FLCH vs PGJ

FLCHAFranklin FTSE China ETF

PGJCInvesco Golden Dragon China 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.

PGJ Most China funds route you through Hong Kong or mainland listings. PGJ takes the other door: it holds Chinese companies that list their shares in the US, tracking a Nasdaq index built around that single screen. It has done it that way since 2004.

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.

PGJ The fund is based on the NASDAQ Golden Dragon China Index and provides China-focused equity exposure.

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

• PGJ Holds Chinese businesses whose stock trades on US exchanges, largely ADRs. US-market plumbing, US settlement, no Hong Kong or mainland access required.nasdaqomx.comnasdaqomx.com 2
• Launched in 2004, one of the longer-running China ETFs available, and tied to the same Nasdaq Golden Dragon China Index the entire time.invesco.com
• The US-listing rule narrows the field to roughly 70 names, a different slice of China than broad-market trackers like MCHI or GXC pull in. Pays quarterly.

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.

• PGJ 0.70% a year sits at the China-fund median but several times what broad index rivals like FLCH (0.19%) and JCHI (0.15%) charge.
• That US-listing screen cuts both ways. The prospectus flags US government action, including delisting Chinese companies from US exchanges, as a risk to these holdings.saytechnologies.com
• Trades thinly next to the giants of the China category, so spreads and order size carry more weight.

Full FLCH profile⁠

Full PGJ profile⁠