International ETFs: 4 buys, 2 holds

Article Excerpt

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 EMERGING MARKETS INDEX FUND $39.93 (New York symbol EEM; buy or sell through brokers) aims to track the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. Its geographic breakdown includes China, 21.8%; South Korea, 14.4%; Taiwan, 12.7%; Brazil, 8.3%; South Africa, 8.1%; India, 7.5%; Mexico, 4.8%; Russia, 3.7%; Malaysia, 3.6%; Indonesia, 2.7%; Thailand, 2.4%; and Turkey, 1.7%. The fund’s top holdings are Samsung Electronics (South Korea), 3.4%; Taiwan Semiconductor (computer chips), 3.0%; Tencent Holdings (China: Internet), 2.3%; China Mobile, 2.1%; Naspers (South Africa: media and Internet), 1.5%; China Construction Bank, 1.5%; Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, 1.4%; and Itau Unibanco Holding (Brazil: banking), 0.9%. Its…