The iShares MSCI Europe Financials (NYSEArca: EUFN) has rallied more than 10% the past month to break out to its highest levels since 2011 as the volatile ETF tries to put the Eurozone debt crisis in the rearview mirror.
“There has been a recent spike in shares outstanding of EUFN,” says Chris Hempstead, Director of ETF Execution Services at WallachBeth Capital. “Shares rose from 4,350,000 to 6,350,000 in this first week of August.”
The European financial sector ETF holds about $140 million of assets and charges an expense ratio of 0.48%. The top five holdings are HSBC, Banco Santander, UBS, Allianz and BNP Paribas.
“When I was first asked about this product it was because someone was looking for way to short the Euro banks during the crisis,” Hempstead said in a note Wednesday. “While this product would have been a good fit, there wasn’t anything available for them to borrow so the conversation ended. This was a few years ago.”
However, trading activity has picked up lately in the Europe financial ETF.