FLKR vs ISRA

FLKRBFranklin FTSE South Korea ETF

ISRACVanEck Israel ETF

In short

FLKR Korea in one passive basket for 0.09% a year, a fraction of the 0.50% typical single-country fee. Roughly 160 Korean names tracking a capped FTSE index, run as plain index plumbing rather than a stock-picking bet.

ISRA One ticker for Israel. ISRA tracks the BlueStar Israel Global Index, a benchmark built around companies generally considered Israeli rather than an Israel sleeve carved out of a world index, and it has been running since 2013.

Stated mandate

FLKR The Fund uses a passive indexing approach to seek returns that closely correspond, before fees and expenses, to the FTSE South Korea Capped Index.

ISRA The fund seeks to replicate, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the BlueStar Israel Global Index, which represents equity securities of companies generally considered Israeli.

Why people hold it

• FLKR Charges 0.09% a year against a 0.50% median for single-country developed-market ETFs, tying FLAU as the cheapest fee among this cohort's leaders and undercutting EWC and EWU by a wide margin.
• Straight indexing: it seeks returns that closely correspond, before fees, to the FTSE South Korea Capped Index. No manager views, no discretionary tilts.
• The capped index spreads roughly 160 stocks and limits how far any single giant can dominate the basket, which matters in a market this top-heavy.
• A billion-dollar-plus fund that trades actively, and it has been running since 2017, so it is well past the launch-window stage.

• ISRA Purpose-built reference: the BlueStar Israel Global Index targets equities of companies generally considered Israeli, not just whatever a broad global benchmark happens to classify as Israel.vaneck.com
• Launched in 2013, so this is a long-running Israel fund with a real track record behind it, not a fresh thematic launch.
• Roughly 80 holdings spread the exposure across Israel's market rather than resting on a few megacap names.
• Plain plumbing: a standard 1940 Act ETF holding index equities, with no leverage or derivatives overlay to unpack.vaneck.com

Worth knowing

• FLKR One country, one currency. Korean shares price in won, so the exchange rate is baked into what a US investor sees, separate from how the companies do.
• Roughly 160 stocks in a single export-driven market is a narrow slice next to a global fund. Capping softens concentration, it does not erase it.
• Distributions land annually or semiannually, not monthly, so it is built as an equity holding rather than an income schedule.

• ISRA The 0.59% expense ratio sits above the typical single-country developed fund, and low-cost peers like FLKR and FLAU charge 0.09%.
• It trades thinly next to the heavyweights of its group, which can mean wider bid-ask spreads and more friction getting in and out.
• Single-country design means Israeli politics, the shekel and regional events move the whole portfolio together. Distributions come once or twice a year, not monthly.

Full FLKR profile⁠

Full ISRA profile⁠