1. Are ETFs tracking the same index really the same?

Official sources checked September 6, 2026. Unnamed candidates and numerical illustrations are hypothetical.

Search for an S&P 500 ETF and the names soon start repeating. Buying the cheapest one sounds sensible. But cheapest by which measure: share price, published fees, or the amount you actually pay to invest?

This series builds a comparison worksheet before choosing a product. Each installment adds a few fields. The first is what the fund actually tracks, before any performance ranking.

Read beyond the familiar index name

Imagine two funds using S&P 500 in their names. One compares itself with a price-return index; the other uses a total-return index incorporating reinvested dividends. Comparing their headline charts without checking the return basis mixes investment performance with dividend accounting. S&P Dow Jones Indices explains this distinction in its index calculation guide.¹

Currency hedging, option writing and leverage can also change the strategy. A familiar phrase at the beginning of a fund name is insufficient evidence that it belongs in the same comparison. Distinguish ETFs from ETNs as well: an ETN is an issuer’s debt obligation, bringing issuer credit risk into the decision.²

Start with four rows:

An issuer website provides a practical starting point. The official IVV page, for example, brings together holdings, performance and fund documents. This is an example of where to obtain evidence, rather than a product recommendation. Save each candidate’s latest prospectus and holdings file, using matching holdings dates.³

A lower share price does not establish better value

Suppose Fund A trades at KRW 10,000 and Fund B at KRW 50,000. Buying 100 shares of A or 20 of B invests the same KRW 1 million. If exposure and returns are otherwise identical, the share price alone does not make either investment more attractive.

Whole-share order sizes can still matter. With a monthly budget of KRW 120,000, A uses the full budget while B leaves KRW 20,000 uninvested. Record that as an implementation constraint, rather than evidence of undervaluation.

An ETF’s trading price and its net asset value, or NAV, are separate measurements. Shares can trade at a premium or discount to NAV.⁴

If contemporaneous NAV is KRW 10,000 and you pay KRW 10,100, the premium is 1%. If NAV stays unchanged but the premium disappears, selling at KRW 10,000 produces a loss of about 0.99% of the purchase price before commissions. A sensible benchmark does not rescue an expensive entry price.

Match the timestamps too

During Korean daytime trading, the US cash equity market is closed. Check which underlying prices and exchange rate a displayed NAV uses before treating every apparent gap as mispricing. KRX’s indicator guidance also explains why comparing foreign indices with won-denominated fund values requires attention to currency.⁵

For today, make the benchmark, strategy, currency and observation dates comparable. If they differ, separate the candidates before ranking them. The next installment examines the costs of the funds that remain.

Continue the series

1. Are ETFs tracking the same index really the same?
2. The costs a headline expense ratio leaves out
3. Does a larger distribution mean a better investment?
4. Does currency matter when you buy an overseas ETF in won?
5. What changes across a regular account, ISA and pension account?
6. Finish an ETF comparison sheet for your own purpose

Footnotes

1. S&P Dow Jones Indices, Index Basics: Calculating an Index’s Total Return. Accessed September 6, 2026. ↩

2. FINRA, Exchange-Traded Funds and Products. Accessed September 6, 2026. ↩

3. BlackRock · iShares, iShares Core S&P 500 ETF — Portfolio, Performance and Documents. Accessed September 6, 2026. ↩

4. SEC · Investor.gov, Updated Investor Bulletin: Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs). Accessed September 6, 2026. ↩

5. 한국거래소 · Korea Exchange, ETP 종목정보 및 지표 설명. Accessed September 6, 2026. ↩