What does iShares MSCI South Africa ETF do?

iShares MSCI South Africa ETF (NYSE Arca: EZA) is an exchange-traded fund (ETF), not an individual company. An ETF is a basket of many stocks packaged into a single instrument you buy and sell like a share. It's issued by iShares (BlackRock). What it holds: it tracks the MSCI South Africa 25/50 index — a 'capped' version of the South Africa index, designed so no single name weighs too much. It groups ~33 large- and mid-cap companies in South Africa (~85% of the country's investable market). Its biggest positions (top 10, ~Jun 2026): AngloGold Ashanti (gold) ~12.1% Naspers (internet; owns Prosus → Tencent) ~10.5% Gold Fields (gold) ~9.3% FirstRand (bank) ~6.7% Standard Bank ~5.2%, MTN (telecom) ~5.1% Valterra Platinum ~4.6%, Capitec ~4.4%, Impala Platinum ~3.9%, Absa ~3.4% By sector: mining/materials ~40%, banks/financials ~32%, consumer (Naspers) ~14.6%, telecom ~7%. Costs and income: an expense ratio of 0.59% a year, and it pays a dividend of ~6.25% a year (semi-annual), which comes from the dividends paid by the South African companies it holds. Assets (AUM): ~$650 million. Why it joins the portfolio: even though it's a basket and not a single company, it pays a high dividend (~6.25%) — fitting the 'own things that pay you' thesis — and it reinforces the gold theme we already have (Gold Fields and AngloGold are also portfolio picks).

Why did Vectorial Data pick EZA?

EZA at $66.54 is the simplest way to get exposure to South Africa — gold, banks and the internet giant Naspers — in a single buy, while collecting a very high ~6.25% dividend. Specific reasons: (1) A fat dividend (~6.25%): more than triple what the average U.S. ETF pays; it's real income, twice a year, from the dividends of the South African companies. (2) A double bet on gold, with a dividend: AngloGold Ashanti (~12%) and Gold Fields (~9%) are together ~21% of the fund; with gold at record highs, this basket gives you that exposure AND pays you income — complementing the gold picks we already hold. (3) Naspers, the 'hidden Tencent': ~10.5% of the fund is Naspers, owner of a huge stake in Tencent (China) — you tuck a bit of Chinese tech inside a South Africa fund. (4) Cheap banks: FirstRand, Standard Bank, Capitec and Absa (~20% together) are solid banks trading cheaply. (5) Country diversification: instead of picking one South African stock, you own ~33 of the biggest for a reasonable fee (0.59%). It's country exposure with a hard-to-match dividend check.

What are the risks of investing in EZA?

Risks: (1) Currency risk (the rand) — very important: the ETF trades in dollars but its stocks are in South African rand; if the rand weakens against the dollar, your return drops even if the stocks rise there. (2) Gold and platinum dependence: ~40% of the fund is mining; AngloGold + Gold Fields alone are ~21% — if the price of gold or platinum falls, the ETF falls hard. (3) Political and infrastructure risk — South Africa: scheduled blackouts ('load-shedding' from the Eskom crisis), logistics bottlenecks (Transnet) and fiscal/political risk can hit the whole market. (4) Concentration: 10 names are ~65% of the fund and the top two ~23% — it's not 'diversified South Africa,' it's a bet on a handful of companies. (5) Emerging-market volatility: capital flows in and out fast; drawdowns can be sharper than in developed markets. (6) Naspers = hidden China risk: Naspers' value depends on Tencent — so you tuck China exposure (and its tech regulation) inside a 'South Africa' fund.

Is EZA an ETF or a stock?

iShares MSCI South Africa ETF is an ETF (exchange-traded fund): one purchase gives you a small piece of many companies at once, instead of a single company.

How can I buy EZA with little money?

You can buy fractional shares of EZA starting from a few dollars with any broker that offers fractional shares. The Vectorial Data method: invest the same amount in every pick, every time.

