iShares MSCI Germany ETF (NYSEArca: EWG)
Odds to win: 6/1
ETF YTD: Up 3.9%
Comment: Germany, the Eurozone’s largest economy, is a perennial World Cup contender and the first opponent for the U.S. EWG is the largest Germany ETF, but it has some interesting rivals in the db X-trackers MSCI Germany Hedged Equity Fund (NYSEArca: DBGR) and the WisdomTree Germany Hedged Equity Fund (NasdaqGM: DXGE).
Although some market observers have argued the European Central Bank did not go far enough with its recently announced economic growth efforts, there is no denying the advantages of hedged currency ETFs when the euro falls. The euro is now down slightly year-to-date, but DBGR and DXGE have posted an average gain of 6.5%.