FLMX vs FLSA

FLMXBFranklin FTSE Mexico ETF

FLSACFranklin FTSE Saudi Arabia ETF

In short

FLMX Mexico exposure at a discount. Franklin's tracker charges 0.19%, a fraction of what single-country emerging-market funds usually cost, and holds a compact basket of the country's largest listed companies.

FLSA Saudi Arabia in one ticker: roughly 70 Saudi-listed large and mid caps, tracked passively for 0.39% a year, well under the typical single-country emerging-market fund.

Stated mandate

FLMX The Fund seeks to track the performance of the FTSE Mexico Capped Index before fees and expenses through an indexing strategy, investing at least 80% of assets in index components or related exposure.

FLSA The Fund seeks to closely track, before fees and expenses, the performance of the FTSE Saudi Arabia Capped Index through a passive indexing approach.

Why people hold it

• FLMX At 0.19%, one of the cheapest wrappers for Mexican equities: well under the roughly 0.59% median in its single-country EM cohort, and under EWW's 0.50%.
• Plain, rules-based mandate: it tracks the FTSE Mexico Capped Index, keeping at least 80% of assets in index components or related exposure. No manager guesswork.
• The index is a capped one, which limits how much of the portfolio any single Mexican mega-cap can occupy.
• Live since 2017 and, on our review, one of the stronger implementations among single-country emerging-market funds.

• FLSA At 0.39% a year it undercuts the 0.59% median for single-country emerging-market ETFs, so less of the Saudi market's move leaks out to fees.
• Simple mandate: one published index, the FTSE Saudi Arabia Capped Index, tracked passively, with caps that keep the largest names from swallowing the basket.
• Running since 2018 and part of Franklin's low-cost FTSE country lineup, it spreads exposure across about 70 stocks instead of a thin handful of mega caps.

Worth knowing

• FLMX Thinly traded. Spreads can run wider than at the category's busiest funds, which adds to the real cost of getting in and out beyond the headline fee.
• One country, roughly 40 stocks. Concentration is the point, but it means Mexican policy, oil and peso moves all land straight in a dollar-based return.
• Income arrives quarterly, not monthly.

• FLSA Small fund, light volume. Spreads can be wide, limit orders matter, and funds that stay subscale can be closed or merged by their issuer.
• The Saudi Exchange trades Sunday to Thursday, so US-hours pricing often rests on stale local quotes and premiums or discounts to net asset value can open up.tradinghours.com
• One country, roughly 70 stocks. Concentration is the design, so the ride tracks a single economy rather than a diversified emerging-market basket.

Full FLMX profile⁠

Full FLSA profile⁠