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ISHARES MSCI SOUTH KOREA INDEX FUND $48.28 (New York symbol EWY; buy or sell through brokers) aims to track the MSCI Korea Index. The ETF’s top holdings are Samsung Electronics, 21.2%; Hyundai Motor, 3.7%; SK Hynix Semiconductor, 2.9%; Hyundai Mobis (auto parts), 2.8%; Shinhan Financial, 2.7%; Naver (Internet), 2.6%; Korea Electric Power, 2.5%; LG Chemicals, 2.3%; Posco (steel), 2.2%; Kia Motors, 2.0%; AmorePacific Corp. (cosmetics), 2.0%; KT&G Corp. (tobacco), 1.9%; KB Financial, 1.9%; and Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, 1.7%. The iShares MSCI South Korea Index Fund was launched on May 9, 2000. Its expense ratio is 0.64%....

ISHARES MSCI GERMANY FUND $24.22 (New York symbol EWG; buy or sell through brokers) tracks the stocks in the MSCI Germany Index. This index aims to replicate 85% of the market capitalization of the German stock market. The remaining 15% is unavailable for investment, partly due to limitations on foreign ownership. The ETF’s top holdings are Bayer (diversified chemicals), 8.8%; SAP (software), 7.5%; Siemens (engineering conglomerate), 7.4%; Allianz (insurance), 6.8%; Daimler (automobiles), 7.3%; BASF (chemicals), 6.1%; Deutsche Telekom, 5.4%; Munich Reinsurance, 3.3%; BMW AG, 2.7%; Linde AG (industrial gases), 2.6%; Fresenius (health care), 2.6%; Deutsche Bank AG, 2.4%; and Deutsche Post AG, 2.3%....

ISHARES MSCI CHILE INVESTABLE MARKET INDEX FUND $34.42 (New York symbol ECH; buy or sell through brokers) is an ETF that aims to track the MSCI Chile Investable Market Index, which consists of stocks that mainly trade on the Santiago Stock Exchange. The fund’s largest holdings are Enersis SA (electricity), 10.3%; Empresa Nacional de Electricidad (electricity), 9.0%; Empresas Copec SA (conglomerate), 7.9%; S.A.C.I. Falabella (retail), 6.5%; Banco Santander Chile (banking), 5.8%; Cencosud SA (retailer), 5.8%; Empresas CMPC (pulp and paper), 4.7%; Colbun SA (utility), 4.6%; and Banco de Chile, 4.3%. The ETF’s industry breakdown consists of Utilities, 31.9%; Financials, 19.5%; Materials, 13.0%; Consumer Staples, 9.7%; Energy, 8.2%; Consumer Discretionary, 8.0%; Industrials, 4.4%; Telecommunication services, 2.5%; and Information Technology, 2.1%....

ISHARES MSCI AUSTRALIA ETF $18.36 (New York symbol EWA; buy or sell through brokers) is an ETF that holds the 73 largest Australian stocks. The fund’s top holdings include Commonwealth Bank of Australia, 11.2%; Westpac Banking Corp., 8.8%; National Australia Bank, 6.0%; Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, 6.0%; BHP Billiton, 4.7%; CSL Ltd., 4.4%; Wesfarmers, 4.2%; Woolworths Ltd., 2.6%; Scentre Group, 2.2%; and Transurban Group, 2.1%. The ETF’s industry breakdown consists of Financials, 54.8%; Materials, 12.1%; Consumer Staples, 7.7%; Health Care, 6.5%; Industrials, 6.1%; Energy, 4.7%; Utilities, 2.6%; Consumer Discretionary, 2.4%; and Telecommunications, 2.3%....

ISHARES MSCI BRAZIL INDEX FUND $22.11 (New York symbol EWZ; buy or sell through brokers) is an ETF that’s designed to track the Brazilian stock market. Its top holdings are AmBev SA (beer and beverages), 10.8%; Cia Itau Unibanco Holding (banking), 10.0%; Banco Brandesco SA, 7.1%; Petrobras (oil and gas), 5.3%; BRF SA (food), 4.3%; Cielo SA (payment processing), 3.6%; Ultrapar SA (gas distribution and petrochemicals), 3.1%; and Itausa Investimentos SA (financial services), 2.9%. iShares launched the ETF on July 10, 2000. It has a 0.64% expense ratio....

MARKET VECTORS VIETNAM ETF $14.25 (New York symbol VNM; buy or sell through brokers) holds Vietnamese companies and foreign firms that get a significant amount of their revenue from Vietnam. The ETF’s top holdings are Vincom Corp. (real estate), 7.8%; Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam, 7.5%; Masan Group (a food, resources and banking conglomerate), 6.5%; Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Bank, 6.3%; and Baoviet Holdings (insurance), 6.1%. The ETF cuts risk by investing part of its assets in firms that are based outside of Vietnam but still do business there. That’s a better approach than adding thinly traded or illiquid shares of smaller Vietnamese firms....

