How to invest in India using ETFs
How do I invest in Indian stocks?
The easiest way to invest in the whole Indian stock market is to invest in a broad market index. This can be done at low cost by using ETFs.
On the Indian stock market you'll find 3 indices which are tracked by ETFs.
Alternatively, you can consider indices on Asia. However, India is weighted with less than 11% in the alternative indices.
Performance of Indian stocks (MSCI India)
Indices in comparison
The best indices for ETFs on India
For an investment in the Indian stock market, there are 3 indices available which are tracked by 6 ETFs. On the FTSE India 30/18 Capped index there is 1 ETF. On the MSCI India index there are 4 ETFs. On the Nifty 50 index there is 1 ETF. The total expense ratio (TER) of ETFs on these indices is between 0.19% p.a. and 0.85% p.a..
Index | Investment focus | Number of ETFs | Number of constituents | Short description |
---|---|---|---|---|
FTSE India 30/18 Capped |
India | 1 ETF | 164 (30/10/2020) |
The FTSE India 30/18 Capped index tracks Indian companies with large and medium market capitalisation. The largest company in the index is limited to a maximum of 30 percent of the index capitalization, all other index components to a maximum of 18 percent.
Index factsheet |
MSCI India |
India | 4 ETFs | 96 (31/12/2020) |
The MSCI India index tracks the leading Indian stocks.
Index factsheet |
Nifty 50 |
India | 1 ETF | 50 |
The Nifty 50 index tracks 50 stocks from 22 sectors of the Indian economy.
Index factsheet |
ETF ISIN |
Fund size in m EUR |
TER in % |
Use of profits | Fund domicile | Replication method | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lyxor MSCI India UCITS ETF - Acc (EUR)FR0010361683 | 646 | 0.85% p.a. | Accumulating | France | Unfunded swap | |
iShares MSCI India UCITS ETF USD (Acc)IE00BZCQB185 | 525 | 0.65% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Optimized sampling | |
Amundi MSCI India UCITS ETF EUR (C)LU1681043086 | 124 | 0.80% p.a. | Accumulating | Luxembourg | Unfunded swap | |
Xtrackers Nifty 50 Swap UCITS ETF 1CLU0292109690 | 110 | 0.85% p.a. | Accumulating | Luxembourg | Unfunded swap | |
Xtrackers MSCI India Swap UCITS ETF 1CLU0514695187 | 70 | 0.75% p.a. | Accumulating | Luxembourg | Unfunded swap | |
Franklin FTSE India UCITS ETFIE00BHZRQZ17 | 16 | 0.19% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Full replication |
Index | 1 month in % |
3 months in % |
6 months in % |
1 year in % |
3 years in % |
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nifty 50 | 6.54% | 19.55% | 27.60% | 1.89% | 10.36% | |
FTSE India 30/18 Capped | 6.26% | 12.96% | 22.44% | 3.01% | - | |
MSCI India | 8.62% | 15.49% | 26.70% | 4.25% | 7.58% |
Index | 2021 in % |
2020 in % |
2019 in % |
2018 in % |
2017 in % |
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Nifty 50 | 0.79% | 1.89% | 11.04% | -2.46% | 19.91% | |
FTSE India 30/18 Capped | 1.91% | 3.01% | - | - | - | |
MSCI India | 3.17% | 4.25% | 7.72% | -4.21% | 19.90% |
Source: justETF.com; As of 31/12/2020; Calculations in EUR based on the largest ETF of the respective index.
The best India ETFs
by 1 year return
1 | iShares MSCI India UCITS ETF USD (Acc) | 5.15% |
2 | Amundi MSCI India UCITS ETF EUR (C) | 4.33% |
3 | Lyxor MSCI India UCITS ETF - Acc (EUR) | 4.25% |
The cheapest India ETFs
by total expense ratio (TER)
1 | Franklin FTSE India UCITS ETF | 0.19% p.a. |
2 | iShares MSCI India UCITS ETF USD (Acc) | 0.65% p.a. |
3 | Xtrackers MSCI India Swap UCITS ETF 1C | 0.75% p.a. |
Asian indices with a share of India
Alternatively, you may consider investing in Asia. In total, you can invest in 3 indices on Asia tracked by 10 ETFs. Unfortunately, India is weighted with less than 11% in the indices on Asia. The total expense ratio (TER) of ETFs on Asia is between 0.12% p.a. and 0.65% p.a..
