The Stoxx Europe 600 Index recorded a 10 percent gain through yesterday, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index only rose about 2 percent. The European indicator trailed the S&P 500 in four of the last five years.
Investors are focusing on the euro area, according to Michael Hartnett, Merrill’s chief investment strategist. Fifty-five percent of the respondents said the region carried more weight in their stock holdings than in their benchmarks. The proportion was the highest since May 2007.
Another article on the Euro hedged ETFs which I have written about numerous times appears in the WSJ moneybeat blog today
Investors Piling in to Currency-Hedged ETFs
Investors are hedging their bets against more wild currency moves.
Nearly half of all inflows into U.S.-listed exchange-traded funds this year have been invested in currency-hedged products, according to ETF.com. A total of $10 billion has entered 35 currency-hedged funds in 2015, amounting to 49% of the $20.4 billion that all ETFs had gathered as of Friday, the firm said.
Such funds have been available for several years, but have become increasingly popular as of late as the U.S. dollar appreciates. In the first six weeks of 2015, the funds have collected nearly 30% of their total asset base.
Matt Hougan, president of analytics and publications at ETF.com, expects currency-hedging to be a defining theme of 2015. It’s the number one topic of discussions at conferences and among advisers, he says.
No comments:
Post a Comment