How to invest in South Korea using ETFs
How do I invest in South Korean stocks?
The easiest way to invest in the whole South Korean stock market is to invest in a broad market index. This can be done at low cost by using ETFs.
On the South Korean stock market you'll find 3 indices which are tracked by ETFs.
Alternatively, you can invest in indices on the Asia-Pacific region and Emerging Markets. In the FTSE Developed Asia Pacific ex Japan Index, South Korea is weighted with more than 30%. In the other indices, the weight of South Korea is significantly lower.
Performance of South Korean stocks (MSCI Korea 20/35)
Indices in comparison
The best indices for ETFs on South Korea
For an investment in the South Korean stock market, there are 3 indices available which are tracked by 6 ETFs. On the FTSE Korea 30/18 Capped index there is 1 ETF. On the MSCI Korea index there is 1 ETF. On the MSCI Korea 20/35 index there are 4 ETFs. The total expense ratio (TER) of ETFs on these indices is between 0.09% p.a. and 0.74% p.a..
Index | Investment focus | Number of ETFs | Number of constituents | Short description |
---|---|---|---|---|
FTSE Korea 30/18 Capped |
South Korea | 1 ETF | 136 (30/10/2020) |
The FTSE Korea 30/18 Capped index tracks the largest stocks from South Korea. 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 Korea |
South Korea | 1 ETF | 106 (31/03/2021) |
The MSCI Korea index tracks large and mid cap Korean stocks.
Index factsheet |
MSCI Korea 20/35 |
South Korea | 4 ETFs | 107 (30/10/2020) |
The MSCI Korea 20/35 index tracks large and mid cap Korean stocks. The weight of the largest constituent is constrained to 35% and the weights of all other constituents are constrained to a maximum of 20%.
Index factsheet |
ETF ISIN |
Fund size in m EUR |
TER in % |
Use of profits | Fund domicile | Replication method | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
iShares MSCI Korea UCITS ETF (Dist)IE00B0M63391 | 678 | 0.74% p.a. | Distributing | Ireland | Full replication | |
Franklin FTSE Korea UCITS ETFIE00BHZRR030 | 611 | 0.09% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Full replication | |
iShares MSCI Korea UCITS ETF (Acc)IE00B5W4TY14 | 151 | 0.65% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Full replication | |
Xtrackers MSCI Korea UCITS ETF 1CLU0292100046 | 129 | 0.65% p.a. | Accumulating | Luxembourg | Full replication | |
Lyxor MSCI Korea UCITS ETF - AccLU1900066975 | 119 | 0.45% p.a. | Accumulating | Luxembourg | Unfunded swap | |
HSBC MSCI Korea Capped UCITS ETF USDIE00B3Z0X395 | 39 | 0.60% p.a. | Distributing | Ireland | Full replication |
Index | 1 month in % |
3 months in % |
6 months in % |
1 year in % |
3 years in % |
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MSCI Korea 20/35 | 3.68% | 6.67% | 37.95% | 76.61% | 35.98% | |
MSCI Korea | 3.73% | 6.95% | 40.07% | 77.13% | 36.08% | |
FTSE Korea 30/18 Capped | 4.01% | 7.28% | 40.96% | 79.89% | - |
Index | 2021 in % |
2020 in % |
2019 in % |
2018 in % |
2017 in % |
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
FTSE Korea 30/18 Capped | 6.45% | 32.81% | - | - | - | |
MSCI Korea 20/35 | 6.67% | 30.84% | 14.25% | -17.76% | 28.79% | |
MSCI Korea | 7.07% | 31.07% | 13.98% | -17.95% | 28.91% |
Source: justETF.com; As of 31/03/2021; Calculations in EUR based on the largest ETF of the respective index.
The best South Korea ETFs
by 1 year return
1 | Franklin FTSE Korea UCITS ETF | 79.89% |
2 | HSBC MSCI Korea Capped UCITS ETF USD | 77.19% |
3 | Xtrackers MSCI Korea UCITS ETF 1C | 77.13% |
The cheapest South Korea ETFs
by total expense ratio (TER)
1 | Franklin FTSE Korea UCITS ETF | 0.09% p.a. |
2 | Lyxor MSCI Korea UCITS ETF - Acc | 0.45% p.a. |
3 | HSBC MSCI Korea Capped UCITS ETF USD | 0.60% p.a. |
Asia-Pacific indices with a large share of South Korea
Besides South Korea ETFs, you may consider ETFs on the Asia-Pacific region. In total, you can invest in 6 Asia-Pacific indices, which are tracked by 14 ETFs. The total expense ratio (TER) of ETFs on Asia-Pacific is between 0.12% p.a. and 0.74% p.a..
