GLIN vs SMIN

GLINBVanEck India Growth Leaders ETF

SMINAiShares MSCI India Small-Cap ETF

In short

GLIN Most India ETFs buy the index and call it a day. GLIN runs a fundamentals screen instead, picking roughly 80 Indian companies of all sizes on growth, quality and price. It has been doing this since 2010.

SMIN Most US-listed India funds stop at the blue chips. SMIN keeps going down-cap, tracking an MSCI index of roughly 500 smaller Indian companies, and it has been doing that job since 2012.

Stated mandate

GLIN GLIN seeks to track the MarketGrader India All-Cap Growth Leaders Index before fees and expenses. The index selects Indian companies with favorable fundamentals and attractive growth potential at reasonable prices.

SMIN The fund seeks to track the investment results of an index representing small-capitalization equity securities in India.

Why people hold it

• GLIN Not cap-weighted. The MarketGrader index screens Indian companies on growth, profitability, quality and value, then holds roughly 80 of the winners.
• All-cap by design, so mid and smaller Indian names sit next to the megacaps that dominate the standard India benchmarks.vaneck.com
• Running since 2010 and it does what the label says: Indian equities, all sizes, growth screen, no style drift.
• The 0.72% fee sits just under the typical India fund, and it lands in the upper half of its India peer group overall.

• SMIN Owns the slice of India the headline funds skip: roughly 500 small caps, versus the 50-name blue-chip lineup at INDY.ishares.com
• At 0.74%, the fee lands right around the middle of the US India-fund pack, which is unusual for a specialist small-cap sleeve.
• One of the stronger implementations among US-listed India funds: tight tracking of its stated index, iShares plumbing, and a live record back to 2012.

Worth knowing

• GLIN Plain-index India exposure costs far less. FLIN charges 0.19%. With GLIN you are paying up for the stock screen.
• Trades lightly compared with the largest India ETFs, so spreads can widen. Limit orders matter more here.
• One country, roughly 80 stocks, one style. Results can diverge widely from broad India benchmarks in either direction.

• SMIN Small caps inside one emerging market swing hard in both directions, and rupee moves stack on top of the stock moves.
• Reasonable for the niche, pricey next to broad India trackers: FLIN charges 0.19% for the large-cap version of the trade.
• Moderately traded rather than a top-of-book giant, so size your orders with care. Cash comes back once or twice a year, not monthly.

Full GLIN profile⁠

Full SMIN profile⁠