ETF Comparison
The comparison tool puts two or three funds side by side on the characteristics that actually decide a choice, and lines them up row by row so none is forgotten: ongoing charges, assets, index tracked, number of holdings, replication method, distribution policy, domicile, currency, launch date, risk level, tracking difference where the issuer publishes it, and performance over one, three and five years. Comparison only means something when the funds track the same index or close ones: two funds tracking different baskets cannot be compared on performance, only on cost and structure. When the index is identical, on the other hand, a performance gap between two funds has only three possible causes, fees, tracking quality and dividend handling, and that is an exercise that reaches a conclusion.
Published by Radif Partners · Updated
Frequently asked questions
What does the comparison show?
It puts two or more funds side by side on the fields that decide a purchase: ongoing charges, assets under management, replication method, distribution policy, domicile, currency and past performance over the horizons published by the issuer. Everything shown comes from the same sources as the individual fund pages, so the numbers match rather than being recomputed.
Can I compare funds that track different indices?
You can, and the tool will not stop you, but the result needs care: two funds on different indices differ mainly because their indices differ, not because one is better run. Comparing charges across indices is still useful; comparing performance across indices mostly measures which market did well.
What is not in the comparison?
The spread you pay when buying, which depends on your broker and the time of day, any currency conversion cost, and the tax treatment in your own country. None of those appears in a fund's documentation, and together they can exceed the difference in ongoing charges between the two funds you are comparing.
How to read a performance gap
Two funds on the same index should return the same, less their fees. When the gap exceeds the fee difference, look elsewhere: tracking difference, which measures what the fund actually lost against its index; securities lending, which earns the fund income and lowers its real cost; domicile, which sets withholding tax on the dividends received; and the rebalancing date, which can make two funds diverge for a few weeks a year.
What the comparison leaves out
Three things stay outside the table because they depend on you rather than the fund. Your broker's costs, dealing charges and any custody fee, which can exceed the difference in ongoing charges on small amounts. Your tax position, which depends on your country and your wrapper. And liquidity at the moment of your order: a fund with low assets shows a wider spread between buying and selling, and that spread is paid on every round trip, not once.
What a shared index still leaves open
Even with an identical index, two things no comparison settles remain. The share class: the same fund may exist accumulating and distributing, hedged and unhedged, each with its own ISIN and its own tax treatment. And the listing venue: the same class is often quoted on several exchanges, in different currencies, with different liquidity and therefore different spreads. Check both with your broker before placing an order, because the line preselected in the order window is not always the cheapest one.