Index | Investment focus | Number of ETFs | Number of constituents | Short description |
---|---|---|---|---|
FTSE Developed Asia Pacific ex Japan | Asia Pacific
South Korea: 30.76% (30/10/2020) |
2 ETFs | 391 (30/10/2020) |
The FTSE Developed Asia Pacific ex Japan index tracks large and mid cap stocks from developed countries in the Asia Pacifc region excluding Japan.
Index factsheet |
MSCI AC Asia Pacific ex Japan | Asia Pacific
South Korea: 11.34% (30/10/2020) |
1 ETF | 1,254 (31/03/2021) |
The MSCI AC Asia Pacific ex Japan index tracks equity markets of the emerging and developed countries of the Asia and Pacific region, excluding Japan.
Index factsheet |
MSCI AC Asia ex Japan | Asia Pacific
South Korea: 13.16% (30/10/2020) |
3 ETFs | 1,182 (31/03/2021) |
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 AC Far East ex Japan | Asia Pacific
South Korea: 14.46% (30/10/2020) |
2 ETFs | 1,083 (31/03/2021) |
The MSCI AC Far East ex Japan index tracks equity markets of the emerging and developed countries of the East Asian region, excluding Japan.
Index factsheet |
MSCI Emerging Markets Asia | Asia Pacific
South Korea: 14.61% (30/10/2020) |
5 ETFs | 1,125 (31/03/2021) |
The MSCI Emerging Markets Asia index tracks large and mid cap companies from Asian emerging markets.
Index factsheet |
MSCI Emerging Markets Far East | Asia Pacific
South Korea: 16.24% (30/10/2020) |
1 ETF | 1,026 (31/03/2021) |
The MSCI Emerging Markets Far East index tracks the largest companies in China (as accessible through the Hong Kong market), Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand.
Index factsheet |
ETF ISIN |
Fund size in m EUR |
TER in % |
Use of profits | Fund domicile | Replication method | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
iShares MSCI AC Far East ex-Japan UCITS ETFIE00B0M63730 | 2,129 | 0.74% p.a. | Distributing | Ireland | Full replication | |
Amundi MSCI Emerging Markets Asia UCITS ETF EUR (C)LU1681044480 | 1,808 | 0.20% p.a. | Accumulating | Luxembourg | Unfunded swap | |
iShares MSCI EM Asia UCITS ETF (Acc)IE00B5L8K969 | 1,325 | 0.20% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Full replication | |
SPDR MSCI EM Asia UCITS ETFIE00B466KX20 | 1,273 | 0.55% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Optimized sampling | |
Lyxor MSCI AC Asia Pacific Ex Japan UCITS ETF - AccLU1900068328 | 832 | 0.60% p.a. | Accumulating | Luxembourg | Unfunded swap | |
Vanguard FTSE Developed Asia Pacific ex Japan UCITS ETF DistributingIE00B9F5YL18 | 786 | 0.15% p.a. | Distributing | Ireland | Full replication | |
HSBC MSCI AC Far East ex Japan UCITS ETF USDIE00BBQ2W338 | 555 | 0.45% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Optimized sampling | |
Xtrackers MSCI AC Asia ex Japan Swap UCITS ETF 1CLU0322252171 | 553 | 0.65% p.a. | Accumulating | Luxembourg | Unfunded swap | |
Lyxor MSCI AC Asia Ex Japan UCITS ETF - AccLU1900068161 | 417 | 0.50% p.a. | Accumulating | Luxembourg | Unfunded swap | |
Xtrackers MSCI EM Asia Swap UCITS ETF 1CLU0292107991 | 361 | 0.65% p.a. | Accumulating | Luxembourg | Unfunded swap | |
UBS ETF (IE) MSCI AC Asia Ex Japan SF UCITS ETF (USD) A-accIE00B7WK2W23 | 188 | 0.23% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Swap-based | |
Lyxor MSCI EM Asia UCITS ETF - AccLU1781541849 | 181 | 0.12% p.a. | Accumulating | Luxembourg | Unfunded swap | |
Vanguard FTSE Developed Asia Pacific ex Japan UCITS ETF AccIE00BK5BQZ41 | 76 | 0.15% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Full replication | |
HSBC MSCI EM Far East UCITS ETF USDIE00B5LP3W10 | 26 | 0.60% p.a. | Distributing | Ireland | Optimized sampling |
Index | 1 month in % |
3 months in % |
6 months in % |
1 year in % |
3 years in % |
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MSCI AC Far East ex Japan | 0.14% | 7.04% | 20.68% | 44.28% | 32.99% | |
MSCI AC Asia ex Japan | 0.69% | 7.32% | 21.17% | 45.79% | 33.02% | |
MSCI AC Asia Pacific ex Japan | 1.05% | 6.74% | 21.67% | 47.05% | 32.49% | |
MSCI Emerging Markets Far East | -0.41% | 6.52% | 21.24% | 48.21% | 35.75% | |
