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iShares MSCI EAFE Index ETF

5/26/2013, 2:51 AM ET

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Friday, March 22, 4:29 AM President Obama's historic visit to Israel (which continues through today) appears to have sparked Israeli markets, in the midst of a global sell-off. iShares MSCI Israel (EIS) is +1.03% over the recent 5-day period, with global counterparts trailing behind over the same period: SPY -1.51%, EFA -1.51%, ACWI -1.62%, EEM -3.14%. Comment!
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]
Monday, March 18, 4:57 AM Ron Rowland offers additional highlights on the recently expanded lineup of commission-free ETFs over at Fidelity including the following caveat: Funds not held for 30 days by retail investors or 60 days by RIAs using Fidelity as a custodian will be subject to a $7.95 per-trade commission. Some RIAs have complained that the longer holding period directed at them is unfair. Rowland spells out the full list of affected ETFs here. Comment!
Thursday, February 14, 10:46 AM A strong January forced short-sellers to cover their bets in several prominent ETFs, with both SPY and IWM seeing an 11% reduction in the percentage of their float shorted. The MSCI EAFE Index Fund (EFA) - with heavy exposure to Europe - saw a 24% reduction in shorts. Seeing an increase in activity is the SPDR Retail ETF (XRT) - 259% of the fund's float is now being shorted. Comment!
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, January 28, 10:05 AM $55B poured into equity mutual funds and ETFs this month, according to TrimTabs, the largest amount since the epic peak of the tech bubble in February 2000. Corporate treasurers and insiders are selling, with a net $11.9B in share offerings and insider sales. Garnering the bulk of flows in the ETF space are emerging market (EEM, VWO) and global stock funds (EFA). 13 Comments [Global & FX]
Wednesday, January 16, 3:29 PM The global economy has hit a "definitive positive turning point," says Ned Davis Research, noting the OECD composite leading indicator turned green in November. History suggests once expansion starts, it continues for a median 12 months, says Davis, meaning the rally could just be getting started. Comment! [Global & FX]
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]
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]
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]
Monday, October 22, 2012, 4:48 PM BlackRock rolls out four new ETFs for its so-called core series featuring expense ratios under 0.2%. The MSCI EAFE ETF (IEFA) and the MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (IEMG) are notable because they seemingly compete with other iShares offerings - EFA and EEM. The other two are the MSCI Total International Stock ETF (IXUS) and the Core Short-Term U.S. Bond ETF (ISTB). Comment! [Financials]
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]
Thursday, September 6, 2012, 3:39 PM Developed markets outside the U.S. (EFA +2.6%) gain on the S&P 500 (SPY +1.9%) today, but the S&P continues to post far better performance over a longer stretch. On a Y/Y basis, EFA +5% has trailed the S&P by nearly 1,800 basis points. Comment! [Global & FX]
Tuesday, July 31, 2012, 1:08 PM The S&P 500 in July slightly expands its lead over other developed equity markets (as measured by the MSCI EAFE Index). Three hours before month's end, SPY has gained 1.4% vs. 0.3% for EFA. YTD, EFA is up 1.1%, nearly 700 basis points less than SPY. On a Y/Y basis, the S&P has outperformed by a whopping 3700 basis points. Comment! [Global & FX]