Underscoring the advantages of currency hedging and the drain a strong dollar can have on investors’ international holdings, HEDJ is up 6.1% this year while VGK and the iShares MSCI EMU ETF (NYSEArca: EZU), also an unhedged ETF, are down an average of 6.4%.
HEDJ features another advantage: Its index focuses on dividend-paying Eurozone exporters, which could benefit investors as European dividends resume growing after faltering during the global financial crisis. Consumer staples and health care, two of the top sectors for Eurozone dividend growth, combine for a third of the ETF’s weight.
Germany and France, the Eurozone’s two largest economies, combine for half of HEDJ’s country exposure. Spain and the Netherlands combine for another 35.4%.
Highlighting just how rapidly HEDJ has grown is this factoid: The ETF topped $1 billion in assets in April and now has nearly $4.7 billion in AUM.
WisdomTree Europe Hedged Equity Fund
