EWT vs FLCA

EWTCiShares MSCI Taiwan ETF

FLCAAFranklin FTSE Canada ETF

In short

EWT Running since 2000, EWT is the veteran, heavily traded way to own Taiwan in one ticker: roughly 80 of the island's listed companies, tracking MSCI's capped Taiwan index.

FLCA Canada in one ticker, at index-fund pricing. FLCA tracks the FTSE Canada Capped Index, about 50 large- and mid-cap Canadian names, for 0.09% a year.

Stated mandate

EWT The fund seeks to track an index composed of Taiwanese equities.

FLCA The fund seeks to track the FTSE Canada Capped Index, which measures the performance of Canadian large- and mid-capitalization stocks.

Why people hold it

• EWT Trading since 2000 and now a multi-billion-dollar fund that changes hands very actively, so the market in it is deep on both sides.
• One ticker covers roughly 80 Taiwanese companies, and the index is the capped 25/50 version, which limits how much weight the largest holdings can carry.
• Plain plumbing: a straight index fund from iShares with no leverage, no derivatives overlay, no income gimmicks, and no structural red flags in our review.

• FLCA 0.09% a year against a 0.45% median for index-tracking ETFs. On plain-vanilla country exposure, the fee gap is most of the story.
• The mandate is refreshingly plain: the FTSE Canada Capped Index, Canadian large and mid caps, no factor tilts, no derivatives overlay.
• Live since 2017 and one of the stronger implementations in a crowded field of index trackers.

Worth knowing

• EWT At 0.59% a year it sits above the single-country median of 0.50%, and the cheapest funds in that group, such as FLKR and FLAU, charge 0.09%.
• One country, about 80 stocks: moves can run hotter than a globally diversified fund, and everything rides on a single economy.
• Distributions come once or twice a year, not quarterly, so the income arrives in lumps.

• FLCA About 50 stocks in one country. That is a targeted slice of the world, not a diversified core.
• Mid-sized and moderately traded, so limit orders are the sane way in and out.
• Distributions arrive once or twice a year rather than quarterly, which matters if you spend the income.

Full EWT profile⁠

Full FLCA profile⁠