China ETF Hemorrhaging Cash

Here's a trivia question that might win you a couple of bucks when discussing ETFs with your buddies at the local watering hole: What country-specific ETF is losing cash at the most rapid pace of any U.S.-listed country-specific ETF? Answer: The iShares FTSE China 25 Index Fund

. Investors have pulled $961.2 million from FXI this year, more than the withdrawals seen at any of the other 140 U.S.-listed country-specific ETFs, according to Bloomberg News. The flight from FXI comes at a time when Chinese stocks are trading at their lowest valuations since 2008 after having decimated by concerns about slowing growth in the world's fastest-growing major economy and a series of monetary tightening measures that have shaken investors' confidence in Chinese stocks. FXI, the most popular of the China-specific ETFs listed in the U.S. by assets and the most liquid, is flat year-to-date, lagging the 2% return offered by the Vanguard MSCI Emerging Markets ETF

. While the iShares MSCI Brazil Index Fund

is down about 4% year-to-date, the ETF has attracted $1.43 billion in new investments this year, Bloomberg reported, adding salt to the wounds of FXI. In another stinging rebuke of China-specific ETFs, a total of 26 of which are offered in the U.S., Bloomberg notes the ETFs have a combined $10.2 billion in AUM, but have lost $1.04 billion in investor cash this year. The Guggenheim China SmallCap ETF

has seen investors withdraw $122 million, good for the next most rapid pace of withdrawals after FXI. HAO is up 4% year-to-date as is the SPDR S&P China ETF

. The PowerShares Golden Dragon Halter USX China ETF

is up 5% year-to-date.