FLKR vs IZRL

FLKRBFranklin FTSE South Korea ETF

IZRLCARK Israel Innovative Technology 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.

IZRL ARK's odd one out. Instead of Cathie Wood's team picking stocks, IZRL follows a rules-based index of Israeli-incorporated innovators, equally weighted so the small names carry the same load as the household ones.

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.

IZRL IZRL seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the ARK Israeli Innovation Index. The index targets exchange-listed Israeli companies whose operations pursue disruptive innovation across genomics, health care, biotechnology, industrials, manufacturing, the Internet, and information technology.

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.

• IZRL Runs on published rules, not conviction calls: it tracks the ARK Israeli Innovation Index, which screens for companies incorporated or domiciled in Israel and listed in the US or Israel.sec.gov
• 0.49% a year, below the typical disruptive-innovation fund and level with peers like TRFM while undercutting FDTX.
• Equal weighting across roughly 80 stocks means no single giant sets the tone, and smaller Israeli tech names get real room in the basket.stockanalysis.comsec.gov
• A pure local read on Israeli innovation, spanning genomics, biotech, manufacturing and information technology, and trading in the US since its 2017 launch.

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.

• IZRL Thinly traded and modest in size, so the gap between bid and ask can be wider than on the big innovation funds.
• One country, one theme. Israeli market moves, shekel swings and regional headlines land on this portfolio with nothing to offset them.
• Income is an afterthought here: distributions arrive once or twice a year, not monthly.

Full FLKR profile⁠

Full IZRL profile⁠