FLIN vs GLIN

FLINAFranklin FTSE India ETF

GLINBVanEck India Growth Leaders ETF

In short

FLIN Franklin's India fund runs the whole large- and mid-cap market at 0.19% a year, a fraction of what most India ETFs charge. Same country, same index-tracking job, cheaper meter running.

GLIN Most India ETFs buy the index and call it a day. GLIN runs a fundamentals screen instead, picking roughly 80 Indian companies of all sizes on growth, quality and price. It has been doing this since 2010.

Stated mandate

FLIN The fund seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the performance of the FTSE India RIC Capped Index.

GLIN GLIN seeks to track the MarketGrader India All-Cap Growth Leaders Index before fees and expenses. The index selects Indian companies with favorable fundamentals and attractive growth potential at reasonable prices.

Why people hold it

• FLIN Charges 0.19% a year, well under the typical India ETF fee and under every other top-scoring fund in the group, including INDA, INDY and SMIN.
• Tracks the FTSE India RIC Capped Index with very little slippage, one of the tightest index-following records among India funds.
• Roughly 240 Indian stocks in one ticker, plus a billion-dollar-plus asset base and steady daily trading, so spreads stay manageable for ordinary orders.
• Live since 2018, giving it a multi-year track record through India's boom and its drawdowns rather than a fresh-off-the-line prospectus.

• GLIN Not cap-weighted. The MarketGrader index screens Indian companies on growth, profitability, quality and value, then holds roughly 80 of the winners.
• All-cap by design, so mid and smaller Indian names sit next to the megacaps that dominate the standard India benchmarks.vaneck.com
• Running since 2010 and it does what the label says: Indian equities, all sizes, growth screen, no style drift.
• The 0.72% fee sits just under the typical India fund, and it lands in the upper half of its India peer group overall.

Worth knowing

• FLIN One country, one currency. Indian politics, rates and a moving rupee land directly in the price, with no other market to cushion the swing.
• The RIC Capped index trims oversized positions to meet US fund diversification rules, so returns can drift from an uncapped India benchmark.
• Distributions come annually or semiannually, and Indian large caps are not a high-payout market. This is a growth-exposure tool, not an income stream.

• GLIN Plain-index India exposure costs far less. FLIN charges 0.19%. With GLIN you are paying up for the stock screen.
• Trades lightly compared with the largest India ETFs, so spreads can widen. Limit orders matter more here.
• One country, roughly 80 stocks, one style. Results can diverge widely from broad India benchmarks in either direction.

Full FLIN profile⁠

Full GLIN profile⁠