Opinions
Richard Croft
iShares MSCI Europe Financials ETF
EUFN-Q
DON'T BUY
Jul 03, 2018
Stock price when the opinion was issued
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The last six months have been a perfect storm for Europe. Resurgence of populist policies, trade tensions. Nobody believes in Europe anymore. He thinks there is good value there. Negative interest rates are certainly a headwind. All you need in the sector is a very little positive news. He likes it.
ETF with high dividend It holds 30% UK banks. The Brexit story will continue, but a no-deal Brexit is off the table. Expectations for Euro banks can't get lower. EUFN pays a 5% yield. The average company trades below book value. This space is so unloved that it's time to buy.
He's never made money investing in Europe. One reason is that they have some very funny labour rules, such as not being able to fire anyone. Government coalitions are always ready to break apart. An investor probably already has North American financials, so to invest in this would put a portfolio overweight in financials.
A lot of global funds are 40-50% US anyway, so he just buys the S&P.
He doesn't like European banks. They face a lot of headwinds. For example, Deutsche Bank didn't pass their stress test. Look at U.S. or Canadian banks instead. Europe is 18 months behind the U.S. in the business cycle so it's growing at a slower pace.