EWU vs. GILS.L

Last updated Apr 1, 2026

Compare and contrast key facts about iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF (EWU) and Lyxor Core UK Government Bond (DR) UCITS ETF - Dist (GILS.L).

EWU and GILS.L are both exchange-traded funds (ETFs), meaning they are traded on stock exchanges and can be bought and sold throughout the day. EWU is a passively managed fund by iShares that tracks the performance of the MSCI United Kingdom Index. It was launched on Mar 12, 1996. GILS.L is a passively managed fund by Lyxor that tracks the performance of the FTSE Actuaries UK Conventional Gilts All Stocks. It was launched on Nov 10, 2010. Both EWU and GILS.L are passive ETFs, meaning that they are not actively managed but aim to replicate the performance of the underlying index as closely as possible.

Performance

EWU vs. GILS.L - Performance Comparison

The chart below illustrates the hypothetical performance of a $10,000 investment in iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF (EWU) and Lyxor Core UK Government Bond (DR) UCITS ETF - Dist (GILS.L). The values are adjusted to include any dividend payments, if applicable.

EWU vs. GILS.L - Yearly Performance Comparison

	2026 (YTD)	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017
EWU iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF	3.59%	34.95%	6.74%	12.40%	-4.39%	18.19%	-11.80%	21.29%	-14.30%	21.54%
GILS.L Lyxor Core UK Government Bond (DR) UCITS ETF - Dist	-3.46%	9.38%	-7.36%	6.86%	-33.49%	-7.69%	9.20%	8.27%	-7.63%	8.29%

Different Trading Currencies

EWU is traded in USD, while GILS.L is traded in GBp. To make them comparable, the GILS.L values have been converted to USD using the latest available exchange rates.

Returns By Period

In the year-to-date period, EWU achieves a 3.59% return, which is significantly higher than GILS.L's -3.46% return. Over the past 10 years, EWU has outperformed GILS.L with an annualized return of 8.05%, while GILS.L has yielded a comparatively lower -3.87% annualized return.

EWU

• 1D: 2.52%
• 1M: -6.41%
• YTD: 3.59%
• 6M: 10.65%
• 1Y: 26.48%
• 3Y*: 16.82%
• 5Y*: 11.88%
• 10Y*: 8.05%

GILS.L

• 1D: 0.50%
• 1M: -5.88%
• YTD: -3.46%
• 6M: -3.49%
• 1Y: 1.71%
• 3Y*: 0.11%
• 5Y*: -7.44%
• 10Y*: -3.87%

*Multi-year figures are annualized to reflect compound growth (CAGR)

EWU vs. GILS.L - Expense Ratio Comparison

EWU has a 0.50% expense ratio, which is higher than GILS.L's 0.05% expense ratio.

EWU

iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF

GILS.L

Lyxor Core UK Government Bond (DR) UCITS ETF - Dist

Return for Risk

EWU vs. GILS.L — Risk / Return Rank

Compare risk-adjusted metric ranks to identify better-performing investments over the past 12 months.

EWU

EWU Risk / Return Rank: 83
EWU Sharpe Ratio Rank: 83
EWU Sortino Ratio Rank: 82
EWU Omega Ratio Rank: 83
EWU Calmar Ratio Rank: 82
EWU Martin Ratio Rank: 86

GILS.L

GILS.L Risk / Return Rank: 8
GILS.L Sharpe Ratio Rank: 9
GILS.L Sortino Ratio Rank: 8
GILS.L Omega Ratio Rank: 8
GILS.L Calmar Ratio Rank: 9
GILS.L Martin Ratio Rank: 7

The rank (0–100) shows how this investment's returns compare to the risk taken. Higher = better. Based on the past 12 months of data, combining Sharpe, Sortino, and other metrics used by quantitative funds and institutional investors.

EWU vs. GILS.L - Risk-Adjusted Trends Comparison

This table presents a comparison of risk-adjusted performance metrics for iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF (EWU) and Lyxor Core UK Government Bond (DR) UCITS ETF - Dist (GILS.L). Risk-adjusted metrics are performance indicators that assess an investment's returns in relation to its risk, enabling a more accurate comparison of different investment options.

