ETF Evaluator: iShares MSCI China Small-Cap ETF (ECNS) Follow This ETF

iShares MSCI China Small-Cap ETF Overview

iShares MSCI China Small-Cap ETF (ECNS) is a passively managed International Equity Greater China Region exchange-traded fund (ETF). iShares launched the ETF in 2010.

The investment seeks to track the investment results of the MSCI China Small Cap Index. The fund generally will invest at least 80% of its assets in the component securities of the underlying index and in investments that have economic characteristics that are substantially identical to the component securities of the underlying index. The index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization-weighted index that is designed to measure the performance of the small-capitalization segment of the Chinese equity securities markets, as represented by the H-shares and B-shares markets.

About iShares MSCI China Small-Cap ETF (ECNS)

There are 4 members of the management team with an average tenure of 4.31 years: Jennifer Hsui (2012), Peter Sietsema (2025), Matt Waldron (2025) and Steven White (2025). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.

The ETF has 2 primary benchmarks: MSCI EM NR USD index with a weighting of 100% and MSCI China Small Cap NR USD index with a weighting of 100%. iShares MSCI China Small-Cap ETF has 277 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 18.4% of the ETF’s assets. The ETF meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The ETF is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.

iShares MSCI China Small-Cap ETF is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the International Equity ETF group. iShares MSCI China Small-Cap ETF has 98.0% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 0.4% There is 98.0% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 0.0% (0.0% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). iShares MSCI China Small-Cap ETF has 1.6% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $63 million in total assets, which is below the $1 billion average for the Greater China Region category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.

ECNS Performance and Fees

The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The iShares MSCI China Small-Cap ETF expense ratio is average compared to funds in the Greater China Region category. iShares MSCI China Small-Cap ETF has an expense ratio of 0.59%, which is 11% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a A. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.

High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. iShares MSCI China Small-Cap ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 35%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 57% for the Greater China Region category.

Recently, in the month of June 2026, iShares MSCI China Small-Cap ETF returned -9.2%, which earned it a grade of D, as the Greater China Region category had an average return of -1.6%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all ETFs in that category.

iShares MSCI China Small-Cap ETF has a trailing yield of 6.69%, which is above the 3.30% category average. The fund normally distributes its income semi-annually.

It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.

iShares MSCI China Small-Cap ETF Grades

Year to date, the ETF has returned -12.7%, 18.9 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of D. The fund has returned -4.9% over the past year (grade of D), 4.9% over the past three years (grade of D) and -8.8% per year over the past five years (grade of D) and 1.1% per year over the past 10 years (grade of F).

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