FINX vs IPAY

FINXCGlobal X FinTech ETF

IPAYCAmplify Digital Payments ETF

In short

FINX A 2016-vintage fintech fund that still does it the original way: an index-tracked, global basket of roughly 70 companies digitizing payments, lending, insurance and investing. Wider than a US card-network play, and rules-based rather than a stock picker's list.

IPAY The payments purist. IPAY tracks a global index of card networks, processors and wallet apps, roughly 40 names deep, while most fintech funds spread into lending, crypto and banking software.

Stated mandate

FINX The fund seeks exposure to companies at the forefront of financial-technology innovation, including businesses transforming insurance, investing, fundraising, and third-party lending through mobile and digital solutions.

IPAY IPAY seeks returns that generally track the Nasdaq CTA Global Digital Payments Index before fees and expenses. It follows a passive/indexing approach rather than trying to outperform the index or moving temporarily defensive.

Why people hold it

• FINX Global by mandate, not US-only. The fund's stated remit covers financial-technology innovators worldwide, so the basket reaches beyond the familiar American processors.globalxetfs.com
• Broad read on fintech: insurance, investing, fundraising and third-party lending going digital, spread over roughly 70 holdings instead of a handful of mega-cap payment names.
• Rules over hunches. It tracks the Indxx Global FinTech Thematic Index, so what's inside follows published index rules rather than a manager's discretion.
• Trading since 2016, back when fintech ETFs were a novelty. That's a long operating history for a theme fund, with the same index approach throughout.

• IPAY Narrow by design: it follows the Nasdaq CTA Global Digital Payments Index, so the money goes to the plumbing of card swipes and app taps rather than fintech broadly.
• Global mandate, not a US-only basket. Payments is an inherently cross-border business and the index is built that way.
• Launched in 2015, making it one of the longer-running thematic payments funds, with a rules-based index approach instead of a manager's stock picks.

Worth knowing

• FINX The 0.68% expense ratio lands exactly at the median for fintech ETFs. FDFF charges 0.50% for its own version of the theme, so cheaper shelf space exists.
• One theme, about 70 stocks, in a growth-heavy corner of the market. Concentration like that tends to move harder in both directions than a broad equity fund.
• Moderately traded rather than one of the busiest tickers in its category, which can show up as wider bid-ask spreads, especially on large orders.

• IPAY At 0.75% a year it sits at the top of the fintech shelf. FDFF charges 0.50% and BPAY 0.66%, though both cast a wider net than payments alone.
• About 40 stocks in a single theme. When payment volumes or fintech sentiment turn, there is nothing else in the portfolio to cushion it.
• Distributions come annually or semiannually, and it trades at moderate volume rather than penny-spread scale, so limit orders are the sane default.

Full FINX profile⁠

Full IPAY profile⁠