EWH vs FLGB

EWHCiShares MSCI Hong Kong ETF

FLGBAFranklin FTSE United Kingdom ETF

In short

EWH Hong Kong in a single US ticker, listed back in 1996. Roughly two dozen large Hong Kong companies tracking MSCI's Hong Kong 25-50 index, from the first generation of single-country funds.

FLGB Britain in one ticker for nine basis points. Franklin's UK tracker follows a capped FTSE index of roughly 110 British companies and charges a small fraction of what the typical index fund in its peer group costs.

Stated mandate

EWH The fund seeks to track an index of Hong Kong equities, providing targeted exposure to companies in Hong Kong.

FLGB The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the performance of the FTSE UK RIC Capped Index.

Why people hold it

• EWH One ticker, one city: targeted exposure to Hong Kong companies rather than a broad China blend, tracking the MSCI Hong Kong 25-50 Index.ishares.com
• Trading since March 1996, one of the longest continuously running single-country ETFs on the US market.
• A multibillion-dollar, actively traded iShares fund, so getting in and out is usually straightforward.

• FLGB 0.09% a year, a fraction of the median fee across the index trackers we grade. Cheap is the whole pitch for single-country beta, and this one delivers it.
• One trade, roughly 110 UK companies. A passive, rules-based mandate tied to the FTSE UK RIC Capped Index, running since its 2017 launch.
• Stands in the top quartile of its plain-index-wrapper peer group, and the mandate data behind that read is high confidence.

Worth knowing

• EWH 0.50% a year sits above the median index tracker in its peer group, and well above core baskets like SCHK (0.03%) and VT (0.06%).
• Roughly two dozen holdings tied to one city's economy, so a handful of large names and Hong Kong's own cycle drive the ride.
• Distributions arrive once or twice a year, not monthly.

• FLGB Single-country by design: UK listings only, so there is no cushion from other markets inside the fund. Broad global trackers like VT spread that bet differently.
• Moderately traded rather than a volume monster, so limit orders are the sane way in and out.
• Distributions arrive once or twice a year, not monthly. Income lands in lumps.

Full EWH profile⁠

Full FLGB profile⁠