Asian ETFs are under pressure as surging oil prices and new U.S. tariffs trigger market turmoil and sharp fund outflows across the region.
The iShares MSCI All Country Asia ex Japan ETF offers superior diversification across Asia ex Japan, with 915 holdings and meaningful exposure to India and Southeast Asia. The iShares Asia 50 ETF is highly concentrated, with 51% in four tech stocks, exposing investors to significant concentration and the "AI trade" risk. AAXJ's broader sector and geographic mix, including India's growth, justify its slightly higher 0.72% expense ratio and 20x P/E.
The MSCI Asia Ex Japan Index includes two developed and eight emerging Asian markets, aligning closely with the MSCI AC Asia Index over the past decade. This ETF tracks the AC Asia Ex Japan Index invests in over 900 companies, with a management fee, offering broad exposure to Asian markets. Many Japanese equities trade well below book value, presenting potential undervaluation opportunities compared to the MSCI EM Index.
| XSGO Exchange | US Country |
The fund is designed to offer investors exposure to the equity market performance of a select group of developed and emerging markets in Asia. By investing a minimum of 80% of its assets in securities that either are part of its target index or possess economic characteristics nearly identical to those securities, the fund aims to closely track the performance of its benchmark index. The index itself is a free float-adjusted market capitalization index, which seeks to represent the market performance of companies within ten countries or regions across Asia, encompassing both developed and emerging markets. These markets include China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand. Through this geographic and economic diversity, the fund provides investors with a unique opportunity to engage with Asia's dynamic equity markets.
This product focuses on replicating the performance of a free float-adjusted market capitalization index, which measures the equity market performance across selected developed and emerging Asian markets. The fund allocates at least 80% of its assets to securities that form part of this index or have economic characteristics similar to it, thereby ensuring that investors have a significant exposure to the economic fluctuations and growth patterns of the respective markets.
By targeting investments in countries like China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and Thailand, the fund offers a broad exposure to a mix of both developed and emerging markets in Asia. This strategy allows investors to diversify their portfolios by incorporating the growth potential of emerging markets with the stability of more established ones, effectively balancing risk and reward.