Which ETFs Will Deliver in 2014?

Ask the Expert: Over the past 12 months European markets outperformed the US - but where should ETF investors' money be over the next year?

Emma Wall 30 October, 2013 | 2:52PM
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Emma Wall: Hello and welcome to the Morningstar series, Ask the Expert. Here with me today to discuss the outlook for ETFs is Jose Garcia-Zarate.

Hello, Jose.

Jose Garcia-Zarate: Hello.

Wall: So looking at the last 12 months, investors might be surprised to learn that Europe has actually outperformed the U.S. Why is that?

Garcia-Zarate: Well, I think there are two factors that explain this outperformance. One, obviously, is that the European recovery took a bit longer to start relative to the U.S., so the European markets have a bit more to catch up in terms of the upside. Also, in the U.S., with the shutdown and the tapering, there's been a lot of volatility. So it's not surprising that over the past 12 months you've seen European markets have actually done slightly better than U.S. markets.

Wall: Looking at Europe, and more specifically looking at the U.K., we've had some really positive economic data in the last couple of months. This means, however, that a lot of the recovery has already happened. So where can we still find value in the U.K.?

Garcia-Zarate: I think in the U.K., if you think that after two very punchy GDP growth figures that the recovery is well entrenched and is going to be sustained into 2014, perhaps it would be a good idea to look beyond the bread and butter large-cap big companies and try to find value in the small and medium size companies that might benefit from a period of sustained growth going forward.

Wall: That then leads us to the FTSE 250 Index. Looking at funds that track that index, obviously, their performance will be linked to how well FTSE 250 does, but investors can get that extra margin on cost. So what are the cheapest trackers?

Garcia-Zarate: Well, when you talk about ETFs, it's always very important to distinguish between TER and the total cost of owning an ETF. In terms of TER, there are – for example, the iShares FTSE 250 is the most popular one in terms of assets under management, but it's not the one with the cheapest TER; it's got 40 basis points. You can find cheaper ETFs from providers such as db X-trackers, Lyxor, or Source, or even Amundi.

The tradeoff would be that those funds have less or fewer assets under management, and therefore, when it comes to buy and sell on the exchange, you may find that the bid/offer spreads are a bit wider. So you have to take a comprehensive view of cost into consideration. But there are, as I said, quite a few providers out there that offer exposure to the FTSE 250. So just go there – perhaps go to the Morningstar Tools and find your way around and do your own research.

Wall: Jose, thank you very much.

Garcia-Zarate: You’re welcome.

Wall: This is Emma Wall for Morningstar. Thank you for watching.

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Emma Wall  is former Senior International Editor for Morningstar

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