AIA vs BBAX

AIACiShares Asia 50 ETF

BBAXBJPMorgan BetaBuilders Developed Asia Pacific ex-Japan ETF

In short

AIA A 50-stock shortlist of Asia's largest companies, running since 2007. Where broad international funds spread across thousands of names, this one concentrates on the region's blue-chip giants in a single ticker.

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

AIA The fund seeks to track the investment results of an index made up of 50 of the largest Asian equities.

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

Why people hold it

• AIA Concentration by design: about 50 of Asia's biggest listed companies, so the region's giants carry real weight instead of being diluted by thousands of smaller names.
• Trading since 2007, so it has a long record through the financial crisis and multiple Asian market cycles, not a recent launch chasing a theme.
• The mandate is plain to read: track the S&P Asia 50 Capped Index, whose capped construction limits how heavy any one holding can become.
• A multi-billion-dollar iShares fund that sees steady daily trading, which generally makes building or exiting a position uncomplicated.

• 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

• AIA At 0.50% a year it runs well above the 0.28% median in its international-blend peer group, and far above broad options like VEU (0.04%) or IXUS (0.07%).
• Fifty stocks in one region is a slice, not a global core. Single-country, currency and single-company swings land with more force here.
• Income arrives on an annual or semiannual schedule, so it is not built around a steady monthly payout.

• 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 AIA profile⁠

Full BBAX profile⁠