When it comes to ETFs, there are several things an investor needs to think about beyond what the sector, country or asset class happens to be - especially when faced with a range of options. And investors also have to consider their own portfolios - would this fund complement a position already owned? 

Among the things to consider include:

• Assets. How many assets does the ETF have? A general benchmark to use is somewhere in the $100 million range. The more assets, the more liquidity a fund has.
• Trading volume. How high is it? Are people trading it? If no one is trading it, you could have trouble unloading it when it’s time to do so.
• Diversification. Does it diversify your portfolio? For example, if you owned both United States Oil (NYSE: USO [1]) and Market Vectors Russia (NYSE: RSX [2]), you could wind up with more exposure to oil than you had intended.
• Diversification, again. Are the ETF’s holdings spread out a little, or are the top three holdings 50% of the fund?

China is an area with an array of options when it comes to ETFs. Picking the right one for yourself can be difficult but not impossible. That’s a matter of what you’re looking for.

In the end, it all comes down to what kind of diversity you’d like, how the allocation is spread out among individual companies, what sectors you’d like exposure to, expenses and performance. Do you want indirect exposure? Or do you want some bigger exposure to China’s financials? It’s up to you - just look under the hood.

These are the three major ETFs tracking China that are available (Northern Trust also has one, but the fund will cease trading on Feb. 9):

PowerShares Golden Dragon Halter USX China (NYSE: PGJ [3]): Currently has total assets of $204.5 million, 102 holdings, and and expense ratio of .60%. This fund seeks to replicate, before fees and expenses, the Halter USX China Index, which is made up of U.S.-listed securities of companies that derive a majority of their revenue from the People’s Republic of China.

Sector allocation for the fund: consumer discretionary, 8.5%; consumer staples, 1.9%; energy, 18.7%; financials, 5.9%; health care, 5.3%; industrials, 12.1%; information technology, 23.1%; materials, 7%; telecom services, 12.8%; utilities 4.7%.

iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index (NYSE: FXI [4]): Has total assets of $29.3 billion, 50 holdings and an expense ratio of .74%. FXI tracks the underlying index FTSE/Xinhua China A50 Index, which provides investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of publicly traded securities, A-shares, in the Chinese market.

Sector allocation for the fund: banks, 31.6%; life insurance, 9.9%; electricity, 7.8%; industrial metals, 6.7%; general financial, 6.4%; industrial transporation, 5.5%; oil & gas producers, 5.2%; construction & materials, 4.9%; real estate, 4.4%; mining, 4%; beverages, 3.9%; mobile telecom, 3%; general retailers, 2.61%; other 4.2%.

SPDR S&P China (NYSE: GXC [5]): Has total assets of $127.9 million, 124 holdings and an expense ratio of 0.6%. The ETF seeks to match the returns and characteristics of the total return performance of the S&P China BMI Index. The S&P China BMI Index is a market capitalization weighted index that defines and measures investable publicly-traded companies located in China, but available to foreign investors. The China Index is “float adjusted.”

Sector allocation for the fund: financials, 31.7%; telecom services, 19.2%; energy, 18.4%; industrials, 9.1%; information technology, 6.2%; materials, 4.7%; consumer discretionary, 4.3%; consumer staples, 3.4%; utilities, 2.9%; health care, 0.30%.