iShares CNX Nifty IndiaXID.TOWEAK BUYJun 06, 2024Stock price when the opinion was issued
As of Jun 10, 2026. Market Open.
Likes the idea of India, as more than half its population is under the age of 30. If they ever get their infrastructure efforts in gear, then they can grow their economy a whole lot faster than NA. The opportunity is definitely there.
First thing to look at are the holdings. XID is "an index of an index", which is the iShares India 50. With ZID, you get the actual companies. Next thing to look at are the fees. MER of XID is 1%, for ZID it's 0.72%. So on his quick perusal, ZID is the better of the two -- it's cheaper, and you get better diversification.
VEE vs. XID VEE covers EM. XID: India has a young working population who speak English. India fits well into global commerce. If they build their infrastructure, India will do well. Problem is, everyone knows India's long-term story and already have high expectations. India has been underperforming the past year, so he wants to see India cheaper and offer better performance before stepping in. Wait. Look at SCIF for India small-caps For EM, focus on Asian EMs, so go with GMF-N instead of VEE.
XID vs VEE (India vs. EM) VEE is Asia-ex Japan. It contains some major India stocks, plus Korea and China. With XID, you're making a country call. Do you know something about India that the world does not? He is not a country allocator. Take a look at Forstrong ETFs (https://www.forstrong.com/) who actively manage and you need that if you're so country-specific.
He has very little EM exposure. But compared to developed markets, EMs have gotten very cheap on valuation and price. Likes EMs, and India is one of the leaders in that space. This ETF has performed well, up 21% in past year.
Note that you can buy a similar ETF, INDA, in USD for a cheaper MER.