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 0.45% p.a. and 0.74% p.a..
| Index | Investment focus | Number of ETFs | Number of constituents | Short description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
MSCI Korea |
South Korea | 5 ETFs | 114 (31.08.18) |
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 | 467 | 0.74% p.a. | Distributing | Ireland | Full replication | |
| Lyxor MSCI Korea UCITS ETF C-EURFR0010361691 | 139 | 0.45% p.a. | Accumulating | France | Unfunded swap | |
| Xtrackers MSCI Korea Index UCITS ETF 1CLU0292100046 | 85 | 0.65% p.a. | Accumulating | Luxembourg | Full replication | |
| iShares MSCI Korea UCITS ETF (Acc)IE00B5W4TY14 | 44 | 0.65% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Full replication | |
| HSBC MSCI Korea UCITS ETF USDDE000A1JXC60 | 5 | 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 | -2.69% | -12.28% | -11.16% | -17.76% | 18.15% |
| Index | 2019 in % |
2018 in % |
2017 in % |
2016 in % |
2015 in % |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSCI Korea | -17.76% | -17.76% | 28.79% | 11.56% | 3.56% |
Source: justETF.com; As of 31.12.18; 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 (Acc) | -17.69% |
| 2 | iShares MSCI Korea UCITS ETF (Dist) | -17.76% |
| 3 | HSBC MSCI Korea UCITS ETF USD | -17.92% |
The cheapest South Korea ETFs
by total expense ratio (TER)
| 1 | Lyxor MSCI Korea UCITS ETF C-EUR | 0.45% p.a. |
| 2 | HSBC MSCI Korea UCITS ETF USD | 0.60% 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 0.12% 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: 14,45% (29/12/2017) |
1 ETF | 1,013 (31.08.18) |
The MSCI AC (All Cap) Asia Pacific ex Japan (price-) 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: 17,73% (29/12/2017) |
3 ETFs | 939 (31.08.18) |
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: 19,74% (29/12/2017) |
2 ETFs | 855 (31.08.18) |
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: 21,02% (29/12/2017) |
5 ETFs | 867 (31.08.18) |
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 | 1,940 | 0.74% p.a. | Distributing | Ireland | Optimized sampling | |
| Amundi MSCI Emerging Markets Asia UCITS ETF - EUR (C)LU1681044480 | 1,438 | 0.20% p.a. | Accumulating | Luxembourg | Unfunded swap | |
| Xtrackers MSCI EM Asia Index Swap UCITS ETF 1CLU0292107991 | 524 | 0.65% p.a. | Accumulating | Luxembourg | Unfunded swap | |
| SPDR MSCI EM Asia UCITS ETFIE00B466KX20 | 487 | 0.55% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Optimized sampling | |
| Xtrackers MSCI AC Asia ex Japan Index Swap UCITS ETF 1CLU0322252171 | 462 | 0.65% p.a. | Accumulating | Luxembourg | Unfunded swap | |
| iShares MSCI EM Asia UCITS ETF (Acc)IE00B5L8K969 | 430 | 0.65% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Optimized sampling | |
| Lyxor MSCI AC Asia Pacific Ex Japan UCITS ETF C-EURFR0010312124 | 320 | 0.60% p.a. | Accumulating | France | Unfunded swap | |
| Lyxor MSCI AC Asia Ex Japan UCITS ETF C-EURFR0010652867 | 302 | 0.50% p.a. | Accumulating | France | Unfunded swap | |
| HSBC MSCI AC Far East ex Japan UCITS ETF USDDE000A1W2EK4 | 282 | 0.60% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Optimized sampling | |
| UBS ETF (IE) MSCI AC Asia Ex Japan SF UCITS ETF (USD) A-accIE00B7WK2W23 | 88 | 0.32% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Swap-based | |
| Lyxor MSCI EM Asia UCITS ETF - AccLU1781541849 | 66 | 0.12% p.a. | Accumulating | Luxembourg | Unfunded swap |
| Index | 1 month in % |
3 months in % |
6 months in % |
1 year in % |
3 years in % |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSCI AC Far East ex Japan | -3.83% | -9.00% | -9.86% | -11.69% | 19.42% | |
| MSCI Emerging Markets Asia | -4.12% | -7.96% | -9.28% | -11.64% | 19.94% | |
| MSCI AC Asia ex Japan | -4.01% | -8.24% | -9.18% | -11.47% | 18.85% | |
| MSCI AC Asia Pacific ex Japan | -3.79% | -7.64% | -8.70% | -10.40% | 16.44% |
| Index | 2019 in % |
2018 in % |
2017 in % |
2016 in % |
2015 in % |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSCI AC Far East ex Japan | -11.69% | -11.69% | 24.08% | 8.98% | 0.21% | |
| MSCI Emerging Markets Asia | -11.64% | -11.64% | 24.79% | 8.79% | -0.05% | |
| MSCI AC Asia ex Japan | -11.47% | -11.47% | 24.22% | 8.07% | 0.45% | |
| MSCI AC Asia Pacific ex Japan | -10.40% | -10.40% | 19.27% | 8.95% | 0.05% |
Source: justETF.com; As of 31.12.18; 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 2 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: 15.39% (29/12/2017) |
13 ETFs | 1,136 (31.08.18) |
The MSCI Emerging Markets index tracks stocks from emerging markets world wide (end of day).