When was this EZA analysis last updated?

The EZA analysis was last updated on Invalid Date.

Stocks/EZA

EZA — iShares MSCI South Africa ETF

ETFAfricaSouth AfricaBlockchain certified

$66.54

Target: $ (%)

P/E Ratio

—

P/E Forward

—

Dividend

6.25%

Market Cap

$0.65B

EPS

—

Consensus

ETF — canasta indexada (sin rating individual)

What they do

iShares MSCI South Africa ETF (NYSE Arca: EZA) is an exchange-traded fund (ETF), not an individual company. An ETF is a basket of many stocks packaged into a single instrument you buy and sell like a share. It's issued by iShares (BlackRock).

What it holds: it tracks the MSCI South Africa 25/50 index — a 'capped' version of the South Africa index, designed so no single name weighs too much. It groups ~33 large- and mid-cap companies in South Africa (~85% of the country's investable market).

Its biggest positions (top 10, ~Jun 2026):

AngloGold Ashanti (gold) ~12.1%
Naspers (internet; owns Prosus → Tencent) ~10.5%
Gold Fields (gold) ~9.3%
FirstRand (bank) ~6.7%
Standard Bank ~5.2%, MTN (telecom) ~5.1%
Valterra Platinum ~4.6%, Capitec ~4.4%, Impala Platinum ~3.9%, Absa ~3.4%

By sector: mining/materials ~40%, banks/financials ~32%, consumer (Naspers) ~14.6%, telecom ~7%.

Costs and income: an expense ratio of 0.59% a year, and it pays a dividend of ~6.25% a year (semi-annual), which comes from the dividends paid by the South African companies it holds. Assets (AUM): ~$650 million.

Why it joins the portfolio: even though it's a basket and not a single company, it pays a high dividend (~6.25%) — fitting the 'own things that pay you' thesis — and it reinforces the gold theme we already have (Gold Fields and AngloGold are also portfolio picks).

Why we like it

EZA at $66.54 is the simplest way to get exposure to South Africa — gold, banks and the internet giant Naspers — in a single buy, while collecting a very high ~6.25% dividend. Specific reasons:

A fat dividend (~6.25%): more than triple what the average U.S. ETF pays; it's real income, twice a year, from the dividends of the South African companies.
A double bet on gold, with a dividend: AngloGold Ashanti (~12%) and Gold Fields (~9%) are together ~21% of the fund; with gold at record highs, this basket gives you that exposure AND pays you income — complementing the gold picks we already hold.
Naspers, the 'hidden Tencent': ~10.5% of the fund is Naspers, owner of a huge stake in Tencent (China) — you tuck a bit of Chinese tech inside a South Africa fund.
Cheap banks: FirstRand, Standard Bank, Capitec and Absa (~20% together) are solid banks trading cheaply.
Country diversification: instead of picking one South African stock, you own ~33 of the biggest for a reasonable fee (0.59%). It's country exposure with a hard-to-match dividend check.

Key Risk

Risks:

Currency risk (the rand) — very important: the ETF trades in dollars but its stocks are in South African rand; if the rand weakens against the dollar, your return drops even if the stocks rise there.
Gold and platinum dependence: ~40% of the fund is mining; AngloGold + Gold Fields alone are ~21% — if the price of gold or platinum falls, the ETF falls hard.
Political and infrastructure risk — South Africa: scheduled blackouts ('load-shedding' from the Eskom crisis), logistics bottlenecks (Transnet) and fiscal/political risk can hit the whole market.
Concentration: 10 names are ~65% of the fund and the top two ~23% — it's not 'diversified South Africa,' it's a bet on a handful of companies.
Emerging-market volatility: capital flows in and out fast; drawdowns can be sharper than in developed markets.
Naspers = hidden China risk: Naspers' value depends on Tencent — so you tuck China exposure (and its tech regulation) inside a 'South Africa' fund.

