ECNS vs MCHI

ECNSBiShares MSCI China Small-Cap ETF

MCHIAiShares MSCI China ETF

In short

ECNS Most US-listed China funds fish in large-cap waters. ECNS works the other end of the market: an index of small-cap Chinese equities, roughly 300 of them, from iShares, running since 2010.

MCHI The default one-ticker way to own China. MCHI has tracked the MSCI China Index since 2011, holding roughly 600 stocks open to international investors, and it stays actively traded.

Stated mandate

ECNS The fund seeks to track an index composed of small-cap Chinese equities.

MCHI The fund seeks to track an index of Chinese equities available to international investors.

Why people hold it

• ECNS Tracks the MSCI China Small Cap Index, roughly 300 names, reaching the smaller Chinese companies that broad-market China funds such as MCHI and GXC largely leave out.ishares.com
• Expense ratio of 0.59%, below the median fee across its US-listed China peer group.ishares.com
• Live since September 2010, giving it a continuous record through several full China market cycles, and it sits in the upper half of its China cohort on our review.
• Spreads exposure across a wide basket rather than leaning on a handful of index heavyweights, so no single name drives the fund.

• MCHI One ticker, roughly 600 Chinese stocks. Instead of picking among share classes and listings, you get the MSCI China Index (Net) in a single line item.ishares.com
• 0.59% expense ratio, below the middle of the single-country China pack, and the fund has hewed closely to its stated index mandate.
• Running since 2011 and now a multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively, which is why it turns up as the reference China holding in so many portfolios.
• One of the stronger implementations in its peer group on tradability and staying power, both scored in the top tier of the China cohort.

Worth knowing

• ECNS Thinly traded with a modest asset base, so spreads can be wider than in the household-name China funds. Limit orders do more work here.
• Single-country small caps are the volatile corner of an already volatile market, carrying China-specific regulatory and currency exposure.
• Distributions arrive annually or semiannually, not on a monthly schedule.

• MCHI Cheaper broad-China options exist: FLCH charges 0.19% and JPMorgan's active JCHI 0.15%. You are paying up for MCHI's depth and liquidity.
• Single-country equity risk, undiluted. Chinese regulation, currency and policy swings hit the whole basket at once, and the index leans heavily on its biggest names.
• Distributions come once or twice a year, not monthly, so cash flow arrives in lumps.

Full ECNS profile⁠

Full MCHI profile⁠