All of the FTSE 100’s, and in turn UK’s, top 10 holdings trade in New York. That group, which combined for about 39% of the index’s weight at the end of March, includes familiar names such as HSBC (NYSE: HBC),BP (NYSE: BP) Royal Dutch Shell (NYSE: RDS-A) and GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK). [Finally, a FTSE Tracker in the U.S.]
“The U.K. is one of the strongest economies in the world and producing great economic numbers even better than the US. Jobless data released on April 17 showed benefit claims at the lowest level in four decades and an acceleration in pay growth,” adds Kelly. “Since 2010, the U.K. has added more jobs than the rest of Europe combined — an impressive achievement — and last year its economy was the fastest growing of any major Western nation.”
If British stocks rally and the pound flails after the election, DBUK and DXPS, which are up an average of 7.7% this year, should get opportunities to shine. The CurrencyShares British Pound Sterling Trust (NYSEArca: FXB) is off 1.5% this year, but is up nearly 1.6% over the past month.
A significant chunk of U.K. dividends are paid by the largest members of the benchmark FTSE 100. Although neither DBUK nor DXPS are FTSE 100 tracking ETFs, the funds do offer substantial exposure to the index’s most prominent dividend payers.
On a regional basis, North American dividends rose 15% to $392 billion last year, but U.K. firms once again offered excellent dividend growth. Payouts there surged 31% to $135 billion, according to Henderson Global Investors.
Deutsche X-Trackers MSCI United Kingdom Hedged Equity ETF
