EZA — iShares MSCI South Africa ETF

EZA Price Performance — Growth of $10,000

Value of a $10,000 investment in EZA over time, compared with SPY. Both lines are rebased to $10,000 on the first shared date. Based on total returns — prices are adjusted for dividends and splits, so this assumes distributions were reinvested. Hover or tap the chart for exact values.

EZA Drawdown

The "underwater" chart: EZA's decline from its highest prior value at each point in time. It shows how deep past losses ran and how long the fund took to recover to break-even.

Overview

The iShares MSCI South Africa ETF (EZA) is a Single Country - Emerging fund managed by iShares with $544 million in assets under management. Currently trading at $61.07, the fund holds an overall rank of #391 out of 458 tracked ETFs across all categories and has received an ETFValuer grade of D with a score of 46.7/100. Investors in this vehicle face an expense ratio of 0.59% while receiving a dividend yield of 4.00%. The fund operates within a category containing 22 ETFs tracked by ETFValuer. Its asset size of $544 million suggests a moderate level of investor adoption relative to the broader universe of 458 funds. The combination of a D grade and a rank in the lower third of the total tracked universe indicates significant challenges in meeting current evaluation criteria. Despite the lower ranking, the fund maintains a substantial dividend yield that exceeds the average for many equity funds.

Recent price action shows a sharp divergence between short-term declines and long-term gains, with the fund posting a 1-day return of +1.06% following a 1-week drop of -2.07%. Over the past month, the fund declined by -1.79%, and this negative momentum extended to a 3-month return of -9.87% and a 6-month return of -17.41%. Year-to-date performance reflects this recent weakness with a loss of -10.07%, contrasting sharply with a 1-year return of +16.98%. The longer-term trajectory remains positive, as evidenced by a 3-year return of +61.54% which indicates significant growth over the multi-year horizon. This pattern suggests a period of recent underperformance that has not yet erased the substantial gains accumulated over the previous three years. The fund's closest category peers, FLKR and EWY, recorded 1-year returns of +122.85% and +125.62% respectively, highlighting a performance gap in the current year.

The fund carries a Very High volatility label and a beta of 1.12, indicating that its price movements tend to be more pronounced than the broader market. A Sharpe ratio of 0.37 suggests that the risk-adjusted returns have been relatively modest given the level of volatility experienced. The maximum drawdown of -24.32% illustrates the potential for significant capital erosion during market downturns. This combination of high beta and a deep maximum drawdown implies that the fund is highly sensitive to market swings and can experience severe declines during negative periods. While the high beta offers the potential for amplified gains in rising markets, it simultaneously exposes investors to greater downside risk. The low Sharpe ratio further indicates that the returns generated have not sufficiently compensated for the substantial volatility and drawdown risks taken.

AI-generated summary based on the data on this page.

EZA Top Holdings

Holdings as of 2026-02-28 per the fund's most recent SEC N-PORT-P filing. Top 10 holdings make up 68.3% of net assets — a rough gauge of concentration risk (the higher this figure, the more the fund's return depends on a handful of names). To see how EZA's holdings overlap with other ETFs you own or are considering, check the Stock Overlap tool.

Which Funds Overlap With EZA

Holding two funds that own the same companies adds cost and complexity without adding much diversification. These tracked ETFs share the most names with EZA's top 10 — GDX overlaps most, holding 2 of the same companies as EZA's top 10 (24.5% of EZA's assets).

Compares the top 10 reported holdings of each fund, so it's a floor on true overlap — two S&P 500 trackers overlap ~100% even when only 10 names are listed. Use the Stock Overlap tool to search by individual company.

Market Backdrop

10-Year Treasury Yield: 4.71% (as of 2026-07-23) — The yield on 10-year US Treasury bonds — the standard "risk-free rate" benchmark used to contextualize this fund’s Sharpe ratio and returns.

CBOE Volatility Index (VIX): 18.70 (as of 2026-07-23) — A real-time gauge of expected S&P 500 volatility over the next 30 days — useful context for this fund’s own volatility label.

Federal Funds Rate: 3.63% (as of 2026-06-01) — The Federal Reserve’s target policy rate, which anchors short-term borrowing costs across the economy.

EZA Liquidity, Domicile & Tax Treatment

Liquidity: Quoted bid/ask spread is 0.23% and average daily volume is 228K/day. Tighter spreads and higher volume mean lower round-trip trading costs; this is a live-market snapshot and can widen during volatile sessions. AUM of $544M provides ample scale, supporting tight spreads and issuer commitment to keep the fund open.

Domicile & tax treatment: EZA is a US-domiciled, SEC-registered ('40 Act) exchange-traded fund. Dividends and capital gains distributions are reported to US investors on Form 1099-DIV, and the fund is not subject to the PFIC reporting or UCITS-specific rules that apply to Irish- or Luxembourg-domiciled funds. Non-US investors should note that US-domiciled ETFs are generally subject to 30% US withholding tax on dividends (unless reduced by treaty) and to US estate tax exposure on the position — Irish-domiciled UCITS ETFs tracking the same index often avoid both, which is why non-US residents frequently prefer the UCITS equivalent where one exists. This is general information, not tax advice — consult a tax professional for your situation.

EZA Performance History

How EZA Compares to Other Single Country - Emerging ETFs