EWA vs FLKR

EWABiShares MSCI Australia ETF

FLKRBFranklin FTSE South Korea ETF

In short

EWA Trading since 1996, EWA is the veteran way to own Australia from a US brokerage account: roughly 50 of the market's biggest listed names, tracking the MSCI Australia Index, in one ticker.

FLKR Korea in one passive basket for 0.09% a year, a fraction of the 0.50% typical single-country fee. Roughly 160 Korean names tracking a capped FTSE index, run as plain index plumbing rather than a stock-picking bet.

Stated mandate

EWA The fund seeks to track an index of Australian equities, providing targeted exposure to companies in Australia.

FLKR The Fund uses a passive indexing approach to seek returns that closely correspond, before fees and expenses, to the FTSE South Korea Capped Index.

Why people hold it

• EWA Live since 1996, so its record spans multiple market cycles rather than one lucky stretch.
• Sticks closely to the MSCI Australia Index it promises, one of the tighter mandate deliveries among developed single-country funds.
• A multi-billion-dollar fund that changes hands actively every day, unlike the thin end of the country-ETF shelf.
• At 0.50% a year, it sits right at the going rate for developed single-country funds.

• FLKR Charges 0.09% a year against a 0.50% median for single-country developed-market ETFs, tying FLAU as the cheapest fee among this cohort's leaders and undercutting EWC and EWU by a wide margin.
• Straight indexing: it seeks returns that closely correspond, before fees, to the FTSE South Korea Capped Index. No manager views, no discretionary tilts.
• The capped index spreads roughly 160 stocks and limits how far any single giant can dominate the basket, which matters in a market this top-heavy.
• A billion-dollar-plus fund that trades actively, and it has been running since 2017, so it is well past the launch-window stage.

Worth knowing

• EWA Cheaper Australia exposure exists: Franklin's FLAU charges 0.09% for the same country, using a FTSE index instead of MSCI.
• One country, about 50 stocks. Concentration cuts both ways, and the ride is bumpier than a globally diversified fund.
• Distributions land annually or semiannually, not monthly, so income arrives in lumps.

• FLKR One country, one currency. Korean shares price in won, so the exchange rate is baked into what a US investor sees, separate from how the companies do.
• Roughly 160 stocks in a single export-driven market is a narrow slice next to a global fund. Capping softens concentration, it does not erase it.
• Distributions land annually or semiannually, not monthly, so it is built as an equity holding rather than an income schedule.

Full EWA profile⁠

Full FLKR profile⁠