EFG: iShares MSCI EAFE Growth Index ETF Instablogs

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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, 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]
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]
Thursday, December 15, 2011, 3:59 AM The economic crisis threatens to increase protectionism, says WTO Director General Pascal Lamy, creating a "vicious circle where crisis erodes the capacity of governance to cooperate well," and thereby makes it more difficult to begin a recovery. "I’m afraid we have to expect difficult times for the world economy at large." 1 Comment [Global & FX]

EFG iShares MSCI EAFE Growth Index ETF

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iShares MSCI EAFE Growth Index ETF