How To Identify The Best International ETFs

Stocks, domestically and abroad, are blossoming once again. Since the March 9th low, the S&P 500 (NYSEArca: SPY - News) gained 30% while the broad based international iShares MSCI EAFE Index ETF (NYSEArca: EFA - News) spiked 33%. We'll discuss in a moment whether these rallies are true green shoots or just weeds. According to ETFguide's ETF database, there are 13 broad international equity ETFs, 26 regional equity ETFs, 42 country-specific equity ETFs, 32 international equity sector ETFs and 16 size specific international equity ETFs. No doubt, finding the right ETFs is no walk in the park.Broad international ETFsThe misconceptions exists that broad indexes like the MSCI EAFE deliver instant diversification across the developed world markets. Unfortunately, most broad international indexes lack proper diversification.Japan and the UK alone account for 45% of the popular MSCI EAFE Index while Italy, Netherlands, Hong Kong, Finland, Singapore, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Austria, Greece, Ireland and Luxembourg control less than 14% of the index.Even though the dominance of Japan and the UK is particularly pronounced in the MSCI EAFE Index, it is not isolat...
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Playing China Via ETFs

As the one of main catalysts for the global economy going forward, China has surged over the previous few decades. During the last 25 years, China has adopted and developed a free market economy, moved from a collectivized agriculture society and opened itself up to foreign investors and trade. China has 20% of the world population and will eventually surpass the United States as the world's largest economy. This should be an area you look at to diversify your portfolio. (Find our how countries like China used private enterprise to shift their economies in our article State-Run Economies: From Public to Private.) IN PICTURES: Seven Ways To Position Yourself For Recovery During the current global slowdown, while most central banks are predicting pitiful or negative economic growth, China is expected to rally between 6.5% and 8%. Yet China and its growth remain absent from many investors' portfolios. The average portfolio has less than 2% of direct money devoted to the populous nation and most have zero. This is an easy fix given the number of choices available with exchange-traded funds (ETFs).Moving Beyond the FXIMajority of the invested money in China sits in the $9.7 billion iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Ind...
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6 Easy Ways to Capitalize on Chinese Stocks

SAN DIEGO (ETFguide.com) - Since bottoming in March, emerging market stocks (NYSEArca: EEM - News) have charged ahead by some 80%. And Chinese stocks have been leading the charge. How can you capitalize? The Basics of Chinese Share ClassesChinese equities are generally divided into three groups: A-shares, H-shares and Red Chips. Many publicly traded Chinese companies have simultaneous listings of these share classes on the Hong Kong exchange along with China's two mainland stock markets.A-shares can only be bought or sold by Chinese citizens and they are listed on either the Shanghai or Shenzhen stock exchange. Some companies offer both A-share listings along with H-shares. H-shares are offered by companies incorporated in China and are listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange or another foreign exchange. They are governed by Chinese law and their shares trade in Hong Kong dollars.H-shares and A-shares on the same company often trade at large price discrepancies. Generally, A-shares trade at a premium to H-shares because of ownership restrictions imposed by the Chinese government. Foreigners are prevented from investing in A-shares whereas only citizens of China can buy them. Despite these differences, the demand for H-shares has increased, especially since 2007, when investing in the Hong Kong market was opened to China's mainland residents.Red Chips are Chinese stocks listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange but incorporated internationally. Foreigners are allowed to invest in Red...
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Sector Snap: Chinese ETFs follow China shares down

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of Chinese exchange-traded funds fell Monday following a big sell-off in the country's benchmark index. Exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, are securities that track an index or a basket of assets, like an index fund, but are traded like a stock.In China, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index on Monday dropped 192.94 points, or 6.7 percent. to 2,667.75, its lowest close in more than three months. The Shenzhen Composite Index of China's second, smaller exchange tumbled 7.2 percent to 904.14.Investors are wary of a tightening in bank lending, which helped propel Chinese shares more than 80 percent higher earlier in August. State media reports said bank lending dropped in August from July.The Chinese government also said last week that it will try to cut overcapacity and excessive investment in some sectors.The iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index, which includes 25 of the largest Chinese companies, including Bank of China Ltd., oil giant CNOOC Ltd. and China Mobile Ltd., the world's largest wireless carrier by subscribers, dropped 79 cents, or 2 percent, to $39.02 in afternoon trading.The PowerShares Golden Dragon Halter USX China, a broad measure of shares of the U.S.-listed Chinese sector, fell 68 cents, or 3.1 percent, to $21.61.The Claymore/AlphaShares China Real Estate ETF, which tracks Chinese real estate companies, fell 49 cents, or 2.9 percent, to $16.57. The Claymore/AlphaShares China Small Cap ETF, which is designed to monitor the performance of publicly traded, China-based small-capitalization companies, dropped 66 cents, or 2.9 percent, to $21.99.The iShares FTSE China (HK Listed) Index, which is more than 40 percent invested in financial stocks listed in Hong Kong, fell $1.10, or 2.4 percent, to $43.77. Another ETF based on Hong Kong-listed stocks, the iShares MSCI Hong Kong...
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Sector Snap: Chinese ETFs follow China market jump

NEW YORK (AP) -- Shares of exchange-traded funds that follow Chinese assets rose Thursday following a nearly 5 percent jump in the China's benchmark index on the reassuring news that strong bank lending continued last month. Exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, are securities that track an index or a basket of assets, like an index fund, but are traded like a stock.In China, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index on Thursday gained 130.05 points, or 4.8 percent, to close at 2,845.02. The Shenzhen Composite Index for China's smaller second exchange added 5.5 percent to 956.69.The big rally came as a state-run newspaper story said new lending by China's four biggest state-run banks totaled 160 billion yuan ($23.5 billion) in August, higher than market expectations. That's only slightly lower than the 165 billion yuan worth of loans they issued in July.The Shanghai index dropped 6.7 percent on Monday, its steepest fall this year, as investors worried about media reports of a drastic drop in lending. Chinese shares had risen more than 80 percent in 2009 until worries started in mid-August that tighter credit might stifle liquidity. The monthslong rally coincided with an unprecedented flood of bank lending aimed at fighting off the economic downturn.Reports that share regulators intend to ensure stable and healthy development of the markets also helped propel Chinese shares.The iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index, which includes 25 of the largest Chinese companies, including Bank of China Ltd., oil giant CNOOC Ltd. and China Mobile Ltd., the world's largest wireless carrier by subscribers, rose 69 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $39.41 in midday trading.The PowerShares Golden Dragon Halter USX China, a broad measure of shares of the U.S.-listed Chinese sector, added 40 cents, or 1.9 percent, to $21.75.The Claymore/AlphaS...
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Global X ETFs: Big Plans for China

Michael Johnston submits:Global X Funds, the New York-based ETF provider that was the first to offer funds focusing on Colombia and the Nordic region, has filed for approval with the SEC to launch six new ETFs that focus on various sectors of the Chinese economy. The proposed funds include: The move is the latest in a trend towards more targeted exposure to economies that account for an increasingly large portion of the global economy. Emerging Global Advisors recently launched the Emerging Global Shares Financials (NYSEArca: EFN - News), the first fund focusing on the financial sector in emerging markets economies. EFN is Emerging Global Advisors’ third ETF focusing on a specific industry in emerging markets economies, joining me...
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