BRAZ vs FLBR

BRAZCGlobal X Brazil Active ETF

FLBRAFranklin FTSE Brazil ETF

In short

BRAZ Brazil, stock-picked. Global X launched BRAZ in 2023 as the only actively managed Brazil ETF on the US market: a couple dozen names chosen by an emerging-markets team rather than the weights a cap-weighted index hands you. Focused mandate, active price tag.

FLBR Brazil at roughly a third the fee of the typical fund in the category. Franklin tracks a capped FTSE index of about 100 Brazilian stocks, and has hugged that benchmark closely since launching in 2017.

Stated mandate

BRAZ The fund seeks long-term capital growth.

FLBR The fund uses a passive indexing approach intended to track the performance of the FTSE Brazil Capped Index before fees and expenses.

Why people hold it

• BRAZ The active outlier on a shelf of Brazil index trackers. It doesn't replicate a benchmark, so managers set position sizes themselves instead of inheriting them.globalxetfs.com
• Concentrated on purpose: a high-conviction book of roughly two dozen Brazilian stocks, not a broad market sweep.prnewswire.com
• Run since its 2023 launch by Global X's emerging markets team, using parent Mirae's risk framework for position and sector limits.prnewswire.com
• The mandate is literal and the portfolio honors it: Brazilian equities, long-term capital growth, no style drift into neighboring markets.

• FLBR 0.19% a year against a 0.60% median for Brazil funds. In a market this jumpy, the fee is the one input you actually control.
• Same large-cap Brazil market as EWZ at 0.59%, for well under half the cost, and one of the strongest all-round builds in the Brazil group.
• Plain index plumbing: it aims to match the FTSE Brazil Capped Index before fees, and its tracking has stayed very close to that benchmark.
• Backed by Franklin Templeton and trading since 2017, so this is a seasoned wrapper rather than a fresh single-country launch.

Worth knowing

• BRAZ At 0.75% a year, it costs more than the typical Brazil fund and nearly four times the cheapest index option in the group (FLBR, 0.19%).
• Small asset base and thin trading volume, so spreads can widen. Limit orders and a look at the quote matter more here than with the category's household names.
• Roughly two dozen holdings in one emerging market means single-stock and single-country moves land hard. Distributions come annually or semiannually, not monthly.

• FLBR One country, about 100 mostly large companies, in a currency tied to commodities and politics. Concentration is the whole point, and it cuts both ways.
• It changes hands less often than the category's giant, EWZ, so spreads can run wider. Limit orders earn their keep.
• Cash comes quarterly, and the amount rides on what Brazilian companies choose to pay out, which varies year to year.

Full BRAZ profile⁠

Full FLBR profile⁠