ETF Spotlight on Vanguard MSCI Europe ETF (NYSEArca: VGK), part of an ongoing series.
Assets: $3.7 billion
Objective: The Vanguard European ETF tries to reflect the performance of a benchmark index that measures the investment returns of stocks issued by companies in the major European markets.
Holdings: Top holdings, which make up 19.7% of total net assets, include: Royal Dutch Shell, Nestle, HSBC Holdings, Novartis, BP PLC, Vodafone Group, Roche Holding, Total SA, GlaxoSmithKline PLC and Siemens AG.
What You Should Know
- VGK has an expense ratio of 0.16%.
- The fund has 479 holdings.
- Country allocations include: U.K. 32.7%, France 15.7%, Germany 12.3%, Switzerland 12.0%, Spain 5.5%, Sweden 4.4%, Italy 4.5%, Netherlands 5.2%, Denmark 1.5%, Belgium 1.5%, Finland 1.7%, Norway 1.2%, Austria 0.5%, Portugal 0.4%, Greece 0.5%, Ireland 0.4%.
The Latest News
- Greece failed to reach the necessary requirements to the receive the latest $17.1 billion bailout installment promised for July, after the the Greek government failed to reach an agreement budget cuts, report James G. Neuger and Stephanie Bodoni for Bloomberg.
- Other ETFs for Europe such as SPDR EURO STOXX 50 ETF (NYSEArca: FEZ), SPDR STOXX Europe 50 ETF (NYSEArca: FEU) and SPDR S&P Emerging Europe ETF (NYSEArca: GUR) traded lower Monday. [Europe ETFs Fall]
- Ireland and Portugal, like Greece, have obtained emergency loans in the past year.
- Moody’s Investor Services stated last week that Italy’s Aa2 sovereign debt rating may be downgraded since Italy sits on a 2010 debt level of 119% of GDP.
For past stories in this series, visit our ETF Spotlight category.
Vanguard MSCI Europe ETF
Max Chen contributed to this article.