Those are key points to the $1.1 billion EWL because the ETF devotes nearly 17.1% of its weight to Nestle, almost 230 basis points more than is allocated to Novartis (NYSE: NVS), EWL’s second-largest holding. [Big Investors Like Switzerland ETFs]
To be fair, it is not just Ebola fears and the impact on Nestle that have recently weighed on EWL. European equities, Ebola or not, have been weak. Of the 106 ETFs that hit new 52-week lows on Wednesday, 15 were Europe funds. EWL was not one of them. [Swiss ETFs Steadt as Usual]
Whether it is Ebola-related or not, there is no denying that exposure to Swiss equities, often prized by conservative global investors, has belied that conservative reputation. Since Sept. 19, the Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF (NYSEArca: VGK), an ETF that features Nestle as its second-largest equity holding and Switzerland as its third-largest country weight at 13.7%, is off 5.8%. The WisdomTree Europe Hedged Equity Fund (NYSEArca: HEDJ), which has no exposure to Swiss stocks, is off 4.6% over the same period.
iShares MSCI Switzerland Capped ETF
