Gain global exposure with these top ETFs

Article Excerpt

We think conservative investors can hold up to 10% of their portfolios in foreign stocks. One way to do that is to buy carefully chosen exchange traded funds (ETFs) that have an overseas focus. The best ETFs offer very low management fees and well-diversified, tax-efficient portfolios of highquality stocks. Here’s a look at four international ETFs we see as buys, and two we feel you should hang on to: ISHARES MSCI EMERGING MARKETS INDEX FUND $33.10 (New York symbol EEM; buy or sell through brokers) aims to track the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. The fund’s geographic breakdown includes China, 24.0%; South Korea, 15.3%; Taiwan, 12.8%; India, 8.0%; South Africa, 6.4%; Brazil, 5.7%; Mexico, 4.6%; Russia, 3.7%; Malaysia, 3.5%; Indonesia, 3.0%; Thailand, 2.3%; and Turkey, 1.5%. Its top holdings are Samsung Electronics (South Korea), 3.4%; Taiwan Semiconductor (computer chips), 3.4%; Tencent Holdings (China: Internet), 3.2%; China Mobile, 2.0%; Naspers (South Africa: media and Internet), 1.6%; China Construction Bank, 1.5%; Industrial &..