While investors were busy dumping U.S. equities last month, many sought out developed markets across the pond, investing in Europe related exchange traded funds as the Eurozone returned to positive growth.
In August, Vanguard FTSE Europe (NYSEArca: VGK) attracted $1.6 billion, iShares MSCI EMU (NYSEArca: EZU) brought in $974 million, iShares MSCI EAFE ETF (NYSEArca: EFA) hauled in $850 million and Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets ETF (NYSEArca: VEA) added $570 million, writes Eric Dutram for Zacks. [Investors are Flocking to Europe and Mid-Cap ETFs]
Meanwhile, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSEArca: SPY) lost $14.0 billion in assets, according to IndexUniverse.
The Eurozone has been weighed down by a financial debt crisis, but the economy recently pulled out of an extended recession. [WisdomTree: Europe Returns to Growth after Six Quarters of Contraction]
VGK follows stocks from Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Top country allocations include U.K. 33.6%, France 14.8% and Switzerland 14.0%. The ETF has a 0.12% expense ratio and is up 9.9% year-to-date.
EZU tries to reflect the performance of the MSCI EMU Index, which tracks Eurozone stocks. Top country holdings include France 31.6%, Germany 29.4% and Netherlands 10.5%. The ETF has a 0.50% expense ratio and is up 8.9% year-to-date.