GXC vs MCH

GXCAState Street SPDR S&P China ETF

MCHCMatthews China Active ETF

In short

GXC The whole China market in one ticker: roughly 1,400 stocks from megacaps down to small caps, tracked since 2007. Most China funds buy the famous names. GXC buys the phone book.

MCH A stock-picker's China fund from an Asia-focused boutique: roughly 60 Chinese common and preferred shares chosen name by name rather than copied from an index. Launched in 2022.

Stated mandate

GXC The fund seeks to provide returns that generally correspond to the total return performance of the S&P China BMI Index.

MCH The fund seeks long-term capital appreciation while investing at least 80% of net assets in common and preferred stocks of companies located in China, including Hong Kong and Macau.

Why people hold it

• GXC Holds roughly 1,400 names across large, mid and small caps, so the portfolio reaches well past the handful of megacap internet stocks that dominate narrower China funds.ssga.com
• Running since 2007, one of the longest-tenured US-listed China index funds, with a track record covering several full boom and bust cycles in the market.ssga.com
• Tracks the S&P China BMI Index tightly and sits in the upper tier of its single-country China peer group on our review.

• MCH Genuinely active, not index-shadowing: about 60 holdings, with at least 80% of net assets in common and preferred stocks of companies located in China, Hong Kong and Macau.
• Mandate discipline is the strong suit. The portfolio has stayed squarely inside the China brief its prospectus describes, with no drift into the broader Asia region.
• Run by Matthews Asia, a shop built around Asian equity research rather than a full-line issuer bolting on a China sleeve.

Worth knowing

• GXC The 0.59% expense ratio sits at the pricier end of the shelf. Plain index rivals such as FLCH and CXSE charge less for China exposure.
• Volume is light next to the category's biggest China funds, so bid-ask spreads can widen. Limit orders are the usual defense.
• One country, one policy regime: Chinese regulation, politics and currency moves drive the whole ride, and payouts land only once or twice a year.

• MCH Active management costs here: 0.79% a year against a 0.70% median for China funds, with index rivals like FLCH at 0.19% and active JCHI at 0.15%.
• One of the smaller, less-traded names in the China group, so spreads tend to be wider than at the category giants and limit orders carry more weight.
• Concentrated single-country exposure in roughly 60 stocks, so Chinese policy and market swings land with full force. Distributions come once or twice a year at most.

Full GXC profile⁠

Full MCH profile⁠