	EWU	GILS.L	Difference
Sharpe ratio Return per unit of total volatility	1.59	0.16	+1.44
Sortino ratio Return per unit of downside risk	2.11	0.28	+1.83
Omega ratio Gain probability vs. loss probability	1.32	1.04	+0.28
Calmar ratio Return relative to maximum drawdown	2.22	0.18	+2.03
Martin ratio Return relative to average drawdown	9.82	0.45	+9.37
Data is calculated on a 1-year rolling basis and updated daily. The trend shows the change in the indicator over the past month.

EWU vs. GILS.L - Sharpe Ratio Comparison

The current EWU Sharpe Ratio is 1.59, which is higher than the GILS.L Sharpe Ratio of 0.16. The chart below compares the historical Sharpe Ratios of EWU and GILS.L, offering insights into how both investments have performed under varying market conditions. These values are calculated using daily returns over the previous 12 months.

Sharpe Ratios by Period

	EWU	GILS.L	Difference
Sharpe Ratio (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	1.59	0.16	+1.44
Sharpe Ratio (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period	0.74	-0.53	+1.26
Sharpe Ratio (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period	0.43	-0.30	+0.73
Sharpe Ratio (All Time) Calculated using the full available price history	0.26	-0.09	+0.35

Correlation

The correlation between EWU and GILS.L is 0.36, which is considered to be low. This implies their price changes are not closely related. A low correlation is generally favorable for portfolio diversification, as it helps to reduce overall risk by spreading it across multiple assets with different performance patterns.

Dividends

EWU vs. GILS.L - Dividend Comparison

EWU's dividend yield for the trailing twelve months is around 3.60%, while GILS.L has not paid dividends to shareholders.

	TTM	2025	2024	2023	2022	2021	2020	2019	2018	2017	2016	2015
EWU iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF	3.60%	3.73%	4.16%	4.14%	3.43%	4.35%	2.48%	4.13%	4.98%	3.91%	3.97%	4.11%
GILS.L Lyxor Core UK Government Bond (DR) UCITS ETF - Dist	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.02%	0.02%	0.02%	0.03%	0.03%	0.03%	0.03%	0.00%

Drawdowns

EWU vs. GILS.L - Drawdown Comparison

The maximum EWU drawdown since its inception was -63.99%, which is greater than GILS.L's maximum drawdown of -50.24%. Use the drawdown chart below to compare losses from any high point for EWU and GILS.L.

Drawdown Indicators

	EWU	GILS.L	Difference
Max Drawdown Largest peak-to-trough decline	-63.99%	-38.75%	-25.24%
Max Drawdown (1Y) Largest decline over 1 year	-11.75%	-5.53%	-6.22%
Max Drawdown (5Y) Largest decline over 5 years	-24.91%	-34.64%	+9.73%
Max Drawdown (10Y) Largest decline over 10 years	-43.33%	-38.75%	-4.58%
Current Drawdown Current decline from peak	-6.41%	-36.31%	+29.90%
Average Drawdown Average peak-to-trough decline	-14.23%	-11.74%	-2.49%
Ulcer Index Depth and duration of drawdowns from previous peaks	2.66%	2.02%	+0.64%

Volatility

EWU vs. GILS.L - Volatility Comparison

iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF (EWU) has a higher volatility of 7.05% compared to Lyxor Core UK Government Bond (DR) UCITS ETF - Dist (GILS.L) at 4.21%. This indicates that EWU's price experiences larger fluctuations and is considered to be riskier than GILS.L based on this measure. The chart below showcases a comparison of their rolling one-month volatility.

Volatility by Period

	EWU	GILS.L	Difference
Volatility (1M) Calculated over the trailing 1-month period	7.05%	4.21%	+2.84%
Volatility (6M) Calculated over the trailing 6-month period	10.72%	7.45%	+3.27%
Volatility (1Y) Calculated over the trailing 1-year period	16.70%	11.01%	+5.69%
Volatility (5Y) Calculated over the trailing 5-year period, annualized	16.25%	14.05%	+2.20%
Volatility (10Y) Calculated over the trailing 10-year period, annualized	18.81%	12.87%	+5.94%