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5 Things To Watch Out For In International Equity ETFs

Michael Johnston — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 12:00:36 +0000

As the ETF universe has expanded dramatically over the last several years, many investors have taken advantage of this asset class to tap into international equity markets. With single-country ETFs dedicated to dozens of developed and emerging markets, accessing the major (and not-so-major) stock markets around the globe has never been easier. When evaluating international equity ETFs–as with all ETFs–it is important to take a look under the hood and fully understand what the portfolio includes. Below, we highlight a few relatively common characteristics of international stock ETFs that might be somewhat disconcerting to investors [for more ETF insights, sign up for the free ETFdb newsletter]: 1. Major Sector Biases Many international equity ETFs feature some big tilts towards certain sectors of the economy, giving heavy weightings to certain types of companies while overlooking others altogether. That can result in concentrated risk for investors, especially when ETFs highlight sectors such [...]

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ETF Insider: Buying Opportunities After Panic Selling

Stoyan Bojinov — Sun, 22 May 2011 19:55:03 +0000

Weekly Recap Last week proved to be quite bumpy for investors, as asset classes from stocks to commodities–and everything in between–swayed between gains and losses for the last several trading days on Wall Street. Volatility was abundant across all markets and domestic equity indexes ended the week relatively flat, much like crude oil and silver futures. Gold, on the other hand, manged to stage a comeback and assert its appeal as a safe-haven asset class, ending the week higher and closing at $1,513 an ounce. Despite the weak performance of equities for much of the week, the U.S. dollar failed to gain ground versus major currencies, perhaps suggesting that this weeks losses were merely a sign of profit-taking versus a more meaningful shift in fundamentals. Weekly Outlook The coming week features a number of key earnings reports, bank meetings, and political events that should give markets direction as May winds [...]

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Cinco De Mayo Special: Small Cap Mexico ETF (MEXS) Begins Trading

Michael Johnston — Thu, 05 May 2011 13:30:51 +0000

Global X took a unique approach to celebrating a holiday dedicated to the Mexican army’s defeat of French troops at Puebla; the issuer debuted the first U.S.-listed ETF offering exposure to small cap Mexican stocks. The Global X Mexico Small-Cap ETF (MEXS) will seek to replicate the Solactive Mexico Small-Cap Index, a benchmark that consists of about 28 small cap companies that are domiciled in Mexico or maintain their primary business operations in Mexico. MEXS is the second pure play Mexico ETF, hitting the market more than 15 years after iShares debuted its MSCI Mexico Index Fund (EWW). That fund, which has close to $1.7 billion in assets, is comprised primarily of giant and large cap stocks; small caps make up less than 10% of holdings. ProShares also offers 200% leveraged (UMX) and -200% leveraged ETFs (SMK) designed to amplify daily exposure to the MSCI Mexico Index. Recent innovation in [...]

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Harvard Endowment Hearts ETFs

Jared Cummans — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 18:01:05 +0000

Harvard University is perhaps the most prestigious college in the U.S. As the oldest institution of higher learning in the country, Harvard was also the first corporation chartered in the country. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the university is home to roughly 14,500 students who hail from all over the world. But aside from the obvious academic prestige that Harvard holds, it also has its hands in investing. The Harvard Management Company is a wholly-owned branch of the university, and is in charge of handling the endowment, pension assets, working capital, and non-cash gifts for the entire university. The company was founded in 1974 and now manages approximately 11,000 funds that make up its endowment as a whole [see also ETFs For The “Next 11″ Economies]. The management company recently released its 13F filing which details the major holdings for the money it manages for the university. The company outlined approximately [...]

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ETFs For The “Next 11″ Economies

Stoyan Bojinov — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 15:00:28 +0000

Interest in emerging markets has grown tremendously over the past few years, as the developing world has accounted for almost all of global GDP growth while the U.S., Western Europe, and other developed countries struggle to get back on track. Many investors have embraced ETFs as a means of overweighting the emerging markets, favoring the cost efficiency, immediate diversification, and enhanced liquidity that the exchange-traded wrapper offers. While many investors expect that these funds will offer exposure to a diversified basket of rapidly-expanding economies, most emerging markets ETFs are heavily tilted towards the “big four” economies of Brazil, Russia, India, and China–better known as the BRIC bloc. But as some major financial institutions have pointed out, there is a lot more to emerging markets than these four economies [see also Emerging Market ETFs: Seven Factors Every Investor Should Consider]. Goldman Sachs, the institution that first coined the term “BRIC” in [...]

