DTH: WisdomTree DEFA Equity Income ETF Market Currents

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Monday, March 18, 8:47 AM While the currency-hedged Japan ETF has been the hit of the season, investors exposed more generally to overseas stocks - say through the EFA - also have an ETF to protect against sliding foreign currencies, the DBA ETF Trust (DBEF). The fund provides the exact same exposure as the EFA, but hedges against currency movement. When the dollar shines, so will the fund, +10.6% YTD vs. 5.3% for EFA. Comment! [Global & FX, Quick Ideas]
Tuesday, February 12, 10:46 AM The Dogs of the Dow system doesn't work that well, according to the Leuthold Group, which instead suggests the "bridesmaid" strategy - buying the previous year's 2nd best performing sector. It would have returned 15% annualized over the past 40 years. 2012's runner-up and 2013's buy: Foreign stocks (EFA). 1 Comment [Global & FX, Quick Ideas]
Monday, February 11, 10:39 AM Stocks outdo bonds as the 1.6K companies in the MSCI World Index yield 2.7% vs. 2.6% on the BAML Global Corporate Index, according to Bloomberg. Yielding just 6.1% the gap of junk bonds over equities is at its lowest since 1995. "Increasingly, dynamic capital allocators are being forced to consider equities," says one bullish strategist. 1 Comment
Monday, January 7, 12:18 PM Another new launch quickly attracting assets is the iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF (IEFA). With $280M AUM, the fund has an expense ratio of 14 bps vs. 34 bps for the (also iShares) MSCI EAFE ETF (EFA), with $38B AUM. The IEFA holds about triple the number of stocks as the EFA and has returned 7.9% since late-October inception, about 100 bps better than its big brother. Comment!
Friday, December 21, 2012, 9:57 AM Launched in October, iShares' Core MSCI EAFE ETF (IEFA) has pulled in more than $200M in AUM. The fund charges just 14 basis points, less than the 34 of its big brother, the EFA. It also holds 2,512 names as opposed to the 912 held by EFA. Scoreboard: IEFA +7.23%, EFA +6.58% since the October 23 inception. Comment! [Global & FX, Quick Ideas]
Thursday, December 13, 2012, 12:04 PM Latin American stocks (ILF) have outperformed much of the developed world for most of the last decade, but that could be about to change. Using EFA as a proxy for developed markets, ex-North America, J.C. Parets sees a huge base and potential bottom formed in the EFA/ILF ratio. Bulls on beaten down spots like Japan and Europe may have reason to cheer in coming years. Comment! [Quick Ideas, Global & FX]
Friday, December 7, 2012, 3:05 PM Strubel Investment notes the horrid record of managements using cash for buybacks or M&A. Buybacks are simple - companies tend to do them when the share price is high (JPMorgan a classic example: It suspended purchases after the CIO loss with the stock near $30, and will rev them up again next year in the 40's). The top tax rates for dividends would have to rise to 70-80% to make them less valuable than the alternatives. 4 Comments [Quick Ideas]
Thursday, November 29, 2012, 1:12 PM The MSCI EAFE Index (EFA +0.8%) - representing international stocks - continues a 3-month run of outperformance over the S&P 500 in which it's gained nearly 6% while U.S. big caps have been about flat. Now up 12.2% YTD, the EFA has pulled nearly even with the S&P after falling way behind this summer. Comment! [Global & FX]
Wednesday, November 28, 2012, 11:25 AM Why does high-yield in reference to bonds signal greater risk to investors, but high-dividend yield in reference to equities does not, wonders a fund strategist. When it comes to dividend ETFs, it pays to consider total return first, writes Paul Britt, as the yield and performance can vary ... widely. 2 Comments
Wednesday, November 14, 2012, 12:36 PM "An attempt to quantify ... a qualitative process," is how Morningstar's Josh Peters describes the creation of the Dividend Yield Focus Index. Most dividend indexes, he says, are entirely backward looking. Instead, Peters looks for an economic moat to protect against a dividend ever being cut. Thus far, it's working: The ETF benchmarked to the index (HDV) is outperforming DVY by a wide margin since the April 2011 launch. Comment! [Quick Ideas]
Thursday, November 1, 2012, 11:26 AM Long-term investors looking for international equity exposure might find a better deal in the new sister fund of the MSCI EAFE Index (EFA). The Core MSCI EAFE ETF (IEFA) has a lower annual fee, 0.14% vs. 0.34%, and includes a market-weighting of small caps - EFA and others lop them off. Of course cost is more than the annual fee, and EFA's $37B AUM assures better liquidity for the moment. Comment! [Global & FX, Quick Ideas]
Wednesday, October 17, 2012, 9:13 PM Currently weighting U.S. telecoms and utilities at zero in his dividend stock portfolio, Pimco's Brad Kinkelaar notes both sectors are trading at near off-the-chart premiums to their average relative multiple. Dividend investors would do better to look overseas, he says, where one can find companies that are growing, paying good dividends, and trading at better value. An excellent presentation. 7 Comments [Quick Ideas]
Friday, October 12, 2012, 3:28 PM Developed markets outside the U.S. are trying pick up ground against the S&P 500 - gaining 216 basis points over the last quarter - but over the last year, it's not close. The S&P 500 has gained 18.5% vs. 3.4% for the EFA. Comment! [Global & FX]
Saturday, October 6, 2012, 8:15 AM Despite a Dividend 100 Index up 10% in 2012, dividend bargains are there to be had, especially if you look outside the U.S., Brett Arends suggests. And managers point to three attractive sectors in particular: pharmaceuticals, big energy and telecoms. Individual issues like JNJ, T, VZ and some global oil stocks look good, as well as ETFs like IDV, though it may be financials-heavy. Comment! [Quick Ideas, Energy, Healthcare]
Thursday, September 27, 2012, 3:06 PM Lagging far behind for much of the year, an international (developed markets) dividend fund (IDV) has pulled ahead of the popular domestic DVY (while sporting a higher yield as well). An emerging markets dividend fund (DEM) continues to trail both. 2 Comments [Global & FX, U.S. Economy]
Thursday, August 23, 2012, 4:35 PM "Under the hood analysis" is a must for dividend ETF investors, says WisdomTree's Jeremy Schwartz. Screens at many funds will leave out Apple, for instance, which is now the 3rd largest dividend payer in the U.S. Other techs - now the fastest dividend growers around - face the same issue. Don't forget international exposure, where firms are more likely to pay dividends and offer a higher yield. 3 Comments [Quick Ideas]

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WisdomTree DEFA Equity Income ETF