The Global X FTSE ASEAN 40 ETF allocates 41.11% to Singapore, 30.5% to Malaysia, 16.57% to Indonesia, 11.05% to Thailand and 0.55% to the Philippines. Top sectors include Financials 40.91%, Industrials 15.28% and Telecom 13.55%. The ASEAN, or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, includes countries that are just a step away from being the China’s of tomorrow – the group consists of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunel, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam. The ASEAN benefits from its close proximity to China, and it is a cheap source of labor for Chinese companies – the two recently formed the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, or CAFTA.
The FTSE Tust ISE Chindia Index fund holds companies that are domiciled in either India or China. The fund’s top sector allocations include Info Tech 37.39%, Financials 14.92% and Energy 12.07%.
The iShares S&P Asia 50 Index fund allocates 29.15% to South Korea, 23.76% to China, 20.36% to Taiwan, 16.41% to Hong Kong and 9.96% to Singapore. Top sector allocations include Financials 29.89%, Info Tech 23.86% and Telecom Services 8.57%.
Visit our ETF Resume page for each of the above funds to get more information about holdings, country and sector breakdowns.
These four funds help provide investors with a broader exposure to Asia emerging market region. Potential investors, though, need to be aware of the various weightings allocated to countries or sectors that the different funds provide. Investors should especially note that the financials and information technology sectors make up a large chunk of the sector weightings within these funds.