BKIE vs SCHF

BKIEABNY Mellon International Equity ETF

SCHFASchwab International Equity ETF

In short

BKIE BNY Mellon's low-cost swing at the international index giants: roughly 1,000 large-cap stocks from developed markets outside the US at 0.04% a year, tracking a Morningstar benchmark instead of the MSCI and FTSE indexes its biggest rivals follow.

SCHF Schwab's core answer to "everything outside the US": roughly 1,500 developed-market stocks for 0.03% a year, the floor for this category. Running since 2009 and one of the most heavily traded funds in its niche.

Stated mandate

BKIE The fund seeks to track the performance of the Morningstar® Developed Markets ex-US Large Cap Index.

SCHF The fund seeks to track the total return of the FTSE Developed ex US Index as closely as possible before fees and expenses.

Why people hold it

• BKIE Charges 0.04% a year, well under the typical fee in its developed-international peer group, and level with the cheapest core options from iShares, Vanguard and Schwab.
• Tracks its index about as tightly as anything in the category. The mandate is plain: match the Morningstar Developed Markets ex-US Large Cap Index, nothing else.
• About 1,000 large-cap names across developed markets outside the US in one ticker, with quarterly distributions.
• A multi-billion-dollar fund that stands in the upper half of a 26-fund developed-international cohort stacked with the industry's biggest index names.

• SCHF 0.03% a year is the cheapest tier in developed-international core, matched only by VEA and SPDW.
• Tracks the FTSE Developed ex US Index tightly, one of the closest index fits in its peer group.
• Roughly 1,500 stocks across Europe, Japan and the rest of the developed world ex-US, in one ticker.
• A multi-billion-dollar fund that trades very actively, which helps keep bid-ask costs small. Live since 2009.

Worth knowing

• BKIE Only moderately traded next to category heavyweights like VEA and SCHF, so spreads can be wider. Limit orders are the standard tool here.
• Launched in 2020, so the track record is shorter than the decades-old funds it competes with.
• Developed markets only. No US stocks, no emerging markets, no small caps. It is one slice of a portfolio, not the whole thing.

• SCHF No currency hedge. The index holds foreign shares in dollars, so exchange-rate swings feed into your return alongside the stocks.
• Developed markets only: no US names, and no emerging markets such as China, India or Brazil.
• Weighted by market value, so Europe's and Japan's largest companies dominate the top of the book despite the wide holdings list.

Full BKIE profile⁠

Full SCHF profile⁠