Murray could be right about the FEZ trade having room to run. Goldman Sachs is forecasting another strong year for European stocks in 2014 and FEZ has recently been separating itself from its rivals in noticeable fashion. [Goldman Bullish on Europe, Japan]
FEZ allocates a combined 69.3% of its weight to France and Germany, indicating the ETF is not chock full of the Eurozone’s riskiest economies. Spain and Italy combine for 20%, but other than that, the ETF’s PIIGS exposure is scant.
Over the past 90 days, FEZ has outpaced VGK by 420 basis points. Then again, FEZ topping ETFs that lean on the U.K. and Switzerland is not a new phenomenon. FEZ tops its Vanguard rival year-to-date, over the past year and past two years.
“People get in on the Europe trend and see that VGK is large, cheap and trades a lot, but if you’re looking for the discounted assets, the Eurozone is the way to play it,” notes Murray.
Murray noted that FEZ can be used as a satellite position to EFA funds like the iShares MSCI EAFE ETF (NYSEArca: EFA) to take the view that the British pound could rise more in the near-term against the dollar than the euro will. EAFE ETFs are usually U.K.-heavy. [Chart of the Day: Developed Markets ETFs]
Still, FEZ is the way to play a legitimate Eurozone rebound.
“FEZ will ride the wave of global economic growth,” said Murray. “Europe has some catching up to do. If you’re buying Europe because it’s cheap and that’s your thesis, knock out VGK on your first pass.”
Harvest Capital Management also owns shares of the WisdomTree Europe SmallCap Dividend Fund (NYSEArca: DFE), which is up 32% this year.
SPDR EURO STOXX 50 Fund
