International stocks are gaining popularity with U.S. investors, and they’re increasingly choosing exchange-traded funds to participate in global economic growth, according to money manager State Street Global Advisers, MarketWatch reports.
Total assets of international ETF assets rose 61 percent year-over-year through June, to $129.8 billion from $80.8 billion, the Boston-based firm said in a recently published research report. More than $25 billion flowed into international-stock ETFs in the first six months of 2007 alone, almost twice the $13 billion coming to U.S.-stock offerings, State Street noted.
“We’ve seen interest and growth across the board,” says James Ross, a senior managing director at State Street.
State Street, along with rivals Barclays Global Investors, PowerShares, have introduced new and highly specialised ETF products for international buyers, with more on deck. ETFs track benchmarks like index mutual-funds, but are traded throughout the day like stocks.
Bonds appear a ripe area for ETF managers. Ross says State Street is moving ahead with plans for international- and global bond ETFs, in particular one linked to government debt and another tied to international Treasury inflation-protected securities.