FLIN vs INDE

FLINAFranklin FTSE India ETF

INDECMatthews India Active ETF INDE

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.

INDE Most India ETFs just buy the index. INDE hires stock pickers instead: Matthews Asia managers build the India portfolio by hand, free to hold common stock, preferred shares or convertibles. Launched in 2023, it's the active outlier in a cohort of trackers.

Stated mandate

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

INDE The fund seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing at least 80% of net assets in common stocks, preferred stocks, and convertible securities of companies located in India.

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.

• INDE Real active management in an index-dominated group: managers choose the names, with room to hold preferred shares and convertibles alongside common stock.
• Does what the label says. At least 80% of net assets go to companies located in India, and the portfolio has stuck closely to that mandate.
• Plain equity exposure. No leverage, no options overlay, no structural wrinkles in the mandate, just Indian company shares chosen for long-term capital appreciation.

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.

• INDE At 0.79% a year it costs more than index rivals like FLIN (0.19%) and INDA (0.61%), and it currently sits behind those cheaper trackers in our peer group review.
• Small and thinly traded next to the big India funds, so spreads can be wider and sizeable orders can push the price around.
• It opened in 2023, so the track record is short, and payouts come once or twice a year rather than as a regular income stream.

Full FLIN profile⁠

Full INDE profile⁠