EPI nearly doubled ahead of INDA in five years, but one trade-off is significant

• The WisdomTree India Income Fund ( EPI ) manages $2.7B with an expense ratio of 0.84%, returning 168.76% over 10 years versus the iShares MSCI India ETF ( INDA ) at 117.83%, but down 6.5% YTD.

• The WisdomTree India Earnings Fund’s income-weighted approach invests in profitable Indian companies rather than high-value growth names, as foreign capital inflows continue to pressure Indian investors through 2025 and 2026.

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Retirees seeking global diversification are increasingly looking to India, one of the fastest growing economies in the world. But most Indian ETFs have the largest allocation to large companies by market value regardless of profitability. WisdomTree India Income Fund (NYSEARCA:EPI) weights holdings by actual earnings rather than market capitalization, filtering toward companies that generate real profits rather than just commanding high valuations.

EPI’s earnings-weighted methodology determines each equity share by its proportional contribution to total index earnings. The portfolio focuses on value, cash-generating businesses in financials, energy, and materials compared to high-growth technology companies that dominate market-cap-weighted peers. Key holdings have historically included Reliance Industries and HDFC Bank, two of India’s most profitable companies. For retirees wary of overpaying for growth, the Income Filter provides a value-building discipline that a standard index lacks.

EPI has been around since February 2008 and manages approximately $2.7 billion in assets with an annual expense ratio of 0.84%. This fee is significantly higher than cheap Indian ETFs, so the methodology should justify the cost.

Read: The analyst who called NVIDIA in 2010 Just naming his top 10 AI stocks

EPI consistently outperforms the iShares MSCI India ETF (NYSEARCA: INDA) over any large time horizon, and the gap is not small. Over ten years, EPI has returned 168.76% compared to INDA’s 117.83%, a difference that compounds meaningfully over the long term. In five years, EPI achieved 46.73% against INDA’s 26.27%. The earnings-weighted filter appears to have provided a structural edge by driving capital toward profitable companies rather than richly valued growth names. Such discipline rewards patient, long-term investors.

Last year was tough for EPI, with the fund down 6.5% year-to-date through early March 2026. The culprit is not Indian corporate earnings, which remain resilient, but foreign investors pulling out of Indian equities in 2025 and 2026, given the unprecedented growth in Indian fund earnings. A turnaround may depend on macro developments – particularly the progress of the US-India trade agreement and the stabilization of the rupee – rather than what the EPI earnings filter can control.

EPI is built for growth, not income. The fund’s two most recent distributions of $0.12 per share in December 2024 and $0.06 per share in June 2023 indicate how irregular and modest payouts have been, making it a poor fit for retirees who rely on steady cash flow. The 0.84% ​​annual expense ratio adds further drag during flat periods, meaning retirees should be comfortable accepting volatility in exchange for the fund’s long-term income-quality thesis.

EPI’s focus on profitable companies rather than high-growth, high-value names differentiates it from market-cap-weighted India ETFs, a distinction investors should weigh with the fund’s high expense ratio and irregular dividend history.

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