AAXJ vs BBAX

AAXJCiShares MSCI All Country Asia ex Japan ETF

BBAXBJPMorgan BetaBuilders Developed Asia Pacific ex-Japan ETF

In short

AAXJ The regional Asia trade with Japan carved out: roughly 900 large- and mid-cap stocks from developed and emerging markets, in one ticker since 2008. You pay up for that precision.

BBAX Developed Asia Pacific with Japan deliberately cut out: Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and New Zealand in one ticket. The region's other half, indexed, at a price below the typical international blend fund.

Stated mandate

AAXJ The fund tracks an index of large- and mid-cap equities from developed and emerging Asian countries, excluding Japan, providing regional international equity exposure.

BBAX The fund is designed to provide indexed exposure to developed Asian Pacific equity markets while excluding Japan.

Why people hold it

• AAXJ One ticket, roughly 900 large- and mid-cap Asian stocks, spanning both developed and emerging markets under a single index rulebook.
• Running since 2008 and now a multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively, so getting in and out is rarely the hard part.
• Japan sits outside the MSCI AC Asia ex Japan index by design, leaving investors free to size Japan exposure on their own terms.

• BBAX Costs 0.19% a year, under the roughly 0.28% median for its international blend peer group.
• Japan is excluded by design, so it stacks next to a separate Japan holding without overlap. It tracks a Morningstar developed Asia Pacific ex-Japan index.jpmorgan.com
• Plain index plumbing since 2018: about 90 stocks across four markets, quarterly distributions, and a multi-billion-dollar asset base behind it.

Worth knowing

• AAXJ At 0.72% a year, the fee runs well above the 0.28% typical of its peer group and far above broad international index funds like IXUS at 0.07%.
• Emerging Asian markets are baked into the mandate, so currency moves and local market swings ride along with the developed-market names.
• Cash comes back once or twice a year rather than monthly.

• BBAX Four markets and roughly 90 names. This is a regional slice, not a diversified international core.
• Broad ex-US funds cost less for far wider coverage: VEU at 0.04% and IXUS at 0.07%, both including Japan.
• Trading is moderate rather than heavy, so spreads deserve a look at the open and close. It sits in the lower half of its peer group overall.

Full AAXJ profile⁠

Full BBAX profile⁠