25% of the index, and groups above 5% can't total more than 50%. MSCI reviews these groups once a year. The index is rebalanced quarterly to stay close to its parent, the MSCI Korea Index.

BlackRock manages the fund through representative sampling. It holds a set of stocks that together resemble the index, but not necessarily every one. At least 80% of assets go into index stocks or close equivalents. Up to 20% can go into futures, options, swaps and cash. The fund does not try to beat the index or turn defensive when markets fall. As of August 31, 2026, it had 79 holdings.

Two mechanics matter. The fund creates and redeems shares for cash rather than by exchanging stocks. That means it may have to trim holdings at awkward times and realize capital gains it might otherwise avoid. It may also lend up to one-third of its assets. The 5.5% in cash it held as of August 31, 2026, was likely collateral from that lending.

• EWY charges 0.59% a year, versus an average of 0.21% for the similar funds below (6th of 7, cheapest first).
• Using the prospectus's standard example, $10,000 invested would cost about $60 in the first year and $738 over 10 years (assuming a 5% annual return).

It holds a single country's stocks, with Samsung Electronics and SK hynix each over a fifth of assets, and it once fell 74.2%.

EWY could add targeted exposure to South Korea, but its swings run both ways: it gained 95.4% in 2025. Its deepest drop came in the 2008 financial crisis. It fell 74.2% from October 2007 to November 2008 and did not recover until May 2017. It lost 36.2% in the 2020 COVID crash but recovered by the end of July 2020. In the 2022 bear market it fell 40.6% and did not regain its peak until September 2025. Its worst calendar year was 2008, down 56%. Drawing money from it in a slump could lock in deep losses.

Income is modest: the yield was 1.26% over the year to October 29, 2026, paid once a year. The 0.59% expense ratio works out to $60 in the first year on $10,000 under the SEC's standard example. Past results don't predict future ones, and a plan should consider 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).