GXC vs MCHI

GXCAState Street SPDR S&P China ETF

MCHIAiShares MSCI China 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.

MCHI The default one-ticker way to own China. MCHI has tracked the MSCI China Index since 2011, holding roughly 600 stocks open to international investors, and it stays actively traded.

Stated mandate

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

MCHI The fund seeks to track an index of Chinese equities available to international investors.

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.

• MCHI One ticker, roughly 600 Chinese stocks. Instead of picking among share classes and listings, you get the MSCI China Index (Net) in a single line item.ishares.com
• 0.59% expense ratio, below the middle of the single-country China pack, and the fund has hewed closely to its stated index mandate.
• Running since 2011 and now a multi-billion-dollar fund that trades actively, which is why it turns up as the reference China holding in so many portfolios.
• One of the stronger implementations in its peer group on tradability and staying power, both scored in the top tier of the China cohort.

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.

• MCHI Cheaper broad-China options exist: FLCH charges 0.19% and JPMorgan's active JCHI 0.15%. You are paying up for MCHI's depth and liquidity.
• Single-country equity risk, undiluted. Chinese regulation, currency and policy swings hit the whole basket at once, and the index leans heavily on its biggest names.
• Distributions come once or twice a year, not monthly, so cash flow arrives in lumps.

Full GXC profile⁠

Full MCHI profile⁠