Bigger Isn't Always Better With Country ETFs

A common mistake investors make is associating size with quality. In other words, bigger is perceived to be better. Take an example that many investors are familiar with: Coca-Cola

and PepsiCo

. This is one of the longest-standing rivalries in corporate America, but the reality is Coca-Cola is a much bigger company than Pepsi by market value. Both are stocks investors hold for the long-term, but if you go back to 1977, shares of Pepsi have outperformed Coke shares by a breathtaking margin. The difference is so wide that Warren Buffett deserves no praise for owning Coke shares. He deserves criticism for not owning Pepsi. Point is, bigger is not always better and that is especially true in the world of country-specific ETFs. Benzinga took a look at both developed and emerging markets funds to find some performances that may just motivate you to look beyond the biggest, most popular ETFs when adding to the international corner of your portfolio. Check it out. A Down Under Surprise: The iShares MSCI Australia Index Fund

is the king of Australia-specific ETFs. That means unless you read this space, you may not be familiar with the WisdomTree Australia Dividend ETF

. Since EWA and AUSE have performed in lockstep with each other this year, folks may be wondering why AUSE is the better bet. Simple: AUSE yields 7.44% while EWA yields 5.14%. Smaller Really Is Better Here: There are dozens, maybe more than 100 ETFs offering exposure to South Korea, but the iShares MSCI South Korea Index Fund

is the dominant fund. In fact, it's one of the largest EM ETFs period. It's down almost 10% year-to-date. However, the IndexIQ South Korea Small-Cap ETF

, another fund we've highlighted frequently here, is slightly positive on the year. Staying in Asia: The trials and tribulations of the iShares MSCI Japan Index Fund

this year are well-known. EWJ is down just under 11% year-to-date and that might be considered a win by some investors. However, the IndexIQ Japan Mid-Cap ETF

, which made its debut in June, is down just 5% since then. A Better Bet On Brazil: Everyone knows that the iShares MSCI Brazil Index Fund

is the king of Brazil AND Latin America ETFs. That hasn't stopped other ETF issuers from looking to encroach on that territory. First Trust did with the introduction of the First Trust Brazil AlphaDEX Fund

, which debuted in April. It's not a huge chasm, but to FBZ's credit, it has outperformed EWZ by a couple of percentage points since April,