EWC: ISHARES MSCI CANADA ETF
ETF Education Report: ISHARES MSCI CANADA ETF (EWC)
What this ETF is trying to do
The ISHARES MSCI CANADA ETF (EWC) is an exchange-traded fund designed to track the Canadian market. Instead of buying just one company, this ETF allows investors to own a small piece of many different companies at once. Based on the top holdings, this fund has significant exposure to large Canadian companies like Royal Bank of Canada and The Toronto-Dominion Bank.
What the numbers show
When looking at ETF performance, it is important to understand two different types of returns: price return and total return.
• Price Return: This measures only the change in the share price.
• Total Return: This includes both the share price change and any cash distributions (dividends) paid out.
For EWC, the numbers show growth over different time periods:
• Year-to-Date (YTD): The price return is approximately 9.46%, while the total return is approximately 9.97%.
• One Year: The price return was approximately 16.82%, and the total return was approximately 18.42%.
• Three Years: The price return was approximately 78.12%, and the total return was approximately 88.48%.
To visualize this, the estimated price from roughly one year ago was $50.53. The current price is $59.03.
Income and distribution explanation
Some investors look for "yield," which is the cash an ETF pays out to shareholders. EWC has a distribution yield of approximately 1.27%. Over the last 12 months, it made two distributions. It is important to remember that a distribution yield tells you how much cash was paid out, but it is not the same thing as your total return.
NAV erosion explanation
"NAV erosion" refers to a situation where the value of the underlying assets in the ETF decreases significantly over time. StockValueFinder uses an "erosion-risk score" to help monitor this. For EWC, the erosion score is 100, and the label indicates "No price erosion detected." There is no severe erosion-risk flag for this ETF.
Pros
• The fund shows positive price returns and total returns across one-year and three-year periods.
• The erosion-risk measurement is rated as "good."
Cons
• The distribution frequency is described as irregular or less frequent, meaning you may not receive cash payments on a steady schedule.
• The top holdings list is partial, meaning the fund contains more companies than those listed in this report.
Beginner takeaway
EWC provides exposure to a variety of Canadian companies. When reviewing this ETF, remember that the total return is higher than the price return because it includes the cash distributions paid to investors. Always distinguish between the movement of the share price and the total amount earned through both price changes and dividends.
Top Holdings
Structured portfolio holdings supplied by the ETF data provider. These figures are not generated by the AI article.
| # | Holding | Ticker | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ROYAL BANK OF CANADA | n/a | 9.02% |
| 2 | n/a | SHOP | 6.59% |
| 3 | THE TORONTO-DOMINION BANK | n/a | 6.47% |
| 4 | BANK OF MONTREAL | n/a | 3.76% |
| 5 | BANK OF NOVA SCOTIA | n/a | 3.66% |
| 6 | CANADIAN IMPERIAL BANK OF COMMERCE | n/a | 3.37% |
| 7 | ENBRIDGE INC | n/a | 3.37% |
| 8 | CANADIAN NATURAL RESOURCES LTD | n/a | 3.31% |
| 9 | AGNICO EAGLE MINES LTD | n/a | 3.13% |
| 10 | SUNCOR ENERGY INC | n/a | 2.67% |