Important information - the value of investments, and the income from them, can go down as well as up, so you may get back less than you invest. When investing in overseas markets, changes in currency exchange rates may affect the value of your investment.
ETFs are funds that issue shares, which are traded on a stock exchange. ETFs cover a broad range of asset classes and can give exposure to specific markets, sectors or investment strategies. Many ETFs track an index in order to provide this return.
ETFs can provide exposure to a variety of asset classes such as equities or fixed income by:
Like any stock on an exchange, ETFs can be traded at any time when the exchange it's listed on is open.
Passively tracking an index is less expensive than active fund management.
ETFs give you instant access to international markets as well as commodities such as gold, silver and precious metals.
With ETFs in general you know exactly what you're investing in. Many ETFs provide daily visibility as to what securities the fund holds, how the ETF is performing and Total Expense Ratio (TER) costs. When investing in an ETF you know exactly what price you’re paying for units, unlike mutual funds.
There are, however, a number of things to consider.
Explore our full range of ETFs to search, filter and select your favourite, including the iShares Core Series by BlackRock and our smart beta ETFs.
When investing internationally an investor is effectively making two investments - one in the foreign equity itself and the other in the exchange rate value of that investment. Unhedged international investments tend to be more volatile as they are exposed to the risk and return of both equities and foreign exchange. Currency hedging strategies aim to mitigate this risk. They allow separation of equity market risk from currency risk and therefore allow more accurate implementation of investment views.
