VXUS allocates nearly 20% of its weight to emerging markets stocks and over 43% to European equities. The ETF holds almost 6,300 stocks with a median market value of $26.4 billion.
“You get a broader opportunity set outside of just U.S. stocks,” according to Morningstar. “You have to remember here, 50% of the global market cap is really overseas right now. There’s a much bigger opportunity set that investors can take advantage of, many, many more companies overseas than there are in the U.S. Those are really, kind of, the two big diversification advantages you can get from international stocks.”
Japan and the U.K. combine for 30% of the geographic exposure in VXUS. France, Canada and Germany combine for 19.5%.
For more information on ETFs, visit our ETF 101 category.