We think conservative investors could 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:...

CANADIAN REIT $43.00 (Toronto symbol REF.UN; Units outstanding: 73.0 million; Market cap: $3.1 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 4.2%; www.creit.ca) owns 197 properties, including retail, industrial and office buildings, across Canada and in Chicago. These holdings contain 24.9 million square feet of leasable area. The trust’s occupancy rate is 93.8%. In the three months ended December 31, 2015, Canadian REIT’s revenue rose 1.0%, to $110.6 million from $109.5 million a year earlier. Cash flow per unit gained 1.3%, to $0.76 from $0.754. The trust aims to expand by developing its own properties rather than through large acquisitions. Over the next two to three years, it’s developing 12 projects to add 1.1 million square feet of space. Canadian REIT takes on partners to help carry out big projects....

H&R REIT $18.72 (Toronto symbol HR.UN; Units outstanding: 279.6 million; Market cap: $5.2 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Extra Risk; Dividend yield: 7.2%; www.hr-reit.com) owns or has a stake in 517 office buildings, industrial properties and shopping malls in Canada and the U.S. In all, these holdings include 47.2 million square feet of leasable space. In December 2014, Canadian REIT sold part ownership in 101 industrial properties, or a total of 19.5 million square feet, for $731 million. The buyers included the Canadian Public Sector Pension Investment Board. H&R kept a 50% interest in the Canadian properties and a 49.5% stake in the U.S. portfolio. It continues to manage these assets and receives fees for doing so. H&R also held on to full ownership of 14 other industrial properties....

ISHARES CDN REIT SECTOR INDEX FUND $15.10 (Toronto symbol XRE; buy or sell through brokers; ca.ishares.com) holds the 15 Canadian real estate investment trusts in the S&P/TSX Capped REIT Index. Expenses for iShares CDN REIT are 0.60% of its assets. The fund yields 6.0%. The ETF’s largest holding is RioCan REIT at 20.6%, followed by H&R REIT (12.9%), Canadian Apartment Properties REIT (9.2%), Smart REIT (9.1%), Canadian REIT (7.7%), Allied Properties REIT (6.4%), Cominar REIT (6.2%), Dream Office REIT (5.4%), Boardwalk REIT (4.7%), Granite REIT (4.5%), Artis REIT (4.2%), Crombie REIT (2.6%), Dream Global REIT (2.2%), Pure Industrial REIT (2.1%) and Northview Apartment REIT (1.9%)....

ENCANA $6.14 (Toronto symbol ECA; Shares outstanding: 849.8 million; Market cap: $4.9 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 1.4%; www.encana.com) plans to spend $1.5 billion to $1.7 billion upgrading its properties in 2016, down 25% from 2015 (all amounts except share price and market cap in U.S. dollars). Even with the drop, it expects production at its four main oil projects—Montney (B.C.), Duvernay (Alberta) and Eagle Ford and Permian (both in Texas)—will rise 12% this year. The company has also cut its annual dividend rate by 78.6%, to $0.06 a share from $0.28. In addition, Encana has eliminated the 2% price discount it offered to shareholders who chose to reinvest their dividends in new shares. In all, these moves will save $185 million a year....

POWER CORP. $28.98 (Toronto symbol POW; Shares outstanding: 414.4 million; Market cap: $13.6 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; Dividend yield: 4.3%; www.powercorporation.com) holds its financial assets through its 65.7% ownership of Power Financial. That holding includes 58.7% of IGM Financial, a leading Canadian mutual fund provider. IGM had $131.0 billion worth of assets under management as of January 31, 2016, down 9.9% from $145.5 billion a year earlier. The company’s fee income rises and falls with the value of the mutual funds and other securities it manages, so its revenue and earnings decline when the price of these assets falls. However, IGM sells most of its funds through its own salesforce. This makes it less dependent on selling through the brokerage industry than its competitors. Its sales model also lets IGM form close relationships with its clients and keep redemption rates down....

MANITOBA TELECOM SERVICES INC. $33.27 (Toronto symbol MBT; Shares outstanding: 79.3 million; Market cap: $2.6 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 3.9%; www.mts.ca) has completed the sale of its Allstream division to U.S.-based Zayo Group (New York symbol ZAYO)....

NEWMONT MINING $26.26 (New York symbol NEM; Shares outstanding: 529.1 million; Market cap: $13.4 billion; TSINetwork Rating: Average; Dividend yield: 0.4%; www.newmont.com) is one of the world’s largest gold and copper producers, with major mines in the U.S., Peru, Suriname, Australia, Ghana and Indonesia. Newmont’s shares have gained 41% since the start of 2016. That’s mainly because the recent volatility in global stock markets has pushed up gold prices during the same period by 17% to $1,242 an ounce. Rising gold prices will also improve the profitability of Newmont’s Cripple Creek & Victor gold mine in Nevada. The company acquired the operation in August 2015. Newmont expects its overall operating costs will fall as it opens new mines in the next few years....

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