The iShares MSCI Europe Financials ETF (EUFN) was launched on 01/20/2010, and is a passively managed exchange traded fund designed to offer broad exposure to the Financials - Broad segment of the equity market.

Retail and institutional investors increasingly turn to passively managed ETFs because they offer low costs, transparency, flexibility, and tax efficiency; these kind of funds are also excellent vehicles for long term investors.

Sector ETFs also provide investors access to a broad group of companies in particular sectors that offer low risk and diversified exposure. Financials - Broad is one of the 16 broad Zacks sectors within the Zacks Industry classification. It is currently ranked 13, placing it in bottom 19%.

Index Details

The fund is sponsored by Blackrock. It has amassed assets over $1.66 billion, making it one of the largest ETFs attempting to match the performance of the Financials - Broad segment of the equity market. EUFN seeks to match the performance of the MSCI Europe Financials Index before fees and expenses.

The MSCI Europe Financials Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization weighted index designed to measure the combined equity market performance of the financials sector of developed market countries in Europe.

Costs

Cost is an important factor in selecting the right ETF, and cheaper funds can significantly outperform their more expensive counterparts if all other fundamentals are the same.

Annual operating expenses for this ETF are 0.51%, making it on par with most peer products in the space.

It has a 12-month trailing dividend yield of 4.82%.

Sector Exposure and Top Holdings

Even though ETFs offer diversified exposure which minimizes single stock risk, it is still important to look into a fund's holdings before investing. Luckily, most ETFs are very transparent products that disclose their holdings on a daily basis.

Looking at individual holdings, Hsbc Holdings Plc (HSBA) accounts for about 7.30% of total assets, followed by Allianz (ALV) and Ubs Group Ag (UBSG).

The top 10 holdings account for about 41.86% of total assets under management.

Performance and Risk

Year-to-date, the iShares MSCI Europe Financials ETF return is roughly 11.94% so far, and is up about 28.49% over the last 12 months (as of 06/25/2024). EUFN has traded between $17.89 and $24.25 in this past 52-week period.

The ETF has a beta of 1.11 and standard deviation of 22.51% for the trailing three-year period, making it a medium risk choice in the space. With about 94 holdings, it effectively diversifies company-specific risk.

Alternatives

IShares MSCI Europe Financials ETF sports a Zacks ETF Rank of 4 (Sell), which is based on expected asset class return, expense ratio, and momentum, among other factors. EUFN, then, is not a suitable option for investors seeking exposure to the Financials ETFs segment of the market. Instead, there are better ETFs in the space to consider.

Vanguard Financials ETF (VFH) tracks MSCI US Investable Market Financials 25/50 Index and the Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF) tracks Financial Select Sector Index. Vanguard Financials ETF has $9.26 billion in assets, Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF has $38.90 billion. VFH has an expense ratio of 0.10% and XLF charges 0.09%.

Bottom Line

To learn more about this product and other ETFs, screen for products that match your investment objectives and read articles on latest developments in the ETF investing universe, please visit Zacks ETF Center.

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iShares MSCI Europe Financials ETF (EUFN): ETF Research Reports

Autoliv, Inc. (ALV) : Free Stock Analysis Report

Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLF): ETF Research Reports

Vanguard Financials ETF (VFH): ETF Research Reports

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