Topic: How To Invest

Q: Can you please give me your views on EIRL (iShares MSCI Ireland ETF)? Thanks in advance!

Article Excerpt

A: iShares MSCI Ireland ETF, $40.52, symbol EIRL on New York (Units outstanding: 1.5 million; Market cap: $60.8 million; www.ishares.com/us), invests in a broad range of Irish stocks. All the companies within the ETF are domiciled or headquartered in the Republic of Ireland as opposed to Northern Ireland, which continues to be a part of the U.K. The $58.3 million fund started up in May 2010. Its MER is 0.50%. The ETF holds 27 stocks. The top stock holdings are CRH plc (building materials), 23.2%; Kerry Group (food ingredients), 16.1%; Paddy Power Betfair plc (betting/bookmaking), 5.4%; AIB Group (financial services), 4.8%; Smurfit Kappa Group plc (packaging), 4.7%; Glanbia plc (food/nutrition), 4.8%; ICON plc (drug development services), 4.5%; Kingspan Group plc (building materials), 4.6%; Bank of Ireland Group, 4.3%; and Grafton Group plc (building), 3.4%. The high weighting in the two top stocks—representing 39.2% of total assets—adds risk. Still, both companies are sound with a positive outlook for 2019 and beyond. The overall outlook for…