EWP, which has nearly $1.5 billion in assets under management, tracks the MSCI Spain 25/50 and holds 26 stocks. Like many single-country ETFs, EWP is top heavy at the sector with financial services names accounting for 41.6% of the ETF’s weight. That is more than double the fund’s exposure to its second-largest sector weight, industrials.
Just two stocks – Banco Santander (NYSE: SAN) and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya (NASDAQ: BBVA) – combine for nearly 29% of the ETF’s roster.
“After growth of 3.2 percent last year, faster than its main euro-area peers, surveys and labor data point to continued strength in the economy. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA and Bankia SA say it will top last year’s reading and grow 3.3 percent in 2017,” according to Bloomberg. “If they’re proved correct, that would be the fastest growth since 2007, before the housing market crashed and Spain tipped into recession. The economy probably grew 0.9 percent in the second quarter, the fastest in almost two years, according to a survey before data due on Friday.”
Investors are showing enthusiasm for EWP this year. The ETF has added $683.3 million in new assets year-to-date, a significant percentage of its $1.49 billion in assets under management.
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