“There is also research showing that diversifying portfolios to include international stocks increases long-term returns and reduces volatility. Because the majority of public companies occur outside the United States, a U.S.-only portfolio is an active choice to not invest in the total market. According to Fidelity, during the period of 1950-2014, the addition of 30% International developed stocks to a portfolio of U.S. stocks increased annualized returns and Sharpe Ratio, and decreased the standard deviation (volatility),” according to a Seeking Alpha analysis of ACWV.
ACWV allocates over 57% of its lineup to U.S. stocks with Japan at 12.7% being the only other country to command a double-digit weight in the ETF. China, Switzerland and Canada round out ACWV’s top five geographic weights.
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Nine of ACWV’s top 10 holdings are U.S. stocks with healthcare, financial services and consumer staples names combining for over 48% of the ETF’s sector weight.
ACWV charges 0.2% per year, or $20 on a $10,000 investment.
