AIA vs VPL

AIACiShares Asia 50 ETF

VPLAVanguard FTSE Pacific 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.

VPL Vanguard's scalpel for the developed Pacific: Japan, Australia, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and New Zealand, down to small caps, for 0.07% a year. Asia-Pacific without Europe bolted on, running since 2005.

Stated mandate

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

VPL VPL seeks to track the FTSE Developed Asia Pacific All Cap Index, targeting Pacific-region common stocks through passive full replication.

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.

• VPL Costs 0.07% a year, roughly a quarter of the 0.28% median in its international-blend group and well under broad rivals like ACWX at 0.32%.vanguard.com
• Full replication, all-cap: roughly 2,400 stocks held in index weight, small caps included, rather than a large-cap sample of the region.vanguard.com
• Trading since 2005 and now a multi-billion-dollar fund that has tracked its benchmark tightly, one of the stronger implementations in its peer group.
• FTSE's developed Asia Pacific map includes South Korea, so Korean names sit alongside Japanese and Australian ones in the same index.bogleheads.org

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.

• VPL Six developed markets, full stop. No Europe and no emerging Asia, so China, Taiwan and India sit outside the mandate.bogleheads.org
• Japan is the region's largest market and the fund's heaviest weight, and currency is unhedged, so Japanese equities and yen moves shape a lot of the ride.vanguard.com
• One region means bumpier ground than a global fund; it doesn't cover developed ex-US or all-world markets the way VEU or IXUS do.

Full AIA profile⁠

Full VPL profile⁠