ETF Spotlight on Market Vectors Russia (NYSEArca: RSX), part of a weekly series.
Assets: $961 million
Objective: RSX seeks to track the performance of the DAXglobal Russia Index.
Holdings: The fund’s top holdings include gas company Gazprom, 7%; Lukoil Company, the largest oil company in Russia, 6.4%; and Sberbank Rossi, the largest bank in Russia, 7.7%.
What You Should Know
- RSX is up 134.6% year-to-date, making it the best-performing unleveraged ETF so far.
- RSX is most heavily weighted in energy companies, and these holdings make up 43% of the fund.
- The iron and steel sector is 16.5% of the fund and telecommunications is 13.3%.
- The fund is mostly made up of large-caps, with 83% of the weighting. Mid-caps are about 10% and small-caps are around 6.7%.
- The expense ratio is 0.62%.
The Latest News
- For the first time in 14 months, Russian manufacturing grew in September as new business and output expanded, reports Alex Nicholson for Bloomberg. Moscow-based bank VTB Capital reported the Purchasing Managers’ Index advanced from 49.6 to 52 last month. A reading above 50 means growth.
- The Russian economy is dominated by resources and banking, comments Levi Folk for Financial Post. Thanks to OPEC production quotas, Russia is now the largest oil producer globally.
- Economists believe Russia’s GDP growth may gain a foothold as soon as the fourth quarter because of fiscal stimulus. Additionally, the economy will pick up speed once oil prices increases and world economies recover.
- On Sept. 29, the Central Bank reduced its main interest rate to prod lending.
The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.