This ETF offers exposure to developed equity markets outside of the U.S., making DBEF one of many products offering exposure to an asset class that is often a core component of long-term, buy-and-hold portfolios. This fund is unique from other EAFE ETFs such as EFA and VEA because it hedges out the currency exposure that an investment in international equities entails. In addition to establishing a long position in international stocks, investors using most EAFE ETFs are also going long the currencies of the underlying stocks (including the euro, yen, Aussie dollar, and pound sterling) and short the U.S. dollar. DBEF uses short term forward contracts to neutralize the impact of exchange rate fluctuations, essentially isolating the performance of the developed market stocks as the driver of returns. While this difference may seem minor, the impact of currency movements on equities can be significant sources of return--both positive and negative--to U.S. based investors. Though DBEF's portfolio is nearly identical to those of VEA and EFA, the risk/return profiles of these products can vary significantly. Investors who expect the U.S. dollar to strengthen relative to its developed market rivals may prefer DBEF as the optimal means of establishing exposure to the EAFE region, as this fund should outperform EFA when the U.S. currency appreciates. Those with a bearish outlook for the greenback may prefer to leave currency exposure unhedged, utilizing a fund such as EFA instead. Those investors without a strong view in either direction might use a mix of both hedged and unhedged EAFE ETFs (eg 50% in DBEF and 50% in EFA). Given the broad focus of this ETF, DBEF might be very useful to those building a long-term portfolio; the EAFE region generally receives a big weighting in most portfolios. DBEF can also be useful for establishing a currency-neutral tactical tilt towards this corner of the global equity market. Note that WisdomTree's HEDJ also delivers currency hedged exposure to ex-U.S. developed markets; that ETF is linked to a dividend-weighted index, and as such might be appealing to those looking to steer clear of cap-weighted products.
The adjacent table gives investors an individual Realtime Rating for DBEF on several different metrics, including liquidity, expenses, performance, volatility, dividend, concentration of holdings in addition to an overall rating. The "A+ Metric Rated ETF" field, available to ETFdb Pro members, shows the ETF in the Foreign Large Cap Equities with the highest Metric Realtime Rating for each individual field. To view all of this data, sign up for a free 14-day trial for ETFdb Pro. To view information on how the ETFdb Realtime Ratings work, click here.
View the Category ReportMetric | Metric Realtime Rating | A+ Metric Rated ETF |
---|---|---|
Liquidity | A | n/a |
Expenses | B+ | n/a |
Performance | ||
Volatility | ||
Dividend | ||
Concentration |
The following tables and charts contain in-depth metrics for this ETF and compare it to similar peer ETFs within its ETFdb.com Category.
Asset | Percentage |
---|---|
Common equity | 96.4% |
ETF Cash Component | 3.07% |
Preferred stock | 0.53% |
Sector | Percentage |
---|---|
Financials | 18.39% |
Industrials | 14.02% |
Consumer, Non-Cyclical | 11.27% |
Healthcare | 11.07% |
Consumer, Cyclical | 9.92% |
Basic Materials | 6.83% |
Energy | 5.78% |
Technology | 5.77% |
Communications | 5.0% |
Utilities | 3.58% |
Real Estate | 3.53% |
ETF Cash Component | 3.07% |
Other | 1.78% |
Market Cap | Percentage |
---|---|
Large cap | 85.38% |
Mid cap | 10.45% |
ETF Cash Component | 3.07% |
Small cap | 1.01% |
Unknown | 0.08% |
Region | Percentage |
---|---|
Europe | 60.79% |
Asia-Pacific | 34.73% |
North America | 3.58% |
Middle East | 0.58% |
Asia | 0.32% |
Latin America | 0.02% |
Region | Percentage |
---|---|
Developed Markets (ex-US) | 95.98% |
United States | 3.58% |
Emerging Markets | 0.34% |
Not-designated | 0.11% |
Country | Percentage |
---|---|
Japan | 23.3% |
United Kingdom | 14.58% |
France | 9.71% |
Switzerland | 8.96% |
Germany | 8.34% |
Australia | 6.56% |
Netherlands | 6.15% |
United States | 3.58% |
Hong Kong | 3.34% |
Spain | 2.89% |
Sweden | 2.42% |
Italy | 1.96% |
Denmark | 1.7% |
Singapore | 1.24% |
Finland | 1.23% |
Belgium | 0.87% |
Norway | 0.73% |
Israel | 0.55% |
Ireland | 0.51% |
Luxembourg | 0.31% |
China | 0.25% |
Austria | 0.24% |
New Zealand | 0.23% |
Portugal | 0.15% |
Papua New Guinea | 0.06% |
Malaysia | 0.04% |
Liechtenstein | 0.03% |
United Arab Emirates | 0.03% |
Taiwan | 0.02% |
Mexico | 0.02% |
Macao | 0.02% |
This section compares the cost efficiency of this ETF to peers in the same ETFdb.com Category.
This ETF is currently available for commission free trading on the following platforms: (E*TRADE)
There are 13 other ETFs in the Foreign Large Cap Equities ETFdb.com Category that are also eligible for commission free trading:
This section shows how this ETF has performed relative to its peer group ETFdb.com Category.
This section compares the fund flows of this ETF to peers in the same ETFdb.com Category.
The following charts can be customized to display historical performance in a number of different formats, including line charts, bar charts, and candlesticks. Time periods can be adjusted to increase or decrease the period shown, ranging from five minutes to several months.
The following chart also includes the option to compare the performance of DBEF relative to other ETFs and benchmarks or to include indicators such as Bollinger Bands, relative strength, and moving averages.
This section shows how the P/E multiple of this ETF compares to the peer group ETFdb.com Category.
This section shows how the dividend yield of this ETF compares to the peer group ETFdb.com Category.
This section shows how the volatility of this ETF compares to the peer group ETFdb.com Category.
Fact sheets are issued by the ETF provider and framed by ETFdb.com. Information contained within the fact sheet is not guaranteed to be timely or accurate.