iShares Asia 50 ETF

Frequently Asked Questions About AIA

What does AIA invest in?

AIA is fairly straightforward: it is essentially a mega-cap fund that offers exposure to 50 of the largest companies in Asia. Only companies from four major Asian countries, mainly, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan, can be included in the fund. It's a concentrated play that screens constituents by liquidity and market cap though, as is usually the case for some S&P indices, the stocks are personally picked by a committee before being included in the index. Stocks are also given weight based on their float market cap. However, any single issuer is limited to 22.5%, and the combined weight of all issuers that individually exceed 4.5% to a maximum of 45%. The index is rebalanced quarterly. Following December 23, 2024, AIA tracked the capped index version, the S&P Asia 50 Capped Index.

What is the expense ratio of AIA?

iShares Asia 50 ETF (AIA) charges an expense ratio of 0.50%. This is the annual fee deducted from fund assets to cover management and operations.

How big is AIA?

iShares Asia 50 ETF (AIA) manages $5.02B in total assets. AUM determines bid-ask liquidity and the fund's vulnerability to closure — funds below ~$50M are at higher risk of liquidation.

Is AIA actively managed or an index fund?

AIA's management style is described in the fund's prospectus. See the description on the Summary tab for the published strategy.

When was AIA launched?

iShares Asia 50 ETF (AIA) launched in November 2007 and is managed by IShares.

How has AIA performed?

AIA's total return — price change plus reinvested distributions — is charted at the top of this page. Switch the price chart to Total Return and pick a 1-year, 3-year, 5-year, or 10-year window to read the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) over each horizon.