If you live outside of the USA, the world’s largest financial market, investing in a globally diversified portfolio means you are getting significant exposure to foreign currency, typically USD. This means that changes in exchange rates between currencies will affect your returns. Should you expose yourself to these risks? Should you buy ETFs hedged to […]
The common advice among EU based Bogleheads is to suggest a globally diversified low-cost portfolio which includes the following funds: iShares MSCI World – for developed markets (large cap) exposure iShares MSCI EM – for emerging market (large cap) exposure (optional) iShares MSCI World Small Cap – for developed markets small/mid cap stocks exposure. But […]
You live in Europe, don’t earn in USD and don’t spend in USD. Should you have significant investments in funds with American holdings? Should you bear the currency risk associated with having assets in a different currency? You are highly invested in US stocks whenever you invest in a S&P 500 index fund (100% US […]
The Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND) and Vanguard’s Intermediate-Term Bond ETF (BIV) are often recommended in personal finance literature as reasonable options for bond ETFs. What would be the comparable choices available for European investors? Similarly to my recommendations for equity funds, I think these suggestions may be useful for many investors but they […]
You’ve finally reached a decision regarding the equity component of your portfolio but aren’t sure on how to proceed regarding the fixed income part. You are looking to reduce the volatility of your portfolio but are not sure how to go about choosing a bond ETF. You shouldn’t invest in anything you don’t understand. The […]
So, you decided you want to invest in index funds but are not sure which specific funds you should pick. Or rather, you read a few personal finance books, saw the recommendations for funds like VTI or VXUS, realized that those funds aren’t available to European investors and are not sure how to proceed. I will […]
There are thousands of ETFs available for sale. It is natural to feel swamped by all options available: countless indexes, various asset classes, multiple legal structures. Unfortunately only a small subset of available ETFs are worth being in a regular investor’s portfolio. That means we, investors, need to be extra careful when choosing ETFs. My […]
In an earlier post I explained the important things to consider when choosing an ETF. An ETF screener is an important tool in that process because it will allow you to see which alternatives exist for your criteria and it will also give you all the information you need about an ETF. justETF is the […]
When starting on the journey of index fund investing, choosing an ETF may look confusing due to: Thousands of ETFs to choose from; New concepts to get acquainted with: Replication, Tracking error, Distribution type; Lots of acronyms: TER, ISIN, NAV, KIID; Choosing an ETFs does not have to be complex. Below is my process for […]