This is educational and informational content, not financial advice. Always consult a qualified financial advisor before making investment decisions.

Vectorial Data picked EZA on 2026-06-12 at $66.54.

Last updated: Invalid Date

Dividends received by the Vectorial portfolio

What this stock has paid the model since we bought it. Your actual amount depends on when you replicated.

Ex-div date	Per share	Shares	Total to portfolio
Jun 15, 2026	$1.4340	0.7673	$1.10

Total received: $1.10

Full Research

iShares MSCI South Africa ETF (EZA) — Research Completo

Precio: $66.54 | Tipo: ETF | Expense ratio: 0.59% | Div Yield: ~6.25% | AUM: ~$650M USD

⚠️ Esto es un ETF, no una empresa

EZA es una canasta de ~33 empresas grandes y medianas de Sudáfrica empaquetada en un solo instrumento. No tiene CEO ni un solo negocio: es exposición diversificada a un país. Emisor: iShares (BlackRock). Índice: MSCI South Africa 25/50 (versión con topes para que ningún nombre pese demasiado).

Qué contiene (top 10, ~jun 2026)

#	Empresa	Sector	Peso
1	AngloGold Ashanti	Oro	12.1%
2	Naspers	Internet (Tencent)	10.5%
3	Gold Fields	Oro	9.3%
4	FirstRand	Banco	6.7%
5	Standard Bank	Banco	5.2%
6	MTN Group	Telecom	5.1%
7	Valterra Platinum	Platino	4.6%
8	Capitec	Banco	4.4%
9	Impala Platinum	Platino	3.9%
10	Absa Group	Banco	3.4%

Top 2 ≈ 23% · Top 10 ≈ 65% del fondo.

Sectores

Sector	Peso
Materiales / minería	~40%
Financieras / bancos	~32%
Consumo cíclico (Naspers)	~14.6%
Telecom	~7%
Resto	~6%

Datos clave

Métrica	Valor
Expense ratio	0.59% /año
Dividend yield (TTM)	~6.25% (distribución semestral)
AUM	~$650 millones
Nº de holdings	~33

Anchor Fact

EZA no es 'comprar Sudáfrica entera': dos mineras de oro (AngloGold + Gold Fields) más Naspers son ~un tercio de todo el fondo, y solo 10 nombres son ~el 65%. Comprarlo es, en realidad, apostarle al precio del oro y el platino, a cuatro grandes bancos sudafricanos y a la participación de Naspers en Tencent —todo moviéndose con el rand—. Lo que lo hace especial: te paga un dividendo de ~6.25% al año, más del triple del ETF promedio de EE.UU.

Top Risks

Moneda (rand) — cotiza en USD, holdings en rand
Dependencia del oro/platino — ~40% minería; AngloGold + Gold Fields ~21%
Político / infraestructura — load-shedding (Eskom), Transnet, riesgo fiscal
Concentración — top 10 ≈ 65%, top 2 ≈ 23%
Volatilidad de mercado emergente — flujos de capital, caídas bruscas
Naspers = China escondida — su valor depende de Tencent

¿Por qué entra al portafolio?

Aunque es una canasta y no una sola empresa, paga un dividendo alto (~6.25%), encaja con la tesis de 'tener cosas que te pagan', y refuerza con renta el tema del oro que ya tenemos (Gold Fields y AngloGold son picks del portafolio).

Tesis en una línea

Una canasta de ~33 empresas sudafricanas —dominada por oro (AngloGold, Gold Fields), Naspers/Tencent y bancos— que te paga un dividendo de ~6.25% al año, moviéndose con el precio del oro y el rand.

Research fecha: 12 Jun 2026 | Próxima revisión: Dic 2026

Esto no es asesoría financiera.

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Researched: 6/12/2026Updated: 6/12/2026Next review: 12/12/2026

This is not financial advice. Consult a certified financial advisor.

The author may hold positions in the securities discussed.

Past performance does not guarantee future results.