EWS vs FLKR

EWSBiShares MSCI Singapore ETF

FLKRBFranklin FTSE South Korea ETF

In short

EWS One of the 1996 originals, still doing the same job: Singapore's large and mid caps in one ticker. Index rules cap any single issuer at 25%, which matters in a market this top-heavy.

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

EWS The fund seeks to track an index composed of Singaporean equities, providing targeted exposure to companies in Singapore.

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

• EWS Launched in March 1996, making it one of the first single-country ETFs ever listed in the US. Decades later it is still a multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively.aaii.com
• One ticker for the Singapore market: it tracks the MSCI Singapore 25/50 Index, the large and mid cap slice, with no stock picking and no hunting down foreign listings.ishares.com
• The 25/50 index rules are a real feature: no issuer above 25% of the index, and issuers over 5% capped at 50% combined, reset at quarterly rebalances.msci.com
• Sits in the upper half of the developed single-country group, with the trading depth and operational backing that come with a long-tenured BlackRock fund.

• 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

• EWS The 0.50% expense ratio sits right at the middle of its peer group, but index rivals such as FLAU and FLKR charge 0.09%. Country access here is not the cheap end of the shelf.
• One country, one compact basket. BlackRock notes funds concentrated in a specific market or sector can be more volatile than the broad market.ishares.com
• Cash comes back once or twice a year, not monthly, and the holdings trade in Singapore dollars, so currency swings ride along with the stocks.ishares.com

• 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 EWS profile⁠

Full FLKR profile⁠