FLCH vs MCH

FLCHAFranklin FTSE China ETF

MCHCMatthews China Active ETF

In short

FLCH Cheap and wide, in the best way. FLCH holds roughly a thousand Chinese stocks and charges 0.19% a year, a fraction of what most single-country China funds ask. Whole market, small toll.

MCH A stock-picker's China fund from an Asia-focused boutique: roughly 60 Chinese common and preferred shares chosen name by name rather than copied from an index. Launched in 2022.

Stated mandate

FLCH The Fund seeks investment results that closely correspond, before fees and expenses, to the performance of the FTSE China RIC Capped Index.

MCH The fund seeks long-term capital appreciation while investing at least 80% of net assets in common and preferred stocks of companies located in China, including Hong Kong and Macau.

Why people hold it

• FLCH 0.19% a year, against a roughly 0.70% median for China funds. It also undercuts the category stalwarts MCHI and GXC, both at 0.59%.
• About 1,000 holdings, so you own the long tail of Chinese listings rather than a short list of mega-cap headline names.
• One job, done tightly: mirror the FTSE China RIC Capped Index before fees. On tracking it ranks among the strongest builds in its China peer group.sec.gov

• MCH Genuinely active, not index-shadowing: about 60 holdings, with at least 80% of net assets in common and preferred stocks of companies located in China, Hong Kong and Macau.
• Mandate discipline is the strong suit. The portfolio has stayed squarely inside the China brief its prospectus describes, with no drift into the broader Asia region.
• Run by Matthews Asia, a shop built around Asian equity research rather than a full-line issuer bolting on a China sleeve.

Worth knowing

• FLCH It is China or nothing. Policy shifts, regulatory news and the currency drive the ride, with no other market in the basket to cushion it.
• Mid-sized and only moderately traded next to the category's giants, so bid-ask spreads can bite more on larger orders.
• Cash comes once or twice a year, not monthly. This is an equity index vehicle, not an income schedule.

• MCH Active management costs here: 0.79% a year against a 0.70% median for China funds, with index rivals like FLCH at 0.19% and active JCHI at 0.15%.
• One of the smaller, less-traded names in the China group, so spreads tend to be wider than at the category giants and limit orders carry more weight.
• Concentrated single-country exposure in roughly 60 stocks, so Chinese policy and market swings land with full force. Distributions come once or twice a year at most.

Full FLCH profile⁠

Full MCH profile⁠