Strong Returns Prompt Massive Popularity In International ETFs, ICI Says

Over the past year, international exchange traded fund assets have more than doubled, topping out at over $82.8 billion, the Investment Company Institute says. Though affairs with international hedge funds have cooled recently, international ETFs are quickly outstripping their US

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Over the past year, international exchange-traded fund assets have more than doubled, topping out at over $82.8 billion, the Investment Company Institute says.

Though affairs with international hedge funds have cooled recently, international ETFs are quickly outstripping their US counterparts.

Mutual funds and ETFs have become increasingly popular among investors seeking to invest overseas because selecting the correct stocks can be confusing when differences of language, currency and reporting come into play.

And because foreign stocks tend to rise and fall at different times than US stocks, investing abroad can help level out investors’ portfolios.

Though ETFs have reported high levels of returns this year, they do have their drawbacks. The funds only offer index-based investment strategies and can only mirror stock-market returns of the country or region in which they are focused, making them cheaper that competitive funds but leaves little possibility of bringing in better-than-market returns.

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