EPP vs FLAX

EPPCiShares MSCI Pacific ex Japan ETF

FLAXBFranklin FTSE Asia ex Japan ETF

In short

EPP EPP is the Pacific minus Japan: one ticket for the region's developed markets, with Japan deliberately left out so you can size that exposure yourself. It has tracked an MSCI index of roughly 90 stocks since 2001.

FLAX One line item for Asia's markets with Japan left out: roughly 1,600 stocks at 0.19% a year, less than half the median fee among index-tracking peers. Broad, cheap, and thin to trade.

Stated mandate

EPP The fund seeks to track an index of developed-market equities in the Pacific region, excluding Japan, providing diversified regional exposure.

FLAX The Fund seeks investment results that closely correspond, before fees and expenses, to the performance of the FTSE Asia ex Japan RIC Capped Index.

Why people hold it

• EPP Japan is carved out by mandate, not by accident, so Japanese stocks are a decision you make separately instead of a weight you inherit.ishares.com
• Launched in 2001 under iShares, one of the longest-running US-listed ways to hold developed Pacific ex Japan in a single line item.
• Plain index wrapper: one declared benchmark (MSCI Pacific ex Japan Index, Net), roughly 90 holdings, no stock picking.
• A billion-dollar-plus, moderately traded fund rather than a thin niche listing, and it sits in the upper half of its index-wrapper peer group.

• FLAX 0.19% a year against a 0.45% median for index-tracking peers. Less than half the going rate for the same passive job.
• About 1,600 holdings across Asia ex Japan. The index is a RIC-capped version, which limits how large any single position can grow.
• Plain passive mandate since 2018: match the FTSE Asia ex Japan RIC Capped Index before fees and expenses. No manager discretion, no style drift.

Worth knowing

• EPP At 0.47%, regional exposure costs more than broad index staples like SCHK (0.03%) or VT (0.06%). You pay for the geographic slice.
• Roughly 90 stocks across a handful of Pacific markets means country, sector, and currency swings land harder than in a global fund.
• Distributions run annual or semiannual rather than quarterly, so income arrives in lumps.

• FLAX Thinly traded, so on any single trip in or out the bid-ask spread can cost more than the annual fee. Limit orders are the usual tool.
• Cash comes annually or semiannually, not monthly. Income arrives in lumps.
• One region, Japan excluded. This is a regional equity slice that tracks Asian markets, not a global core holding.

Full EPP profile⁠

Full FLAX profile⁠