Single Country ETFs
November 16th at 7:59am by Tom Lydon
Single country exchange traded funds (ETFs) require an investor to put some time and thought into their portfolio. If one wants to go foreign without investing in one single country, there are broad-based ETFs available.
Roger Nusbaum of Seeking Alpha offers his point that it makes more sense to integrate foreign holdings into the sectors. He uses the example of energy, that if he wants an energy position he would look to other countries for energy exposure. Another example would be that investing in iShares MSCI Canada (EWC) would be exposure in natural resources. If there is too much focus on the country and not on the sectors the country represents, then your portfolio may not be as diversified as you might think.
Some single country ETFs include:
- iShares MSCI Australia (EWA)
- iShares MSCI Austria (EWO)
- iShares MSCI Canada (EWC)
- iShares MSCI Japan (EWJ)
- iShares MSCI Brazil (EWZ)
- iShares MSCI South Africa (EZA)
- iShares FTSE/Xinhua China (FXI)
For full disclosure, FXI is held in Tom Lydon’s client accounts.

