Six low-fee global ETFs: 4 buys, 2 holds

Article Excerpt

We think foreign stocks can safely make up 10% of a conservative investor’s portfolio. One way is through the selection of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) with an overseas focus. The best of those ETFs continue to offer very low management fees and well-diversified, tax-efficient portfolios of high-quality stocks. Here’s a look at four international ETFs we see as suitable for new buying and two others we feel you should continue to hold. ISHARES MSCI EMERGING MARKETS INDEX FUND $44.46 (New York symbol EEM; buy or sell through brokers) is designed to track the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. The fund’s geographic breakdown is as follows: China, 31.4%; South Korea, 14.0%; Taiwan, 11.7%; India, 8.8%; South Africa, 6.6%; Brazil, 6.5%; Russia, 3.4%; Mexico, 3.1%; Malaysia, 2.4%; Thailand, 2.3%; Indonesia, 1.9%; and Poland, 1.2%. Its top stocks are Tencent Holdings (China: Internet), 5.0%; Alibaba Group (China: e-commerce), 4.1 %; Samsung Electronics (South Korea), 3.8%; Taiwan Semiconductor (computer chips), 3.7%; Naspers (South Africa: media and Internet), 2.1%; China Construction Bank, 1.6%;…