FLKR vs KMCA

FLKRBFranklin FTSE South Korea ETF

KMCAFPLUS Korea Manufacturing Core Alliance Index 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.

KMCA Korea, minus the index filler. KMCA holds roughly 40 companies in the industries Korea actually dominates: AI chips, batteries, shipyards, defense, power grid and nuclear, robotics. Hanwha's PLUS lineup, wrapped for US buyers.

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.

KMCA The Fund seeks investment results that generally correspond to the performance of an index, before fees and expenses.

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.

• KMCA A thesis, not a benchmark: the index targets Korean firms tied to AI semiconductors, rechargeable batteries, shipbuilding, defense, power grid and nuclear energy, and robotics.prnewswire.com
• Roughly 40 holdings, so chipmakers, shipyards and defense names carry real weight instead of sitting as rounding errors in a market-cap list.
• Rules-based and index-tracked, built by Hanwha Asset Management's PLUS team and brought to the US by white-label specialist Exchange Traded Concepts.prnewswire.cominvesting.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.

• KMCA 0.65% a year sits above the typical single-country developed-market fund; broad UK and Canada trackers like FLGB and FLCA charge 0.09%.
• A 2026 launch with a small asset base: the record is short, and thinner trading can mean wider bid-ask spreads.
• Non-diversified and cyclical: memory prices, shipyard order books and defense budgets swing this basket, and you carry Korean won exposure.yahoo.comprnewswire.com

Full FLKR profile⁠

Full KMCA profile⁠