Index factsheet |
| S&P SMIT 40 | Emerging Markets
South Korea: 26.70% (29/12/2017) |
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 | 4,182 | 0.75% p.a. | Distributing | Ireland | Optimized sampling | |
| Amundi MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETF - EUR (C)LU1681045370 | 3,053 | 0.20% p.a. | Accumulating | Luxembourg | Unfunded swap | |
| Xtrackers MSCI Emerging Markets Index Swap UCITS ETF 1CLU0292107645 | 1,501 | 0.49% p.a. | Accumulating | Luxembourg | Unfunded swap | |
| Lyxor MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETF C-EURFR0010429068 | 1,144 | 0.55% p.a. | Accumulating | France | Unfunded swap | |
| Xtrackers MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETF 1CIE00BTJRMP35 | 1,128 | 0.20% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Optimized sampling | |
| UBS ETF (LU) MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETF (USD) A-disLU0480132876 | 993 | 0.45% p.a. | Distributing | Luxembourg | Optimized sampling | |
| iShares MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETF (Acc)IE00B4L5YC18 | 593 | 0.68% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Optimized sampling | |
| ComStage MSCI Emerging Markets TRN UCITS ETFLU0635178014 | 286 | 0.25% p.a. | Distributing | Luxembourg | Unfunded swap | |
| SPDR MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETFIE00B469F816 | 241 | 0.42% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Optimized sampling | |
| HSBC MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETF USDDE000A1JXC94 | 208 | 0.40% p.a. | Distributing | Ireland | Optimized sampling | |
| Invesco MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETF AccDE000A1JM6G3 | 146 | 0.29% p.a. | Accumulating | Ireland | Unfunded swap | |
| Amundi Index MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETF - EUR (D)LU1737652583 | 64 | 0.20% p.a. | Distributing | Luxembourg | Full replication | |
| Deka MSCI Emerging Markets UCITS ETFDE000ETFL342 | 33 | 0.65% p.a. | Accumulating | Germany | Unfunded swap | |
| ComStage S&P SMIT 40 Index TRN UCITS ETFLU0860821874 | 4 | 0.58% p.a. | Distributing | Luxembourg | Unfunded swap |
| Index | 1 month in % |
3 months in % |
6 months in % |
1 year in % |
3 years in % |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S&P SMIT 40 | -3.90% | -3.85% | -5.78% | -18.07% | 4.55% | |
| MSCI Emerging Markets | -3.48% | -6.59% | -7.10% | -11.07% | 21.79% |
| Index | 2019 in % |
2018 in % |
2017 in % |
2016 in % |
2015 in % |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| S&P SMIT 40 | -18.07% | -18.07% | 15.57% | 10.42% | -11.88% | |
| MSCI Emerging Markets | -11.07% | -11.07% | 19.96% | 14.16% | -5.63% |
Source: justETF.com; As of 31.12.18; Calculations in EUR based on the largest ETF of the respective index.