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Summary: Buying US shares through an Indian ETF usually means paying more than they are worth. This week that extra shrank sharply on one popular ETF and barely budged on another, while a fund tied to one country had a week to forget. So which price is fair, and where can new money still go abroad?
Nothing changed at the doors. The same five international funds take new money: Baroda BNP Paribas Aqua takes lump sums and SIPs, PGIM India Global Select Real Estate takes lump sums, and three Invesco funds take new SIPs of up to Rs 10 lakh a day.
The change came on the exchange. On October 28, the Motilal Oswal Nasdaq 100 ETF closed just 6.5 per cent above the value of the shares it holds, down from 11.7 per cent a week earlier. Two days before, on October 26, the premium had dipped to 5.3 per cent, its smallest since March 24.
The Nasdaq 100 ETF is almost back to value
Over the week, its NAV, the rupee value of the Nasdaq 100 shares it owns, rose 0.8 per cent to Rs 277.39. Its market price fell 3.9 per cent to Rs 295.36.
So Rs 100 of Nasdaq 100 shares bought through this ETF now costs about Rs 106. On September 8, the same Rs 100 cost Rs 126. Today's gap is about half the ETF's 52-week average premium of 12.2 per cent.
Most of the drop came in one session. On October 23 the ETF traded Rs 61.0 crore, its third-busiest day in a year, and the premium fell from 11.6 to 7.3 per cent by the close.
A Brazil fund lost a fifth of its value in a week
The biggest loss among the 60 international funds this week was HSBC Brazil, down 22.5 per cent. Brazil's main index, the Bovespa, fell 13.9 per cent on October 26, the day after the country's presidential runoff. Reuters called it the index's biggest one-day fall since March 2020. Brazil's currency also lost more than 8 per cent against the US dollar that day. HSBC Brazil holds Brazilian shares, so its investors lost twice: once as the shares fell, and again as the currency they are priced in fell.
The fund's one-year return is still 12.7 per cent. It takes no new money, but existing SIPs continue, so those instalments now buy units far cheaper.
The Nasdaq Q50 still costs 90 per cent over value
The Motilal Oswal Nasdaq Q50 ETF's premium barely moved. It still trades 90.4 per cent above its value, against 91.4 per cent a week ago and more than three times its 52-week average of 26.4 per cent.
Mirae Asset's NYSE FANG+ and S&P 500 Top 50 ETFs shed 9.9 and 7.6 points, to 42.0 and 46.1 per cent. The Nippon India ETF Hang Seng BeES is the only one closer to value than the Nasdaq 100 ETF, at 3.3 per cent.
Global ETFs: the Nasdaq 100 premium falls to 6.5 per cent
| ETF | NAV (Rs) | Price (Rs) | Premium (%) | Prem. Oct 21 (%) | 52-wk avg prem. (%) | 52-wk prem. range (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Motilal Oswal Nasdaq Q50 ETF | 120.77 | 229.97 | 90.4 | 91.4 | 26.4 | 1.8 to 235.5 |
| Mirae Asset S&P 500 Top 50 ETF | 67.81 | 99.11 | 46.1 | 53.7 | 24 | 14.5 to 83.4 |
| Mirae Asset NYSE FANG+ ETF | 172.8 | 245.38 | 42 | 51.9 | 23 | 11.8 to 62.5 |
| Mirae Asset Hang Seng TECH ETF | 15.74 | 20.58 | 30.8 | 35.3 | 20.7 | 12.4 to 36.8 |
| Motilal Oswal Nasdaq 100 ETF | 277.39 | 295.36 | 6.5 | 11.7 | 12.2 | -3.0 to 27.7 |
| Nippon India ETF Hang Seng BeES | 417.89 | 431.58 | 3.3 | 5.7 | 12.1 | 1.4 to 21.4 |
| NSE close over same-day NAV, as on October 28, 2026. 52-week average and range: October 29, 2025 to October 28, 2026. A minus sign means the ETF traded below its NAV. | ||||||
So what now?
For new money at NAV, the funds in the table below remain the only international funds open. Through an ETF, the Nasdaq 100 ETF is now the only one of the four US-focused ETFs priced within 7 per cent of its value. A premium that fell this fast can climb as fast, so the gap on the day you buy matters more than this week's figure.
Five international funds still take new money
|
Fund / Invests in
|
Lump sum | New SIP | Limit per PAN per day | 1Y (%) | 3Y (%) | 5Y (%) |
| Baroda BNP Paribas Aqua FoF / Global water theme | Open | Open | None stated | 9.8 | 18 | 8.2 |
| PGIM India Global Select Real Estate Securities FoF / Global real estate securities | Open | Shut | None stated | 8.7 | 16.9 | - |
| Invesco India Pan European Equity FoF / Large European companies | Shut | Open | Rs 10 lakh | 22.9 | 21.5 | 13.7 |
| Invesco India Global Equity Income FoF / Global dividend payers | Shut | Open | Rs 10 lakh | 18.3 | 25.1 | 16.1 |
| Invesco India Global Consumer Trends FoF / Global consumer companies | Shut | Open | Rs 10 lakh | -16.7 | 23.2 | 2.4 |
| Direct plans. Returns in per cent as on October 28, 2026; 3Y and 5Y annualised. Subscription status as on October 28, 2026. | ||||||
HSBC Brazil shows what one country can do to a fund in a week, and the Nasdaq Q50 shows what a crowd can do to a price. Neither tells you how much of your money belongs abroad. Value Research Fund Advisor answers that, and plans the rest around your goals.
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