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On this episode of ETF Prime, VettaFi's Stacey Morris offered a quarterly update on the energy sector and energy ETFs with host Nate Geraci. Candriam's Alexandra Russo later joined Geraci to discuss ESG investing mishaps and opportunities.
European equities are outpacing U.S. rivals this year, breathing fresh life into a long moribund asset class. That's good news for market participants looking to add some international diversification to U.S.-heavy equity portfolios.
For more than a decade, investors found comfort in knowing U.S. equities were the place to be as domestic stocks easily outpaced foreign rivals, often doing so with lower volatility. However, signs are emerging that 2023 could finally be the year that international equities, both developed and emerging, could get the better of their U.S.
Count European stocks among the international equities that have long left investors wanting more. That scenario could change for the better this year, but it's understandable that some market participants won't want the commitment of a dedicated Eurozone exchange traded fund.
Investors in the U.S. are by now undoubtedly familiar with the Federal Reserve's rate tightening campaign, which has consisted of six interest rate increases this year. Similar monetary tightening is being pursued around the world.
With U.S. stocks slumping, it's not surprising that international equivalents are out of favor among market participants. The other side of that coin is that there's bountiful opportunity among ex-U.S. developed market equities.
With environmental, social and governance (ESG) exchange traded funds increasingly popular ideas among advisors and retail investors alike, there's also increasing scrutiny on how products in this category deliver the purported ESG goods. That scrutiny is warranted because the various index issuers providing benchmarks to ETF sponsors approach ESG in differing fashions.
Tesla's (NASDAQ:TSLA) recent exclusion from the S&P 500 ESG Index stirred considerable debate regarding how index providers deploy environmental, social, and governance (ESG) ratings and scoring methodologies. That debate makes sense.