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. ETFs.
On the South Korean stock market you find 1 index, which is tracked by ETFs.
Alternatively, you can invest in indices on the Asia-Pacific region and Emerging Markets. The S&P SMIT 40 Index contains the largest share of South Korea with around 25%.
Performance of South Korean stocks (MSCI Korea)
Indices in comparison
The best indices for ETFs on South Korea
For an investment in the South Korean stock market, 1 index tracked by 5 ETFs are available. On the MSCI Korea index there are 5 ETFs. The total expense ratio (TER) of ETFs on these indices is between 0.60% p.a. and 0.74% p.a..
| Index | Investment focus | Number of ETFs | Number of constituents | Short description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
MSCI Korea |
South Korea | 5 ETFs | 112 (30/06/17) |
The MSCI Korea (total return) index tracks large and mid cap Korean stocks.
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 | 688 | 0.74% p.a. | Distributing | Ireland | Full replication | |
| db x-trackers MSCI Korea Index UCITS ETF (DR) 1CLU0292100046 | 137 | 0.65% p.a. | Accumulating | Luxembourg | Full replication | |
| Lyxor MSCI Korea UCITS ETF C-EURFR0010361691 | 118 | 0.65% p.a. | Accumulating | France | Unfunded swap | |
| iShares MSCI Korea UCITS ETF (Acc)IE00B5W4TY14 | 42 | 0.65% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Full replication | |
| HSBC MSCI Korea UCITS ETF USDDE000A1JXC60 | 9 | 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 | -3.32% | -3.74% | 4.26% | 15.96% | 21.88% |
| Index | 2017 in % |
2016 in % |
2015 in % |
2014 in % |
2013 in % |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSCI Korea | 15.06% | 11.56% | 3.56% | -0.49% | -1.40% |
Source: justETF.com; As of 31/08/17; Calculations in EUR based on the largest ETF of the respective index.
The best South Korea ETFs
by 1 year return
| 1 | iShares MSCI Korea UCITS ETF (Dist) | 15.96% |
| 2 | db x-trackers MSCI Korea Index UCITS ETF (DR) 1C | 15.91% |
| 3 | HSBC MSCI Korea UCITS ETF USD | 15.89% |
The cheapest South Korea ETFs
by total expense ratio (TER)
| 1 | HSBC MSCI Korea UCITS ETF USD | 0.60% p.a. |
| 2 | db x-trackers MSCI Korea Index UCITS ETF (DR) 1C | 0.65% p.a. |
| 3 | iShares MSCI Korea UCITS ETF (Acc) | 0.65% 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 4 Asia-Pacific indices, which are tracked by 11 ETFs. The total expense ratio (TER) of ETFs on Asia-Pacific is between 0.20% p.a. and 0.74% p.a..
| Index | Investment focus | Number of ETFs | Number of constituents | Short description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSCI AC Asia Pacific ex Japan | Asia Pacific
South Korea: 13.40% (31/10/2016) |
1 ETF | 716 (30/06/17) |
The MSCI AC (All Cap) 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: 16.94% (31/10/2016) |
3 ETFs | 639 (30/06/17) |
The MSCI AC (All Cap) 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: 18.82% (31/10/2016) |
3 ETFs | 556 (30/06/17) |
The MSCI AC (All Cap) 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: 20.34% (31/10/2016) |
4 ETFs | 567 (30/06/17) |
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| iShares MSCI AC Far East ex-Japan UCITS ETFIE00B0M63730 | 1,929 | 0.74% p.a. | Distributing | Ireland | Optimized sampling | |
| Amundi ETF MSCI EM Asia UCITS ETF EURFR0011020965 | 1,061 | 0.20% p.a. | Accumulating | France | Unfunded swap | |
| db x-trackers MSCI EM Asia Index UCITS ETF 1CLU0292107991 | 704 | 0.65% p.a. | Accumulating | Luxembourg | Unfunded swap | |
| db x-trackers MSCI AC Asia ex Japan Index UCITS ETF 1CLU0322252171 | 570 | 0.65% p.a. | Accumulating | Luxembourg | Unfunded swap | |
| iShares MSCI EM Asia UCITS ETF (Acc)IE00B5L8K969 | 340 | 0.65% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Optimized sampling | |
| SPDR MSCI EM Asia UCITS ETFIE00B466KX20 | 316 | 0.55% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Optimized sampling | |
| Lyxor MSCI AC Asia Pacific Ex Japan UCITS ETF C-EURFR0010312124 | 306 | 0.60% p.a. | Accumulating | France | Unfunded swap | |
| Lyxor MSCI AC Asia Ex Japan UCITS ETF C-EURFR0010652867 | 271 | 0.50% p.a. | Accumulating | France | Unfunded swap | |
| HSBC MSCI AC Far East ex Japan UCITS ETF USDDE000A1W2EK4 | 195 | 0.60% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Optimized sampling | |
| UBS ETF (IE) MSCI AC Asia Ex Japan SF UCITS ETF (USD) A-accIE00B7WK2W23 | 51 | 0.37% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Swap-based | |
| db x-trackers MSCI AC Far East ex Japan Index UCITS ETF (DR) 2CIE00BGDWNL65 | 22 | 0.60% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Optimized sampling |
| Index | 1 month in % |
3 months in % |
6 months in % |
1 year in % |
3 years in % |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSCI AC Asia Pacific ex Japan | 0.10% | 2.12% | 3.49% | 14.39% | 22.25% | |
| MSCI AC Asia ex Japan | 0.46% | 2.79% | 6.76% | 16.79% | 29.08% | |
| MSCI Emerging Markets Asia | 0.48% | 2.87% | 7.11% | 16.94% | 29.36% | |
| MSCI AC Far East ex Japan | 0.69% | 3.06% | 6.97% | 17.53% | 29.55% |
| Index | 2017 in % |
2016 in % |
2015 in % |
2014 in % |
2013 in % |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSCI AC Asia Pacific ex Japan | 12.26% | 8.95% | 0.05% | 16.05% | -1.83% | |
| MSCI AC Asia ex Japan | 16.49% | 8.07% | 0.45% | 18.00% | -2.34% | |
| MSCI Emerging Markets Asia | 16.54% | 8.79% | -0.05% | 18.70% | -3.15% | |
| MSCI AC Far East ex Japan | 16.61% | 8.98% | 0.21% | 16.16% | -1.82% |
Source: justETF.com; As of 31/08/17; 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 3 emerging markets indices, which are tracked by 14 ETFs. The S&P SMIT 40 Index contains the largest share of South Korea with around 25%. The total expense ratio (TER) of ETFs on emerging markets is between 0.20% p.a. and 0.75% p.a..