MSCI Emerging Markets Asia | 0.18% | 6.26% | 20.91% | 48.89% | 35.59% | |
FTSE Developed Asia Pacific ex Japan | 4.30% | 8.58% | 30.70% | 56.27% | 33.30% |
Index | 2021 in % |
2020 in % |
2019 in % |
2018 in % |
2017 in % |
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MSCI Emerging Markets Far East | 6.52% | 19.38% | 21.66% | -12.53% | 25.59% | |
MSCI Emerging Markets Asia | 6.93% | 17.29% | 20.85% | -11.64% | 24.79% | |
MSCI AC Asia Pacific ex Japan | 7.03% | 11.51% | 20.31% | -10.40% | 19.27% | |
MSCI AC Far East ex Japan | 7.41% | 14.54% | 20.95% | -11.69% | 24.08% | |
MSCI AC Asia ex Japan | 7.80% | 13.42% | 20.32% | -11.47% | 24.22% | |
FTSE Developed Asia Pacific ex Japan | 8.13% | 8.65% | 19.20% | -10.31% | 16.18% |
Source: justETF.com; As of 31/03/2021; Calculations in EUR based on the largest ETF of the respective index.
Emerging markets indices with a large share of South Korea
Besides South Korea ETFs you may consider emerging markets ETFs. In total, you can invest in 1 emerging markets index, which is tracked by 13 ETFs. The total expense ratio (TER) of ETFs on emerging markets is between 0.14% p.a. and 0.65% p.a..
Index | Investment focus | Number of ETFs | Number of constituents | Short description |
---|---|---|---|---|
MSCI Emerging Markets | Emerging Markets
South Korea: 11.90% (30/10/2020) |
13 ETFs | 1,392 (31/03/2021) |
The MSCI Emerging Markets index tracks stocks from emerging markets worldwide.
Index factsheet |
ETF ISIN |
Fund size in m EUR |
TER in % |
Use of profits | Fund domicile | Replication method | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Xtrackers MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETF 1CIE00BTJRMP35 | 4,563 | 0.18% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Optimized sampling | |
iShares MSCI EM UCITS ETF (Dist)IE00B0M63177 | 3,469 | 0.18% p.a. | Distributing | Ireland | Optimized sampling | |
Amundi MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETF EUR (C)LU1681045370 | 2,841 | 0.20% p.a. | Accumulating | Luxembourg | Unfunded swap | |
UBS ETF (LU) MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETF (USD) A-disLU0480132876 | 1,907 | 0.23% p.a. | Distributing | Luxembourg | Optimized sampling | |
Xtrackers MSCI Emerging Markets Swap UCITS ETF 1CLU0292107645 | 1,083 | 0.49% p.a. | Accumulating | Luxembourg | Unfunded swap | |
Lyxor MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETF - Acc EURFR0010429068 | 1,052 | 0.55% p.a. | Accumulating | France | Unfunded swap | |
iShares MSCI EM UCITS ETF (Acc)IE00B4L5YC18 | 963 | 0.18% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Optimized sampling | |
HSBC MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETF USDIE00B5SSQT16 | 870 | 0.15% p.a. | Distributing | Ireland | Optimized sampling | |
Lyxor MSCI Emerging Markets (LUX) UCITS ETFLU0635178014 | 657 | 0.14% p.a. | Distributing | Luxembourg | Unfunded swap | |
Invesco MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETFIE00B3DWVS88 | 495 | 0.19% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Unfunded swap | |
SPDR MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETFIE00B469F816 | 455 | 0.42% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Optimized sampling | |
Amundi Index MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETF DR EUR (D)LU1737652583 | 403 | 0.20% p.a. | Distributing | Luxembourg | Full replication | |
Deka MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETFDE000ETFL342 | 56 | 0.65% p.a. | Accumulating | Germany | Unfunded swap |
Index | 1 month in % |
3 months in % |
6 months in % |
1 year in % |
3 years in % |
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MSCI Emerging Markets | 1.81% | 7.00% | 22.14% | 47.71% | 26.13% |
Index | 2021 in % |
2020 in % |
2019 in % |
2018 in % |
2017 in % |
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MSCI Emerging Markets | 7.00% | 8.01% | 20.90% | -11.48% | - |
Source: justETF.com; As of 31/03/2021; Calculations in EUR based on the largest ETF of the respective index.