CXSE vs FXI

CXSEAWisdomTree China ex-State-Owned Enterprises Fund

FXIBiShares China Large-Cap ETF

In short

CXSE CXSE tracks an index that screens state-owned enterprises out of China, leaving the privately run companies. A tilt toward entrepreneurs rather than Beijing's balance sheet, at a fee well under the typical China fund.

FXI The old-guard China trade: since 2004, FXI has held about 50 of the largest Chinese companies listed in Hong Kong, and it is built for heavy, fast trading more than for lowest-cost buy-and-hold.

Stated mandate

CXSE The Fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the WisdomTree China ex-State-Owned Enterprises Index.

FXI The fund seeks to track an index of large-capitalization Chinese equities traded on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Why people hold it

• CXSE The whole design is one screen: state-controlled companies out, privately run ones in, about 200 of them. Not a broad China index with a tweak.
• 0.32% a year, well under half the 0.70% median for single-country China funds.
• Trading since 2012, and one of the tighter, more faithful builds in a crowded China cohort.

• FXI One of the longest-running US-listed China funds, trading since 2004, with two decades of history through China's booms and busts.
• Very actively traded, which is why it is a common vehicle for quick, sizable China positioning rather than a thinly traded niche listing.
• Plain index mechanics: it tracks the FTSE China 50 Index closely, with no leverage or derivative overlays bolted on.ishares.com
• Stands in the upper half of the roughly two dozen US-listed single-country China funds on our overall assessment.

Worth knowing

• CXSE Thinly traded next to China heavyweights like MCHI and GXC, so limit orders matter more here.
• One country, about 200 stocks, and none of the state-backed heavyweights as ballast. Swings run bigger than a diversified global fund's.
• Cheap for the group, not the cheapest: FLCH (0.19%) and JCHI (0.15%) undercut it with different mandates.

• FXI At 0.73% a year it sits slightly above the China-fund median, and cheaper index alternatives exist, including FLCH at 0.19% and MCHI at 0.59%.
• Concentrated by design: about 50 names, all Hong Kong listings, so mainland-listed A-shares fall outside the mandate.ishares.com
• A single-country equity fund tied to one market, and it distributes once or twice a year rather than monthly.

Full CXSE profile⁠

Full FXI profile⁠