EWM vs FLSA

EWMBiShares MSCI Malaysia ETF

FLSACFranklin FTSE Saudi Arabia ETF

In short

EWM Malaysia in one ticker, running since 1996. EWM tracks the MSCI Malaysia index, a cap-weighted slice of Kuala Lumpur's largest listed companies, and charges less than the typical single-country emerging markets fund.

FLSA Saudi Arabia in one ticker: roughly 70 Saudi-listed large and mid caps, tracked passively for 0.39% a year, well under the typical single-country emerging-market fund.

Stated mandate

EWM The fund seeks to track an index composed of Malaysian equities.

FLSA The Fund seeks to closely track, before fees and expenses, the performance of the FTSE Saudi Arabia Capped Index through a passive indexing approach.

Why people hold it

• EWM Listed in 1996, which puts it among the oldest ETFs still trading. Nearly three decades of doing one job: hold Malaysian equities, track the index.ishares.com
• 0.50% a year, under the median for its single-country emerging markets peer group and below iShares siblings EPOL and EZA at 0.59%.
• Sits in the upper tier of the single-country emerging markets funds we grade, helped by a low fee and a milder volatility profile than much of that group.
• No guesswork about the mandate: BlackRock builds it as a way to express a single-country view on Malaysian companies, and the index name is right on the tin.ishares.com

• FLSA At 0.39% a year it undercuts the 0.59% median for single-country emerging-market ETFs, so less of the Saudi market's move leaks out to fees.
• Simple mandate: one published index, the FTSE Saudi Arabia Capped Index, tracked passively, with caps that keep the largest names from swallowing the basket.
• Running since 2018 and part of Franklin's low-cost FTSE country lineup, it spreads exposure across about 70 stocks instead of a thin handful of mega caps.

Worth knowing

• EWM Market-cap weighting in a modest-sized market means a short list of Kuala Lumpur heavyweights drives most of the fund's day-to-day move.stockanalysis.com
• One country, one currency. The holdings trade in ringgit and the fund is unhedged, so currency moves against the dollar land in your return alongside the stocks.ishares.com
• Volume is moderate rather than deep, and payouts arrive once or twice a year instead of quarterly. Limit orders are the friendlier way in and out.

• FLSA Small fund, light volume. Spreads can be wide, limit orders matter, and funds that stay subscale can be closed or merged by their issuer.
• The Saudi Exchange trades Sunday to Thursday, so US-hours pricing often rests on stale local quotes and premiums or discounts to net asset value can open up.tradinghours.com
• One country, roughly 70 stocks. Concentration is the design, so the ride tracks a single economy rather than a diversified emerging-market basket.

Full EWM profile⁠

Full FLSA profile⁠