ETF Spotlight on SPDR Dow Jones Euro STOXX 50 (NYSEArca: FEZ), part of a weekly series.
Assets: $165.3 million
Objective: To track the performance of the EURO STOXX 50 Index, which tracks the performance of some of the largest companies across 19 subindexes.
Holdings: Some of the top European names, including Daimler, Banco Santander, Siemens, Bayer and Unilever.
What You Should Know
- This fund gives its heaviest weighting to the financial sector, which accounts for nearly 32%; if you’re not feeling good about European banks, you may want to think twice.
- Other sectors with around 9% to 10% exposure include industrials, utilities, telecommunications and energy.
- The top countries in the fund – France and Germany, at 36.9% and 28.1% respectively – have more stable economic outlooks than the next two countries, Spain (13.9%) and Italy (9.8%).
The Latest News
- After falling for a large part of this year, Europe and euro ETFs are on a winning streak; the euro alone is up 2.6% in the last two weeks. [ETFs for a Changing Sentiment.]
- FEZ is up 8.8% in the last two weeks and 18.7% in the last month.
- The ETF is still 45% off its December 2007 high, so like many Europe ETFs, it may be bargain-priced. [Why Euro ETFs Are Under the Weather.]
- Sentiment toward Europe has been renewed following the results of financial system “stress tests,” which showed that most banks are well-capitalized to withstand a crisis.
For past ETF Spotlights, visit our ETF Spotlight page.
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.