These top ETFs offer international exposure

Article Excerpt

We think conservative investors can hold up to 10% of their portfolios in foreign stocks. One way to do that is by choosing exchange-traded funds (ETFs) with an overseas focus. The best ETFs continue to 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 continue to hold. ISHARES MSCI EMERGING MARKETS INDEX FUND $44.86 (New York symbol EEM; buy or sell through brokers) aims to track the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. The fund’s geographic breakdown includes China, 28.9%; South Korea, 14.6%; Taiwan, 11.8%; India, 8.5%; Brazil, 7.3%; South Africa, 6.4%; Mexico, 3.6%; Russia, 3.1%; Indonesia, 2.3%; Malaysia, 2.2%; Thailand, 2.1%; and Poland, 1.3%. Its top holdings are Tencent Holdings (China: Internet), 4.7%; Samsung Electronics (South Korea), 4.1%; Alibaba Group (China: e-commerce), 3.9%; Taiwan Semiconductor (computer chips), 3.5%; Naspers (South Africa: media and Internet), 2.0%; China Construction Bank, 1.5%; China Mobile, 1.4%; Hon Hai Precision (Taiwan),…