XMCH
Xtrackers MSCI China UCITS ETF 1C
Published by Radif Partners · Updated
Overview
Xtrackers MSCI China UCITS ETF 1C (XMCH) tracks the MSCI China index and holds its constituents directly, a physical replication managed by Xtrackers. Dividends are reinvested inside the fund rather than paid out, so XMCH suits investors building a position over time. The fund is domiciled in LU, which determines the withholding tax treatment applied to its dividends. Annual charges come to 0.65% of assets, and the fund holds 1.5B under management. It is not eligible for the French PEA, but can be held in a securities account, a UK ISA or a German Depot. Its risk level is rated high. Launched on 2010-06-24, the fund is denominated in USD and has 16 years of track record. It is a UCITS fund, so it follows the European framework on diversification, liquidity and asset segregation. Because XMCH accumulates, nothing is taxed while the shares are held: the charge falls on disposal, against your capital gains allowance in a general account, and not at all inside an ISA or a SIPP. Domicile in LU sets the withholding the fund itself suffers on the dividends it receives, a cost absent from the stated fee but present in the return.
At 0.65%, this fund costs more than twice the median of its category (0.19%) and over 32.5 times the cheapest (0.02%). On £10,000 the gap to the median is worth about 460 over ten years, and that difference is certain in a way no performance gap is. A premium can be justified, by an index no competitor tracks, by a useful trading currency, or by size that guarantees liquidity; it is not justified by the brand. The question is therefore plain: what does this fund offer that the cheapest on the list does not?
Replication is physical: the fund actually holds the constituents of MSCI China, which makes its contents verifiable line by line in the issuer's report. Two points deserve attention. Securities lending first, practised by most physical funds to reduce costs: it earns a few hundredths of a point and creates an exposure to the borrower, covered by collateral, with the annual report stating the proportion lent. Rebalancing second: every change in the index's composition forces the fund to buy and sell, and those internal costs are not in the 0.65% headline. That is why two funds at the same price do not track their index with the same fidelity.
The domicile, Luxembourg, is not an administrative detail: it determines the withholding tax the fund suffers on the dividends it receives, and that loss appears in no fee table. Luxembourg has a comparable treaty network but is not as favourable as Ireland on US equities, a difference visible on a world index and not on a European one. For the holder, the UCITS framework also brings the key information document in their own language, diversification rules, and separation of the fund's assets from the issuer's.
Income is accumulated: dividends from the holdings are reinvested inside the fund rather than paid out. In a taxable account that defers taxation to the moment of sale instead of triggering it annually, leaving the whole return at work, and that is the main advantage of this share class. Two qualifications go with it. A holder who needs income has to sell units to obtain it, which is one more decision to take and sometimes at a bad moment. And the deferral is not universal: some countries tax a notional annual return whatever the distribution policy, in which case the accumulating class changes nothing.
With 1.5 billion in assets and 16 years of history, this fund has the size and the record that make closure unlikely and the spread narrow. Three checks remain, once a year, none of which depends on the market. The ongoing charge, which an issuer revises without notice and whose gap to a competitor can invert. The tracking difference, the only figure that says whether replication stays faithful. And the methodology of MSCI China, which can change its selection or weighting rules without the fund's name moving, in which case what you hold has changed with nothing to announce it.
MSCI China covers a single country, which concentrates three risks at once: its economy, its currency and its sector structure, since a national index reflects the country's industrial history rather than a chosen balance. A country position therefore makes sense to complete an already diversified portfolio, rarely to build one. The question to settle before buying is currency: a return published in one currency and real exposure to another diverge over several years, and a currency-hedged fund answers a different question, at the price of hedging costs that vary with the interest rate gap.
The published returns for this fund are incomplete, and that is itself information: without a multi-year record, the only available check is the structure, the 0.65% ongoing charge, 1.5 billion in assets and the replication method. A recent or little-followed fund is not a bad fund for that reason, but it can only be judged on what is known in advance rather than on what it has done.
0.65%
1.5B
1,500M USDHigh
196
Physical
Accumulating
USD
LU
MSCI China
Xtrackers
2010-06-24 (16 years)
Contextual Analysis
Fund Size
With 1.5B in assets, this is a large fund, good liquidity and tight spreads.
Fee Positioning
A TER of 0.65% is above the market average (~0.35%), justified if the strategy is specialized.
Track Record
Launched in 2010-06-24, this fund has 16 years of history, long and reliable track record.
Risk Profile
High risk, suited for long-term investors comfortable with volatility.
Performance
Returns Summary
| Period | Ann. Return | Cumulative |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Month (est.) | – | – |
| 3 Months (est.) | – | – |
| 6 Months (est.) | – | – |
| YTD (est.) | – | – |
| 1 Year | – | – |
| 3 Years | – | – |
| 5 Years | – | – |
| Since inception (16y) | – | – |
Key Facts
Fund Profile
Themes & Zones
Holdings
Risk
How to Buy This ETF
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About this ETF
The Xtrackers MSCI China UCITS ETF 1C tracks the MSCI China index. It is managed by Xtrackers using physical replication and follows a accumulating distribution policy. The fund is denominated in USD and domiciled in LU. It has a total expense ratio (TER) of 0.65%.
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Frequently asked questions
What do XMCH's 0.65% charges actually cost?
They are taken from the fund's value continuously and never billed separately: on £1,000 invested that is about £6.50 a year and roughly £65 over ten years at a constant amount. That is the only cost of the fund itself. Your broker's commission and the spread between buying and selling price come on top, and they weigh most on small frequent purchases.
Does XMCH lend out the securities it holds?
Probably in part: most physical funds lend securities to reduce their costs, and Xtrackers publishes the proportion in the annual report. Lending income is worth a few hundredths of a point, shared between the fund and the issuer. The risk is the borrower's, covered by collateral worth more than the amount lent, and it appears in the prospectus rather than in the stated fee.
Why does XMCH's Luxembourg domicile matter?
Because it determines the withholding tax the fund suffers on the dividends it receives, and that loss appears in no fee table. Luxembourg has a comparable treaty network but is less favourable than Ireland on US equities. The UCITS framework also brings the key information document in your own language.
Does XMCH pay dividends?
No: the fund accumulates, reinvesting the dividends of the companies it holds so that the unit price rises instead. In a taxable account that defers tax to the sale rather than triggering it annually. Anyone needing regular income has to sell units to obtain it, or choose a distributing class on the same index where one exists.
What currency risk comes with XMCH?
The fund is denominated in USD, but the trading currency is not the risk: what counts is the currency in which the companies held earn their revenue. A euro-based investor therefore carries the gap between the euro and those currencies, and that gap appears in no return published in local currency. A hedged share class answers a different question, at a cost that varies with the interest rate gap.
This ranking is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Displayed performance is simulated.