The iShares MSCI Mexico Capped ETF (NYSEArca: EWW) is the second-best single-country ETF tracking a Latin American nation this year, just as it was in 2013.
And as was the case last year, EWW’s status as second-best among LatAm country ETFs does not mean a whole lot because the fund is trading lower. At the start of trading Monday, EWW sported a 2014 loss of 7.5%.
In a testament to just how bad LatAm and emerging markets ETFs in general have been this year, EWW’s loss is not enough to qualify it for entry to the 10 worst ETFs of 2014 club. That list is currently home to three country-specific LatAm funds and three others with significant exposure to the region. [Brazil ETFs in Dire Shape]
While Mexico has been mentioned as one of the emerging markets that could possibly offer investors some shelter from the storm and highlighted as a possible beneficiary of improving economic data in the U.S., EWW has betrayed investors on both fronts. Supposedly conservative emerging markets ETFs have wilted this year and EWW disappointed last year despite soaring U.S. equities and robust data points. [Conservative Emerging Markets ETFs Betray Investors]
However, EWW is following U.S. equities lower in 2014 and with the ETF still more than 7% off its 52-week low, investors have little incentive to consider Mexican stocks here.