INDA vs NDIA

INDAAiShares MSCI India ETF

NDIABGlobal X India Active ETF

In short

INDA The default India trade for US investors: one big, heavily traded fund holding roughly 160 mostly larger Indian companies, running since 2012. Priced below the typical India fund, though it is not the category's price leader.

NDIA Most India ETFs hand you an index and a few hundred names. NDIA is a stockpicker: about 30 companies chosen for business quality and domestic-driven growth, held on a four- to five-year view.

Stated mandate

INDA The fund seeks to track an index composed of Indian equities, providing targeted exposure to India.

NDIA The fund seeks long-term capital growth through active exposure to India, emphasizing companies with quality business models and management teams and domestic-driven growth over a four- to five-year horizon.

Why people hold it

• INDA Charges 0.61% a year against a 0.75% median for US-listed India funds, so the access fee sits below the category's going rate.
• A multi-billion-dollar fund and among the most actively traded in its category, so getting in or out rarely means fighting a thin order book.
• Tracks the MSCI India Index with no side bets, and rates as one of the strongest implementations among US-listed India funds. Live since 2012.

• NDIA Actively run, not index-shadowing. A concentrated book of roughly 30 Indian companies, selected for quality business models and management teams, with long-term capital growth as the stated goal.globalxetfs.com
• Costs 0.75% a year, level with the typical India ETF fee. Active stock selection at passive-median pricing is a rarer combination than it sounds.
• Does what the label says. Pure India equity, quality screen, domestic-growth tilt, with very little drift from the advertised brief compared with its single-country peers.globalxetfs.com

Worth knowing

• INDA FLIN runs a broad India index for 0.19%. Here you pay up for the deeper trading and the longer live record.
• One country, one currency. Rupee moves land in your return alongside Indian share prices.
• Roughly 160 holdings skewed to India's bigger listed names; the small-cap tier sits in a separate fund (SMIN).

• NDIA Cheaper index routes to the same country exist: FLIN charges 0.19% and INDA 0.61%. The extra fee here buys a manager's judgment, not broader coverage.
• About 30 holdings means individual names carry real weight, and the whole portfolio rides one emerging market's economy and currency.
• Trades lightly next to the giant India index funds and launched in 2023, so spreads can be wider and the live track record is still short.

Full INDA profile⁠

Full NDIA profile⁠