BBCA vs FLAU

BBCAAJPMorgan BetaBuilders Canada ETF

FLAUAFranklin FTSE Australia ETF

In short

BBCA Canada, at a discount. BBCA tracks a Morningstar index of roughly 80 Canadian stocks for 0.19% a year, a fraction of what most single-country funds charge, and it has grown into a multi-billion-dollar fund since its 2018 launch.

FLAU Australia for nine basis points. Franklin's 2017 country fund holds a capped index of roughly 110 Australian stocks, so no single name swallows the basket, at a sliver of what the older single-country ETFs charge.

Stated mandate

BBCA The fund seeks to track the Morningstar Canada Target Market Exposure Index before fees and expenses. It uses a passive indexing approach to approximate the index rather than outperform it.

FLAU The Fund seeks investment results that closely track the performance of the FTSE Australia RIC Capped Index before fees and expenses.

Why people hold it

• BBCA Costs 0.19% a year, against a 0.50% median for developed single-country funds. The older Canada name in this group, EWC, charges 0.50%.
• Plain passive plumbing: it aims to approximate the Morningstar Canada Target Market Exposure Index before fees rather than beat it. No stock-picking surprises.jpmorgan.com
• Running since 2018, now a multi-billion-dollar fund that pays quarterly, and one of the stronger implementations in its single-country peer group.

• FLAU 0.09% a year, versus a peer group where half the funds charge five times that. On a plain index fund, fee is the part you actually control.franklintempleton.com
• The benchmark is a capped FTSE Australia index, so weight limits keep any one holding from quietly becoming an outsized chunk of the fund.
• No stock-picking, no overlay: it aims to match the index before fees, across roughly 110 names, and has run that way since 2017.
• Rates as one of the stronger builds in a 30-fund developed single-country group, largely on cost and clean index execution.

Worth knowing

• BBCA One country, about 80 stocks. The sector mix is whatever Canada's market hands you, set by the index rather than by a diversification plan.
• Moderately traded, not one of the busiest names on the tape, so spreads can widen on large or off-hours orders.
• Indexing means no manager leaning away from a soft patch in Canadian equities. You get the index, minus the 0.19% fee.

• FLAU Thinly traded, and Sydney's session is closed during US hours, so spreads can run wider than on the household-name country funds.
• A smaller fund than the long-running incumbents, and it pays out annually or semiannually rather than on a monthly rhythm.
• The holdings trade in Australian dollars while your account is in US dollars, so the currency move is part of the ride. There is no hedge.franklintempleton.com

Full BBCA profile⁠

Full FLAU profile⁠