Lets say you have $1,000 or even $10K and you want to get exposure to the whole of Western European stocks. In this case, you may want to invest in the largest European companies.
One vehicle to do that is to pick up a few shares of the DJ EURO STOXX 50 ETF with ticker FEZ.This ETF mimics the Dow Jones Euro STOXX 50 index.
What is DJ EURO STOXX 50 ETF ?
It provides a blue-chip representation of the largest companies in the Eurozone. Covers Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.
As the name implies this index has the 50 largest companies in the Eurozone. It includes the the leading banks, utilities, chemical companies etc. Over 50% of the index is concentrated in German and French companies. As usual Financials have the largest representation.
What the heck is Eurozone?
Well its nothing but the zone of many countries where Euro is the currency. For eg. – UK is not in the Eurozone since Euro is not her currency. So in the Euro Stoxx 50 index there are no UK companies. If you want exposure to Europe including UK’s top companies you have to pick up
DJ STOXX 50 ETF (Note: Here you will find the term “Euro” is missing in the title). We will discuss this another time.
What are the constituents of the DJ EURO STOXX 50 ETF ?
TOTAL FINA
BANCO SANTANDER CENTRAL HISP
UNICREDITO ITALIANO SPA
BNP PARIBAS
TELEFONICA SA
E.ON AG
ALLIANZ SE-REG
NOKIA OYJ
SANOFI-AVENTIS
SIEMENS AG-REG
ING GROEP NV-CVA
BANCO BILBAO VIZCAYA ARGENTA
SOCIETE GENERALE
ENI SPA
AXA
INTESA SANPAOLO
ABN AMRO HOLDING NV
DEUTSCHE BANK AG-REGISTERED
DAIMLERCHRYSLER AG-REG
SUEZ SA
FORTIS
BASF AG
DEUTSCHE TELEKOM AG-REG
RWE AG
ASSICURAZIONI GENERALI
FRANCE TELECOM SA
VIVENDI SA
ENEL SPA
UNILEVER NV-CVA
PHILIPS ELECTRONICS NV
BAYER AG
CARREFOUR SA
SAP AG
GROUPE DANONE
ENDESA SA
COMPAGNIE DE SAINT-GOBAIN
MUENCHENER RUECKVER AG-REG
IBERDROLA SA
TELECOM ITALIA SPA
CREDIT AGRICOLE SA
AEGON NV
L’OREAL
LVMH MOET HENNESSY LOUIS VUI
ALCATEL-LUCENT
AIR LIQUIDE
ALLIED IRISH BANKS PLC
REPSOL YPF SA
RENAULT SA
LAFARGE SA
KONINKLIJKE AHOLD NV
FEZ:
This ETF has performed very well for many years now. Has groown from nearly $20 to $60+ now. Has assets of over $500 M and a decent yield.
Click here for more info: http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=fez
How popular is DJ EURO STOXX 50 ETF ?
Europeans invest a ton of money in any product that follows this index. For example – the iShares DJ Euro STOXX 50 ETF with ticker EUE trading in the UK has an asset base of over €3.8 Billion. It is the largest ETF among iShares’s offering in the UK.
http://www.ishares.eu/fund/fund_overview.do?fundId=157496
Like the British people in France, Germany etc. invest heavily in similar funds trading in their exchanges.