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A Closer Look At The Mexico ETF (EWW)

Cathy Carlson — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 15:23:00 +0000

Over the last several years, the developing economies of the world have emerged as the leaders in the global recovery effort. With GDP growth rates in developed markets close to zero, interest in emerging markets has surged. Most U.S. investors who have begun tilting the equity component of their portfolios towards emerging markets focus on the BRIC economies (Brazil, Russia, India, and China). But there is another interesting emerging market economy just south of the border, one that is accessible through the iShares MSCI Mexico Investable Market Index Fund (EWW). Cautionary Tale When Rio de Janeiro was awarded the 2016 Olympics last year, Brazilians rejoiced on hopes that the country would follow in the footsteps of South Korea, using the global spotlight to catapult the economy towards developed status. But Mexico serves as a cautionary tale that the Olympics do not guarantee economic prosperity; more than 40 years after Mexico [...]

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Beyond the BRIC: Ten Country-Specific Emerging Markets ETFs

Jared Cummans — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 14:29:52 +0000

With the developed markets of the world crippled by mounting debt, stagnant growth, and suddenly severe political risk, investors have undeniably begun allocating a larger portion of their portfolios to emerging markets. Boosted by ongoing urbanization, flexible and cheap manufacturing, and an abundance of natural resources, the developing economies have emerged as the leaders of the global recovery efforts, accounting for the vast majority of global economic growth as they further distance themselves from advanced economies. The emerging markets exposure established by U.S. investors tends to be heavy in equities of Brazil, Russia, India, and China. The BRIC term was coined by an economist at Goldman Sachs in 2001 who argued that based on the rapid development, the bloc of countries would eclipse the world’s richest economies by 2050. The BRICs may be the best known and largest economies among emerging markets, but they’re hardly the only options. Below, we [...]

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World Cup Of ETFs: Plays On All 32 Countries

Michael Johnston — Fri, 11 Jun 2010 07:00:57 +0000

One of the greatest spectacles in sports kicks off in South Africa over the weekend, with 32 countries gathering to compete in the final stages of the World Cup. Even the economists of the world have taken an interest in the upcoming matches; ABN Amro recently released a note predicting that the world economy would benefit more from a German victory than if any other national team were to win. In reality, any connection between success on the soccer pitch and an economic boost would be minimal. The biggest winner over the coming month could be South Africa, which has a chance to display its infrastructure and business environment to the world. To get in the spirit as the competition begins, we run through the 32 competitors, highlighting the ETF options available for each (for more ETF insights, sign up for our free ETF newsletter): Group A France: The iShares [...]

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Mexico ETF In Focus For Cinco De Mayo

Eric Dutram — Wed, 05 May 2010 09:30:42 +0000

Many Latin American countries have grown extensively over the past decade as a flurry of free trade agreements helped to boost economic activity across the region. No where is this more apparent than in America’s southern neighbor, Mexico. After NAFTA, Mexico moved quickly to secure a variety of free trade agreements with numerous other Latin American nations and eventually the European Union and Japan as well. The growth of free trade helped the Mexican economy to grow quickly during the past decade; its markets nearly quadrupled before crashing in 2008. Despite this setback and a current GDP outlook that is quite poor, the Mexican stock market is quickly approaching its pre-crash levels, leaving many investors to wonder if stocks can continue to rise despite rampant corruption and an omnipresent drug war that threatens to engulf the nation (also see Seven Most Corrupt Country ETFs). Mexico offers investors access to one [...]

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Four New Leveraged ETFs: Europe, Pacific ex-Japan, Brazil, Mexico

Michael Johnston — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 14:28:01 +0000

ProShares continues to aggressively expand its line of leveraged ETF offerings, announcing the launch of four new products on Thursday. The new 200% leveraged ETFs are: Ultra MSCI Europe (UPV): Seeks daily results equal to 200% of the MSCI Europe Index, a benchmark covered by the Vanguard European ETF (VGK). ProShares already offers -200% leveraged exposure to Europe through the UltraShort MSCI Europe (EWV). Ultra MSCI Pacific ex-Japan (UXJ): Seeks daily results equal to 200% of the MSCI Pacific ex-Japan Index, a benchmark covered by the iShares MSCI Pacific ex-Japan Index Fund (EPP). UXJ joins the UltraShort MSCI Pacific ex-Japan (JPX), which offers -200% daily exposure to the same benchmark. Ultra MSCI Brazil (UBR): Seeks daily results equal to 200% of the MSCI Brazil Index, a benchmark covered by the iShares MSCI Brazil Index Fund (EWZ). ProShares also offers an UltraShort Brazil product, BZQ. Ultra MSCI Mexico Investable Market (UMX): [...]

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ETF Database » EWW

5 Things To Watch Out For In International Equity ETFs

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Cinco De Mayo Special: Small Cap Mexico ETF (MEXS) Begins Trading

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Harvard Endowment Hearts ETFs

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