The exchange traded fund that invests in Ireland is up 20% so far this year thanks in part to easing tensions over the Eurozone debt crisis.
Ireland is one of the so-called PIIGS countries that are seen as the weakest financially in the Eurozone: Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain.
The iShares MSCI Ireland (NYSEArca: EIRL) is a tiny ETF with only $8 million in assets. The fund has 21 holdings and an expense ratio of 0.52%, according to manager BlackRock.
The ETF is up 28% over the past three months.
Irish Finance Minister Michael Noonan said Friday that the country’s economy will take off “like a rocket” as soon as the global economy starts growing again, because the austerity policies of the past three years have made it extremely competitive, Dow Jones Newswires reported.