| Index | Investment focus | Number of ETFs | Number of constituents | Short description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSCI Emerging Markets | Emerging Markets
South Korea: 14.27% (31/10/2016) |
12 ETFs | 845 (30/06/17) |
The MSCI Emerging Markets index tracks stocks from emerging markets world wide (end of day).
Index factsheet |
| MSCI Emerging Markets Beyond BRIC | Emerging Markets
South Korea: 14.90% (31/10/2016) |
1 ETF | 537 (30/06/17) |
The MSCI Emerging Markets Beyond BRIC index tracks stocks from emerging markets worldwide excluding Brazil, Russia, India and China ("BRIC"). In addition, to provide greater country diversification, the weight of each single country is capped on a quarterly basis at 15%.
Index factsheet |
| S&P SMIT 40 | Emerging Markets
South Korea: 24.80% (31/10/2016) |
1 ETF | 40 |
The S&P SMIT 40 index tracks the 40 leading companies in four emerging markets: South Korea, Mexico, Indonesia and Turkey. Every September the weight of each country is rebalanced to 25%.
Index factsheet |
| ETF ISIN |
Fund size in m EUR |
TER in % |
Use of profits | Fund domicile | Replication method | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| iShares MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETF (Dist)IE00B0M63177 | 4,846 | 0.75% p.a. | Distributing | Ireland | Optimized sampling | |
| Amundi ETF MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETF EURFR0010959676 | 2,669 | 0.20% p.a. | Accumulating | France | Unfunded swap | |
| db x-trackers MSCI Emerging Markets Index UCITS ETF 1CLU0292107645 | 1,776 | 0.49% p.a. | Accumulating | Luxembourg | Unfunded swap | |
| Lyxor MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETF C-EURFR0010429068 | 1,501 | 0.55% p.a. | Accumulating | France | Unfunded swap | |
| iShares MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETF (Acc)IE00B4L5YC18 | 1,003 | 0.68% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Optimized sampling | |
| UBS ETF (LU) MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETF (USD) A-disLU0480132876 | 806 | 0.45% p.a. | Distributing | Luxembourg | Optimized sampling | |
| db x-trackers MSCI Emerging Markets 1C UCITS ETF (DR)IE00BTJRMP35 | 385 | 0.20% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Optimized sampling | |
| HSBC MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETF USDDE000A1JXC94 | 332 | 0.40% p.a. | Distributing | Ireland | Optimized sampling | |
| SPDR MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETFIE00B469F816 | 254 | 0.42% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Optimized sampling | |
| ComStage MSCI Emerging Markets TRN UCITS ETFLU0635178014 | 211 | 0.25% p.a. | Accumulating | Luxembourg | Unfunded swap | |
| Source MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETF ADE000A1JM6G3 | 146 | 0.29% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Unfunded swap | |
| Deka MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETFDE000ETFL342 | 22 | 0.65% p.a. | Accumulating | Germany | Unfunded swap | |
| ComStage S&P SMIT 40 Index TRN UCITS ETFLU0860821874 | 5 | 0.60% p.a. | Accumulating | Luxembourg | Unfunded swap | |
| SPDR MSCI EM Beyond BRIC UCITS ETFIE00BCBJFC69 | 3 | 0.55% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Optimized sampling |
| Index | 1 month in % |
3 months in % |
6 months in % |
1 year in % |
3 years in % |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSCI Emerging Markets Beyond BRIC | 0.62% | 0.88% | 3.87% | 11.02% | 9.41% | |
| S&P SMIT 40 | -0.33% | 1.97% | 9.33% | 14.77% | 11.53% | |
| MSCI Emerging Markets | 1.35% | 3.71% | 5.45% | 16.51% | 17.65% |
| Index | 2017 in % |
2016 in % |
2015 in % |
2014 in % |
2013 in % |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSCI Emerging Markets Beyond BRIC | 10.02% | 12.07% | -8.61% | 11.60% | - | |
| MSCI Emerging Markets | 13.94% | 14.16% | -5.63% | 10.34% | -8.13% | |
| S&P SMIT 40 | 16.25% | 10.42% | -11.88% | 18.60% | - |
Source: justETF.com; As of 31/08/17; Calculations in EUR based on the largest ETF of the respective index.