An eager reader left a couple of comments asking what funds are good to capture the countries I wrote about yesterday; Australia, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, Chile, China and Vietnam.
For the first six I use common stocks. There are funds or ETFs available of course (except Norway) but as is usually the case stocks are my preference. Personally I use iShares Australia (EWA) but WisdomTree has one in the works that could turn out to be better. A couple of clients (a big minority as a function of circumstance) own iShares China (FXI) but I sold a little recently and got stopped out on my own position in it.
For Vietnam I have disclosed several times owning the Vietnam Opportunity Fund (VTOPF) but it is up about 80% or so since I bought last spring. I am certainly not buying it here for any clients. I would not be the least bit surprised if the next dollar in price was down (it trades around $4.60).
I don't know if the reader only buys funds but if so he might be hamstrung. This circles back to owning some funds and some stocks in a combination that is manageable for you.
Another reader asked for my thoughts on Singapore and Malaysia. Both offer similar attributes. Both have surpluses, well managed, export driven economies. Interest rates are low and they each offer good diversification against any deficit country you may be exposed to.
From a US based investor's view point their may not be much need to own both. If you compare the two on a chart using the respective iShares funds, EWM and EWS, you will see they have a very tight correlation. Oddly though, PortfolioScience shows the correlation at less than 0.60 which appears to be wrong versus the chart.
Proud Member Of
Random Roger
© 2009 | Gadget Theme Blogger Template
Original WPtheme By Blogger Template | Converted By Gadget Lover
| Distributed by eFree Blogger Help
Original WPtheme By Blogger Template | Converted By Gadget Lover
| Distributed by eFree Blogger Help
4 comments:
Roger.
You noted: "Personally I use iShares Australia (EWA) but WisdomTree has one in the works that could turn out to be better."
I bought EWA last year on 11/16 and it's up a respectable 2.17%. I also bought Wisdon Tree's DNH on 11/15 last year and it's up 8.17% over basically the same time frame. I thought that your reader might want to know. I still have both holdings and I like the added diversity of having both ETF's.
Is DNH the 'one in the works' (I know it's new), or do they have another one coming up as well?
I own DNH for some clients as a proxy for the Australian financial sector, it is 87% Australian, 49% financials but the miners don't have enough weight for to to think of it as a proxy for the entire aussie market.
WisdomTree has a single country fund in the works that might (I don;t know) have the miners better represented than in DNH. If so and it yields better than EWA I might switch personally.
Biut as I finacial sector proxy I think I would stick with DNH for those few accounts.
Hey,
I was wondering if you’d take think of looking at my blog and add me to your blogroll. Post a comment on my wall and I’ll add yours.
DeMerchant www.investorsparadise.com/demerchant
Two of the ETFs I own are iShares Switzerland and iShares Singapore.
Both have excellent holdings and the countries are safe havens for capital from everywhere. Both could serve as a proxy for the best of Europe and the best of Asia, respectively. For relative safety and both growth and value, I willingly sacrifice the opportunity to make a lot of money, or suffer a lot of loss.
Speculators betting on the next third world success story would be better served elsewhere. Croatia, anyone?
Post a Comment