With major banks forecasting a rebound for the global economy, now’s a good time to give international exposure a closer look. That can be achieved with funds like the iShares Core MSCI Total International Stock ETF (IXUS), which essentially puts the whole world in your portfolio’s hands.
IXUS seeks to track the investment results of the MSCI ACWI ex USA IMI composed of large-, mid- and small-capitalization non-U.S. equities. The fund generally will invest at least 90% of its assets in the component securities of the underlying index and in investments that have economic characteristics that are substantially identical to the component securities of the underlying index.
The index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization index designed to measure the combined equity market performance of developed and emerging markets countries, excluding the United States. Furthermore, its expense ratio comes in at an attractive 0.09%.
IXUS gives investors:
Exposure to a broad range of international developed and emerging market companies
Low cost, comprehensive access to non-U.S. stocks
Core portfolio use to diversify internationally and seek long-term growth
Big Banks Say a Bounce Back is Imminent
A recent Bloomberg report highlighted different global views from various big banks with GDP forecasts ranging between 5% and 6.4%. Here are just a couple of what the banks had to say along with their GDP projection.
“We look for a rocky start to the new year as many countries battle Covid outbreaks,” said Bank of America Global Research, which predicts a GDP growth forecast of 5.4%. “However, a combination of fiscal stimulus and wide vaccine distribution should boost growth by mid-year. Despite the recovery, global inflation likely will remain low and many policy rates likely will remain stuck near zero.”
“The asynchronous timetable to return to pre-Covid gross domestic product is a headwind for recovery in 2021,” said Citigroup Inc. which estimates growth will reach 5%. “But projects that appear to have stabilized, along with vaccine discovery, potentially provide solid ground for growth ahead. Even so, lost GDP from the pandemic is not expected to be recovered. The vaccine discovery is a shot in the arm, but not until 2022, in part because of expected delays in deployment in the emerging markets that need it.”
To read what other banks had to say, read the rest of the article here.
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