etf

ISHARES MSCI CHILE INVESTABLE MARKET INDEX FUND $40.22 (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 top holdings are S.A.C.I. Falabella (retail), 10.9%; Enersis SA (electricity), 9.9%; Empresas Copec SA (conglomerate), 7.6%; Empresa Nacional de Electricidad (electricity), 7.1%; Banco Santander Chile (banking), 5.0%; Empresas CMPC (pulp and paper), 4.9%; Cencosud SA (retailer), 4.6%; Banco de Chile, 4.5%; Colbun SA (utility), 4.1%; and LATAM Airlines, 3.9%.

The fund’s industry breakdown consists of Utilities, 28.6%; Financials, 18.0%; Consumer Discretionary, 12.9%; Materials, 11.0%; Consumer Staples, 9.3%; Energy, 8.0%; Industrials, 7.0%; Telecommunications, 2.3%; and Information Technology, 2.2%.

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ISHARES MSCI GERMANY FUND $29.74 (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), 9.8%; Daimler (autos), 7.5%; BASF (chemicals), 7.1%; Siemens (engineering conglomerate), 6.9%; SAP (software), 6.1%; Allianz (insurance), 6.0%; Deutsche Telekom, 4.5%; Deutsche Bank AG, 3.5%; Volkswagen AG, 3.3%; and BMW AG, 3.1%.

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ISHARES MSCI SOUTH KOREA INDEX FUND $56.70 (New York symbol EWY; buy or sell through brokers) aims to track the MSCI Korea Index.

The ETF’s top holdings are Samsung Electronics, 19.8%; SK Hynix Semiconductor, 4.6%; Hyundai Motor, 3.9%; Shinhan Financial, 2.8%; Naver (Internet), 2.7%; Posco (steel), 2.5%; KB Financial, 2.5%; Hyundai Mobis (auto parts), 2.4%; AmorePacifi

c (cosmetics), 2.0%; and Kia Motors, 2.0%. The fund’s industry breakdown is as follows: Information Technology, 36.1%; Consumer Discretionary, 15.7%; Financials, 14.0%; Industrials, 11.6%; Materials, 7.8%; Consumer Staples, 7.6%; Utilities, 2.1%; Energy, 1.8%; Telecommunication Services, 1.2%; and Health Care, 1.0%.

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ISHARES MSCI EMERGING MARKETS INDEX FUND $40.91 (New York symbol EEM; buy or sell through brokers) aims to track the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. The fund’s geographic breakdown includes China, 24.8%; South Korea, 14.6%; Taiwan, 12.9%; South Africa, 7.4%; Brazil, 7.2%; India, 7.0%; Mexico, 4.6%; Russia, 3.9%; Malaysia, 3.3%; Indonesia, 2.5%; Thailand, 2.1%; and Turkey, 1.5%.

Its top holdings are Samsung Electronics (South Korea), 3.2%; Taiwan Semiconductor (computer chips), 2.9%; Tencent Holdings (China: Internet), 2.6%; China Mobile, 2.0%; China Construction Bank, 1.8%; Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, 1.6%; Naspers (South Africa: media and Internet), 1.4%; Hon Hai Precision Industry (Taiwan), 1.0%; and Ping An Insurance of China, 1.0%.

Its industry breakdown includes Financials, 28.1%; Information Technology, 19.0%; Consumer Discretionary, 9.3%; Consumer Staples, 8.0%; Energy, 7.8%; Telecommunication Services, 7.3%; Materials, 7.0%; and Industrials, 6.8%.

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BlackRock Inc., $353.45, symbol BLK on New York (Shares outstanding: 164.6 million; Market cap: $58.5 billion; www.blackrock.com), is one of the world’s largest publicly traded investment management firms. The company manages $4.8 trillion of assets on behalf of institutions and individuals through a variety of equity, fixed-income, cash-management, alternative-investment and advisory products. In the three months ended March 31, 2015, BlackRock’s earnings rose 8.9%, to $830 million, or $4.89 a share, from $762 million, or $4.43, a year earlier. Rising stock markets and strong demand from individual and institutional clients were behind the gain....

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 six international ETFs:...

ISHARES MSCI AUSTRALIA ETF $22.29 (New York symbol EWA; buy or sell through brokers) is an ETF that holds the 71 largest Australian stocks. Its MER is 0.48%. The fund’s top holdings include Commonwealth Bank of Australia, 11.1%; Westpac Banking Corp., 8.4%; BHP Billiton, 7.6%; Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, 7.4%; National Australia Bank, 7.1%; Wesfarmers, 3.9%; CSL Ltd., 3.6%; Woolworths, 2.8%; Woodside Petroleum, 2.2%; Telstra Group, 2.1%; Rio Tinto, 2.0%; Macquarie Group, 1.9%; and Scentre Group, 1.7%. Australia benefits from its stable banking and political systems and is rich in natural resources. Low commodity prices have hurt its economy, but its proximity to Asian markets with vast potential, including India and China, gives it strong long-term prospects....

BMO Low Volatility U.S. Equity ETF, $25.34, symbol ZLU on Toronto (Units outstanding: 11.5 million; Market cap: $291.4 million; www.etfs.bmo.com), aims to invest in a portfolio of low-beta U.S. stocks. The fund has a 0.30% MER and yields 2.0%. The ETF selects the 100 lowest-beta stocks from a universe of the largest, most liquid U.S. securities. The underlying portfolio is rebalanced in June and December. In this respect, it differs widely from conventional ETFs which are designed to minimize trading and trading expense. BMO Low Volatility U.S. Equity ETF’s top holdings are Newmont Mining, McDonald’s, Autozone, Verizon Communications, Quest Diagnostics, Dollar General, Family Dollar, AT&T, Laboratory Corporation of America and AmerisourceBergen Corp....

PowerShares International Dividend Achievers Portfolio ETF, $17.94, symbol PID on Nasdaq (Units outstanding: 85.4 million; Market cap: $1.5 billion; www.invescopowershares.com), aims to mirror the performance of the Nasdaq International Dividend Achievers Index. Its MER is 0.54%, and it yields 1.9%. The Nasdaq International Dividend Achievers Index only includes non-U.S. stocks (although it does contain foreign ADRs trading on U.S. exchanges) that have raised their dividends for five straight years. That means the index excludes a number of sound companies that pay dividends but haven’t increased them annually. The ETF also takes on a lot of risk with its holdings: Eight of its top 10 holdings are oil or energy-related stocks, including its second-largest investment, KazMunaiGas Exploration, Kazakhstan’s state-controlled energy giant. Others include Russian energy companies Rosneft and Lukoil....

ISHARES CANADIAN UNIVERSE BOND INDEX ETF $31.99 (Toronto symbol XBB; buy or sell through brokers) mirrors the performance of the Canadian Universe Bond Index. The 892 bonds in the portfolio have an average term to maturity of 10.35 years. The fund’s MER is 0.33%.

The bonds in the index are 68.5% government and 31.5% corporate.

The fund yields 2.8%, compared to the Short- Term Bond Fund’s 2.5%. Its yield to maturity is 1.82%, 0.69% above the Short-Term Fund. That reflects the added risk of holding long-term bonds.

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