The three ETFs that investors can use to invest in foreign utilities are iShares S&P Global Utilities Sector Index Fund (JXI) , WisdomTree International Utilities Fund (DBU) and SPDR S&P International Utilities Sector Fund (IPU).
Among these ETFs, iShares’ JXI is the largest fund with an asset base of $165M. The distribution yield is 5.62%. In addition to foreign utilities, JXI invests in US utilities also such as Exelon (EXC) and Southern Company (SO). As of 10/31/2009 this year, the fund has a negative return of 2.19%. Last year it was down 29.15%. However the fund is an easy way to gain exposure to many foreign utilities like Iberdrola (IBDRY.PK) (Spain), Centrica (CPYYY.PK) (UK) and E.ON (EONGY.PK) (Germany).
Comparison of 3 ETFs for Global Utilities:
| ETF Name | Ticker | Total Net Assets | Distribution Yield | Expense Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| iShares S&P Global Utilities Sector Index Fund | JXI | $165M | 5.62% | 0.50% |
| WisdomTree International Utilities Sector Fund | DBU | $36M | 10.42% | 0.58% |
| SPDR S&P International Utilities Sector Fund | IPU | $4M | 3.91% | 0.48% |
2-Year Performance Comparison:
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Among its top 10 holdings, The WisdomTree International Utilities Sector Fund (DBU) has some excellent utility stocks including Fortum Oyj (FOJCF.PK) of Finland and Electricite de France (ECIFF.PK) of France. The SPDR S&P International Utilities Sector Fund (IPU) has a very low asset base of just $4M.
