Why are there ETFs with different class and currency?

I'm new to investment and wanted to start investing into disruptive innovation ETF. I'm looking at Nikko AM ARK and Blackrock next generation technology and notice there are different currency and class. Can help me understand the difference? Or underlying instruments are the same?

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Zac

24 Jan 2021

Noob at Idiots Invest

Hi, I'm not an expert on this but based on what I've read about it before, the currency differences are basically denominating the ETF units in a currency that is suitable for various investors. So for example, a British investor could buy Blackrock's GBP-hedged fund so that they don't lose out on FX costs/risks.

In terms of share classes, I think for Blackrock they broadly divide their shares into a few types, each having a different fee structure. The minimum and subsequent investment sums for different share classes are different too. You can read up more about it here:

https://www.blackrock.com/americas-offshore/en/...

Looking at Blackrock Next Gen Tech, only the A2 Share class is available as an SGD-hedged product, so that's probably the one you can go for. The Nikko AM one I think only comes in USD.

The underlying assets should be the same, it's just see which currency you wanna invest in. But for us Singaporeans we usually invest in USD- or SGD-hedged assets. Unless you happen to have a large stash of GBP or EUR sitting around somewhere...

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