etf

ISHARES MSCI SOUTH KOREA INDEX FUND $56.34 (New York symbol EWY; buy or sell through brokers) aims to track the MSCI Korea Index.

The ETF’s top holdings are Samsung Electronics, 23.1%; SK Hynix Semiconductor, 4.5%; Hyundai Motor Co., 4.4%; Naver (Internet content), 3.5%; Posco (steel), 3.2%; Shinhan Financial, 3.1%; Hyundai Mobis (auto parts), 2.7%; Kia Motors, 2.4%; KB Financial, 2.3%; and Korea Electric Power, 1.9%.

The fund’s industry breakdown is as follows: Information Technology, 34.5%; Consumer Discretionary, 17.5%; Financials, 14.7%; Industrials, 12.3%; Materials, 8.6%; Consumer Staples, 6.5%; Utilities, 2.3%; Energy, 1.5%; Telecommunication Services, 1.3%; and Health Care, 0.8%.

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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 high quality stocks. Here’s a look at six global ETFs:...

SPDR S&P CHINA ETF $79.29 (New York symbol GXC; buy or sell through brokers; www.spdrs.com) aims to track the S&P China BMI Index, which is made up of all publicly traded Chinese stocks available to foreign investors. Right now, the fund holds 307 stocks. The $1.0-billion fund’s top holdings are Tencent Holdings, 7.7%; China Mobile, 6.2%; Baidu, 6.1%; China Construction Bank, 5.7%; Industrial & Commercial Bank, 5.1%; Bank of China, 3.3%; China Life Insurance, 2.4%; CNOOC Ltd., 2.1%; PetroChina, 2.1%; and China Petroleum & Chemical, 1.9%. The ETF was launched on March 19, 2007. It has a 0.59% MER and yields 2.5%....

ISHARES AUSTRALIA INDEX FUND $23.48 (New York symbol EWA; buy or sell through brokers) is an ETF that holds the 79 largest Australian stocks. Its MER is 0.48%. The fund’s top holdings include Commonwealth Bank of Australia, 11.7%; Westpac Banking Corp., 9.1%; BHP Billiton, 8.5%; Australia and New Zealand Banking Group, 7.9%; National Australia Bank, 6.9%; Wesfarmers, 4.2%; CSL Ltd., 3.6%; Woolworths, 3.5%; Woodside Petroleum, 2.3%; Rio Tinto, 2.2%; Telstra Group, 2.2%, and Scentre Group, 1.7%; and Westfield Group, 1.5%. Australia benefits from its stable banking and political systems. It is also rich in natural resources and close to key Asian markets with vast potential, including India and China....

Pat McKeough responds to many requests from members of his Inner Circle for specific tips on stock investing as well as questions on investment strategy and the economy. Every week, his comments and recommendations on the most intriguing questions of the past week go out to all Inner Circle members. And each week we offer you a report on one of the stocks profiled in these Q&A sessions. We give you Pat’s buy-hold-sell recommendation as well as his analysis of the stock. This is part of the specific buy, hold and sell advice we offer you in our daily posts. Every week you get “A Stock to Sell” on Monday, “Best Canadian Stocks” on Tuesday, and “U.S. Stock Picks” on Thursday.

This week we had a question from an Inner Circle Member on a Canadian health care stock. Concordia Health Care takes a different approach from many larger drug firms, preferring to buy mature products as opposed to developing its own treatments. It recently acquired the rights to a second-generation epilepsy drug; its other main drug treats irritable bowel syndrome and enterocolitis. Concordia’s sales and share price have both risen. Pat looks at the challenges the company faces in finding new drugs and fighting off generic competition. Q: Hi: Would you give me your opinion on Concordia Health Care? Thank you.

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The ALPS Sector Dividend Dogs ETF, $38.79, symbol SDOG on New York (Units outstanding: 24.3 million; Market cap: $942.6 million; www.alpssectordividenddogs.com), is an ETF that applies the “Dogs of the Dow” theory on a sector-by-sector basis using the stocks in the S&P 500. The fund’s MER is 0.40%. The Dogs of the Dow approach involves buying the lowest-priced, highest-yielding stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. At the end of each year, you pick the 10 stocks from the 30-stock Dow with the highest dividend yields. You then invest an equal dollar amount in each, hold them for one year and repeat these steps annually. The ALPS Sector Dividend Dogs ETF picks five stocks from each of the 10 sectors as defined by the S&P 500 index—consumer discretionary, consumer staples, energy, financials, health care, industrials, information technology, materials, telecommunication services and utilities. The ETF picks the stocks with the highest dividend yields. Each holding is then equally weighted so that every company has a similar influence on the ETF’s total return. The end result is a portfolio of 50 large cap stocks....

GLOBAL X SILVER MINERS ETF $8.23 (New York symbol SIL; buy or sell through brokers; www.globalxfunds.com) tracks the Solactive Global Silver Miners Index.

This index includes 25 international companies that mine, refine or explore for silver. It was developed by Germany-based Structured Solutions AG.

Canadian firms make up 58.9% of the fund’s holdings, but it also includes miners in the U.S. (13.6%) and Mexico (4.2%). Its MER is 0.65%.

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ISHARES MSCI JAPAN INDEX FUND $11.76 (New York Exchange symbol EWJ; buy or sell through brokers; us.ishares.com) is an ETF that tries to match the return of the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Japan index.

The fund has now regained all of the ground it lost in the recent market downturn. Its latest rise came after the Japanese government and the Bank of Japan announced huge increases in their economic stimulus programs.

Under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s so-called “Abenomics” strategy, the Bank of Japan has pumped money into the country’s economy. However, consumer spending has remained sluggish, especially after the government raised the sales tax to 8% from 5% on April 1, 2014.

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ISHARES MSCI JAPAN INDEX FUND $11.76 (New York Exchange symbol EWJ; buy or sell through brokers; us.ishares.com) is an ETF that tries to match the return of the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) Japan index. The fund has now regained all of the ground it lost in the recent market downturn. Its latest rise came after the Japanese government and the Bank of Japan announced huge increases in their economic stimulus programs. Under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s so-called “Abenomics” strategy, the Bank of Japan has pumped money into the country’s economy. However, consumer spending has remained sluggish, especially after the government raised the sales tax to 8% from 5% on April 1, 2014....

In 2011, gold hit a high of $1,950 U.S. an ounce and silver hit a high of $48.48. But the price of gold has fallen since then and recently dropped below $1,200 for the first time since mid-2010. It now trades at $1,141. Silver has dropped, as well, and at $15.35 an ounce is also trading at lows not seen since mid-2010. Over the longer term, gold and silver could well regain their 2011 highs. This will simply reflect the vast expansion in the U.S. money supply that has taken place since the financial crisis struck in 2008....