Outlook is bright for big exporter Germany

Article Excerpt

Germany faces a number of challenges—its population is getting older and its workforce will start to shrink from 2020 onwards. In addition, its largest export markets, including the U.S. and the U.K., are less and less willing to run large trade deficits with Germany. However, the country remains the economic powerhouse of Europe and one of the top exporting countries globally. It’s also home to some of the top companies in the world. Here’s an ETF that provides exposure to leading German publicly listed companies. ISHARES MSCI GERMANY ETF $28.99 (Nasdaq symbol EWG; TSI Network ETF Rating: Aggressive; Market cap: $3.3 billion) tracks the performance of the largest publicly listed German companies. Consumer discretionary stocks account for 17.1% of its assets, followed by Materials (14.4%), Financials (14.2%), Health care (13.5%), Industrials (13.3%), Information technology (12.7%), and Telecoms (4.4%). The ETF holds a well-diversified portfolio of 68 stocks; the top 10 holdings make up a high 52% of its assets. They are SAP (business software, 8.2%), Siemens…