Index | Investment focus | Number of ETFs | Number of constituents | Short description |
---|---|---|---|---|
FTSE Emerging Markets | Emerging Markets
India: 10.28% (30/10/2020) |
2 ETFs | 1,838 (30/10/2020) |
The FTSE Emerging Markets index tracks stocks from emerging markets worldwide.
Index factsheet |
MSCI AC Asia ex Japan | Asia Pacific
India: 9.01% (30/10/2020) |
3 ETFs | 1,186 (31/12/2020) |
The MSCI AC Asia ex Japan index tracks equity markets of the emerging and developed countries of the Asia region, excluding Japan.
Index factsheet |
MSCI Emerging Markets Asia | Asia Pacific
India: 10.01% (30/10/2020) |
5 ETFs | 1,129 (31/12/2020) |
The MSCI Emerging Markets Asia index tracks large and mid cap companies from Asian emerging markets.
Index factsheet |
ETF ISIN |
Fund size in m EUR |
TER in % |
Use of profits | Fund domicile | Replication method | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets UCITS ETF DistributingIE00B3VVMM84 | 2,218 | 0.22% p.a. | Distributing | Ireland | Optimized sampling | |
Amundi MSCI Emerging Markets Asia UCITS ETF EUR (C)LU1681044480 | 1,810 | 0.20% p.a. | Accumulating | Luxembourg | Unfunded swap | |
SPDR MSCI EM Asia UCITS ETFIE00B466KX20 | 1,299 | 0.55% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Optimized sampling | |
iShares MSCI EM Asia UCITS ETF (Acc)IE00B5L8K969 | 1,196 | 0.65% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Full replication | |
Xtrackers MSCI AC Asia ex Japan Swap UCITS ETF 1CLU0322252171 | 637 | 0.65% p.a. | Accumulating | Luxembourg | Unfunded swap | |
Xtrackers MSCI EM Asia Swap UCITS ETF 1CLU0292107991 | 634 | 0.65% p.a. | Accumulating | Luxembourg | Unfunded swap | |
Lyxor MSCI AC Asia Ex Japan UCITS ETF - AccLU1900068161 | 537 | 0.50% p.a. | Accumulating | Luxembourg | Unfunded swap | |
UBS ETF (IE) MSCI AC Asia Ex Japan SF UCITS ETF (USD) A-accIE00B7WK2W23 | 167 | 0.23% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Swap-based | |
Lyxor MSCI EM Asia UCITS ETF - AccLU1781541849 | 164 | 0.12% p.a. | Accumulating | Luxembourg | Unfunded swap | |
Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets UCITS ETF AccIE00BK5BR733 | 58 | 0.22% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Optimized sampling |
Index | 1 month in % |
3 months in % |
6 months in % |
1 year in % |
3 years in % |
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
FTSE Emerging Markets | 3.52% | 11.93% | 16.71% | 4.95% | 15.99% | |
MSCI AC Asia ex Japan | 4.20% | 12.91% | 19.24% | 13.42% | 20.82% | |
MSCI Emerging Markets Asia | 4.64% | 13.78% | 21.86% | 17.29% | 25.24% |
Index | 2021 in % |
2020 in % |
2019 in % |
2018 in % |
2017 in % |
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
FTSE Emerging Markets | 3.73% | 4.95% | 21.96% | -9.38% | 15.91% | |
MSCI AC Asia ex Japan | 12.59% | 13.42% | 20.32% | -11.47% | 24.22% | |
MSCI Emerging Markets Asia | 16.39% | 17.29% | 20.85% | -11.64% | 24.79% |
Source: justETF.com; As of 31/12/2020; Calculations in EUR based on the largest ETF of the respective index.