FLKR vs NORW

FLKRBFranklin FTSE South Korea ETF

NORWCGlobal X MSCI Norway 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.

NORW Norway in one ticker: not a skim of the blue chips, but the large, mid and small caps that make up nearly all of Oslo's investable market, with index caps that keep any single giant from taking over.

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.

NORW NORW seeks to track, before fees and expenses, the price and yield performance of the MSCI Norway IMI 25/50 Index.

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.

• NORW The index reaches past the blue chips: large, mid and small caps covering roughly 99% of Norway's free-float market value, about 60 stocks in all.msci.com
• A 25/50 capping rule borrowed from US fund tax law holds any one component to 25% of the index, so a single national champion cannot quietly become the whole fund.msci.commsci.com 2
• Trading since 2010 under Global X, at a 0.50% expense ratio that sits right at the median for single-country developed-market funds.globalxetfs.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.

• NORW That 0.50% is median, not cheap. Broad single-country peers like FLKR and FLAU charge 0.09%, though neither one buys Norway.
• One country, one currency, about 60 stocks. Results are measured in US dollars, so krone swings land in your return alongside the stocks themselves.msci.com
• Distributions arrive once or twice a year rather than monthly, and volume is moderate rather than deep, which can matter on larger orders.

Full FLKR profile⁠

Full NORW profile⁠