CGRO vs GXC

CGRODCoreValues Alpha Greater China Growth ETF

GXCAState Street SPDR S&P China ETF

In short

CGRO Most China ETFs hand you an index and hundreds of tickers. CGRO goes the other way: a concentrated 30-to-40 stock book, built from top-down sector calls across the mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan, at 0.89%.

GXC The whole China market in one ticker: roughly 1,400 stocks from megacaps down to small caps, tracked since 2007. Most China funds buy the famous names. GXC buys the phone book.

Stated mandate

CGRO The fund primarily invests in equity securities of growth companies with exposure to the economies of Greater China.

GXC The fund seeks to provide returns that generally correspond to the total return performance of the S&P China BMI Index.

Why people hold it

• CGRO Active in the real sense: the team ranks Greater China sectors by growth potential first, then picks the stocks, landing on 30 to 40 names instead of an index roster.sec.govsec.gov 2
• "Greater China" here covers the mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan, and the screen is revenue-based (companies with above 15% of sales from the region), not listing-based.cvafunds.comsec.gov
• Reaches mainland A-shares directly through Stock Connect alongside ADRs and Hong Kong listings, so it is not boxed into a single listing venue.sec.govcvafunds.com

• GXC Holds roughly 1,400 names across large, mid and small caps, so the portfolio reaches well past the handful of megacap internet stocks that dominate narrower China funds.ssga.com
• Running since 2007, one of the longest-tenured US-listed China index funds, with a track record covering several full boom and bust cycles in the market.ssga.com
• Tracks the S&P China BMI Index tightly and sits in the upper tier of its single-country China peer group on our review.

Worth knowing

• CGRO At 0.89% the fee sits above the China-fund median; index-tracking peers come cheaper, FLCH at 0.19% and CXSE at 0.32%.
• A small fund that trades lightly, so spreads can widen and bigger orders can move the price more than in the category's giants.
• Non-diversified by design: a handful of positions can drive results, and single-country China exposure carries policy and currency swings.sec.gov

• GXC The 0.59% expense ratio sits at the pricier end of the shelf. Plain index rivals such as FLCH and CXSE charge less for China exposure.
• Volume is light next to the category's biggest China funds, so bid-ask spreads can widen. Limit orders are the usual defense.
• One country, one policy regime: Chinese regulation, politics and currency moves drive the whole ride, and payouts land only once or twice a year.

Full CGRO profile⁠

Full GXC profile⁠