Exchange-traded funds can offer a simple and inexpensive way to gain exposure to Asian stocks, and some of these are highly rated by Morningstar’s fund analysts. This comes at a time when Asia ex-Japan equities had a strong start to the year, overperforming global stocks by 10 percentage points, pushed by surging demand for artificial intelligence hardware and semiconductors, and a weaker US dollar.
After having gained 15% in 2025, the Morningstar Asia ex-Japan Index is up 29% year to date through June 2 in euro terms. That compares with a 13% gain in the Morningstar Global Markets Index over the same period.
Asian markets have weathered the geopolitical tensions that triggered a surge in energy prices fairly well, thanks to their integration into the global technology value chain and China’s surprising resilience, with Chinese stocks largely unchanged since the start of the year.
“The main reason is that Asian markets are benefiting from a structural transformation linked to the growing integration of its companies into the global tech value chain and, above all, artificial intelligence,” says Jean-Marie Mercadal, CEO of Syncicap AM. “Countries such as Taiwan, Malaysia, and Thailand play a key role in the production of semiconductors and electronic components and in the assembly of technology products, making them more resilient to external shocks and enabling them to capture a growing share of investments in AI and cutting-edge technologies,” he adds.
Funds focused on Asian stocks excluding Japan tend to have higher exposure to growth and emerging market themes than those that include the more mature Japanese market.
According to Richard Tang, head equity research analyst for Asia at Julius Baer, AI has driven equity returns in Asia since the start of the year and is likely to remain a key driver in the second half of 2026 as well. “We believe North Asia is very well positioned, supported by a strong earnings cycle in South Korea and China. In contrast, South Asia is largely dominated by old-economy sectors, but some markets stand out for specific reasons,” says Tang.
At the same time, Ecaterina Bigos, chief investment officer Asia ex-Japan at BNPP AM, highlights that hardware hubs in emerging Asia, such as Taiwan and South Korea, are experiencing a period of great prosperity thanks to rising demand for high-end semiconductors, driven largely by US investment in the AI sector. “Meanwhile, China is actively working to establish its technological leadership. Although recent policy reforms and domestic innovations in AI, such as DeepSeek, have stimulated investment, the sector still lags its regional counterparts in the hardware sector due to ongoing challenges caused by US export restrictions,” she adds.
Screening For the Best Asia ex-Japan Equity ETFs
To help investors find ETFs focused on Asian stocks excluding Japan, we’ve screened 16 ETFs in Morningstar’s Asia ex-Japan equity category with positive Medalist Ratings.
A Gold Medalist Rating means Morningstar’s analysts believe a fund has the greatest chance of outperforming its category over the long term, while a Silver or a Bronze rating means they believe it will outperform its relevant performance benchmark and/or peer group.
In this case, we have six strategies by six different providers making the list:
- iShares MSCI EM Asia ETF CSEMAS
- Amundi MSCI Em Asia UCITS ETF-C AASI
- iShares MSCI AC Far East ex-Japan UCITS ETF IDFF
- State Street SPDR MSCI EM Asia UCITS ETF EMAE
- UBS MSCI AC Asia ex Japan SF UCITS ETF AJEUAS
- Xtrackers MSCI EM Asia Screened Swap UCITS ETF 1D XMA1.DE
- HSBC MSCI AC FAR EAST ex JAPAN UCITS ETF HMAF
- Amundi MSCI AC Asia Ex Japan UCITS ETF Acc APX
We screened for ETFs with Gold, Silver or Bronze Medalist Ratings. None of the eight ETFs that made it through the screen hold a Medalist Rating of Gold or Silver, nor are they actively managed.
They track four different benchmarks: the MSCI Emerging Markets Asia NR, the MSCI AC Far East ex-Japan NR, the MSCI EM Asia Select Screened NR, and the MSCI AC Asia ex-Japan NR.
Here’s a closer look at the strategies managing more than EUR 1 billion:
iShares MSCI EM Asia UCITS ETF USD (Acc) CSEMAS
- Morningstar Medalist Rating: Bronze
- Fund Size: €6.8 billion
- Ongoing Charge: 0.20%
- Benchmark: MSCI EM Asia NR USD
The iShares MSCI EM Asia UCITS ETF rose 46.46% over the past year. The fund beat its benchmark, the Morningstar Asia ex-Japan Target Market Exposure Index, by 3.03 percentage points. Year to date, the iShares fund rose 24.61%.
This ETF tracks the MSCI Emerging Markets Asia Index, which captures large and mid-cap representation across 8 Emerging Markets countries (China, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Thailand). With 979 constituents, the index covers approximately 85% of the free float-adjusted market capitalization in each country. Among the countries represented in the portfolio, Taiwan ranked first (30.4% of assets), followed by China (28.2%), and South Korea (22.9%). Taiwan Semiconductor TSM is by far the largest holding (17.1%), followed by Samsung Electronics 005930 (7.4%).
Amundi Index Solutions - Amundi MSCI Em Asia AASI
- Morningstar Medalist Rating: Bronze
- Fund Size: €2.6 billion
- Ongoing Charge: 0.20%
- Benchmark: MSCI EM Asia NR USD
Over the past year, the passively managed Amundi MSCI Em Asia rose 46.24%, while the average Asia ex-Japan equity fund gained 46.79%. The fund placed in the 54.0th percentile for performance and beat its benchmark, the Morningstar Asia ex-Japan Target Market Exposure Index, by 2.81 percentage points. The €2.6 billion fund has climbed 24.67% year to date, underperforming the average fund in its category, which rose 26.17%.
iShares MSCI AC Far East ex-Japan UCITS ETF IDFF
- Morningstar Medalist Rating: Bronze
- Fund Size: €1.7 billion
- Ongoing Charge: 0.74%
- Benchmark: MSCI AC Far East Ex Japan NR USD
The EUR 1.7 billion iShares MSCI AC Far East ex-Japan UCITS ETF rose 54.77% over the past year. The fund beat its benchmark, the Morningstar Asia ex-Japan Target Market Exposure Index, by 11.34 percentage points. Year to date, the iShares fund rose 27.1%.
The MSCI AC Far East ex Japan is a benchmark index designed to measure the performance of large and mid-cap equities across two developed markets (Hong Kong and Singapore) and seven emerging markets (China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, South Korea, and Taiwan). It has more than 850 names in the portfolio.
State Street SPDR MSCI EM Asia UCITS ETF EMAE
- Morningstar Medalist Rating: Bronze
- Fund Size: €1.5 billion
- Ongoing Charge: 0.55%
- Benchmark: MSCI EM Asia NR USD
The State Street SPDR MSCI EM Asia UCITS ETF rose 45.71% over the past year. The fund beat its benchmark, the Morningstar Asia ex-Japan Target Market Exposure Index, by 2.28 percentage points. Year to date, the State Street fund rose 24.4%.
