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Yahoo
40 minutes ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Best International Equity ETFs of 2025
Photo by Antoine Schibler via Unsplash ETFs are booming in the US, but that doesn't mean investors are keeping their investments stateside. International equity ETFs that invest in publicly traded companies have surged this year, posting returns of 20% or more and cementing international funds at the top of the heap of the best performing funds of 2025's first half. The massive gains were due to overperforming European markets and strong performing sectors in other countries. The outperformance in Europe, relative to both the US and international stocks more broadly, can be attributed to an 'increased willingness' for those countries to invest in companies that help drive economic growth, said Zachary Evens, a Morningstar research analyst. 'Banks and utilities and industrials and communication service companies, like telecoms, these companies are more boring,' he said. 'They don't typically grow very fast, but they benefit from broad economic growth, so a lot of the outperformance has been concentrated in some of those stocks.' READ ALSO: Why Invesco Wants QQQ to Become an Open-End Fund and Bitcoin with Bubblewrap: Calamos Preps Laddered ETFs Across The Pond European stocks have outperformed their US counterparts for the past three years, reversing a trend of US dominance that began following the Great Recession, with the MSCI EMU Index outpacing the S&P 500 by more than 35 percentage points since 2022, according to Schwab. International stocks in general have also beaten American stocks, as measured by the MSCI EAFE Index. Some of the top-performing international markets ETFs so far this year are: The Schwab International Dividend Equity ETF (SCHY), which tracks a market-cap-weighted index of foreign stocks and had YTD returns of 20.7%. The Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS), which has an expense ratio of .05% and holds more than 8,600 stocks in companies from both developed and emerging markets. It posted YTD returns of 18.3%. The SPDR Portfolio Emerging Markets ETF (SPEM), which tracks emerging markets in countries like China, India, Brazil, South Africa, and Mexico and had YTD returns of 14.3%. Still, diversification is key to avoiding region-specific downturns. 'If Spain grows by a lot, but France falters, then diversification will even that out… That also goes for the sector side,' said Evens. 'You would be better suited to be more diversified across sectors and countries to minimize those negative impacts.' All Hail the Sector. Sector performance tends to be the main driver of stock performance, with US markets leaning heavily on tech companies in recent years. Still, outside factors — inflation, political deals, tariffs — have an impact on sectors, which in turn affects markets, according to Evens. 'What impacts the performance of those sectors would be more idiosyncratic risks or geopolitical factors, or economic factors,' he said. 'Weighing those is how investors can think about potential outperformance or underperformance of the respective markets.' This post first appeared on The Daily Upside. To receive exclusive news and analysis of the rapidly evolving ETF landscape, built for advisors and capital allocators, subscribe to our free ETF Upside newsletter.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Ready to retire in 5 years? Here's your checklist
Many of the best investing moves are made on autopilot. Just look at the track record of automatic payroll deductions and savings increases. Other investing decisions, like a transition into retirement, require a more hands-on approach. Christine Benz, Morningstar's director of personal finance and retirement planning, recommends taking a preemptive approach as you get closer to retirement. The key is to visualize what you want your retirement to look like while you have enough time to make any adjustments you might need to get you there. Here are five steps to take now if you plan to retire in the next five years: 1. Consider the role of work in retirement Decide whether some kind of work is realistically part of your retirement plan. That income stream can make your retirement spending simpler, but it shouldn't be the linchpin of your whole plan. That's because you may not be able to work even if you want to. 2. Track your expenses Understand what you're actually spending today and see whether your spending will change over the next few years and into retirement. Getting a grasp of your future spending needs will help you determine whether your plan is on track. 3. Check up on Social Security For most people, Social Security is a key source of income in retirement. Create an account on the Social Security website and make sure they have your correct information. This will let you model out different Social Security claiming dates using your own information. 4. Assess your current retirement savings Look at your spending and subtract Social Security to get a sense of what you'll need from your portfolio. If your spending doesn't align with roughly 4% or less of your portfolio, you may need to make some changes. Consider saving more, investing differently, putting off your planned retirement date, or adjusting how much you plan to spend in retirement. 5. Derisk your portfolio As you get within 10 years of retirement, you'll want to make sure that your asset allocation can help protect your retirement plan from getting derailed by market volatility. If equity losses happen early on in your retirement, you can spend from your safer assets and wait until the market recovers to pull from your stock portfolio. By thinking about retirement preemptively, you'll have a better sense of when you want to retire and what you want it to be like. Plus, you can make any course corrections needed to make it happen. ___ This article was provided to The Associated Press by Morningstar. For more personal finance content, go to Margaret Giles is a senior editor of content development for Morningstar.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Ready to retire in 5 years? Here's your checklist
Many of the best investing moves are made on autopilot. Just look at the track record of automatic payroll deductions and savings increases. Other investing decisions, like a transition into retirement, require a more hands-on approach. Christine Benz, Morningstar's director of personal finance and retirement planning, recommends taking a preemptive approach as you get closer to retirement. The key is to visualize what you want your retirement to look like while you have enough time to make any adjustments you might need to get you there. Here are five steps to take now if you plan to retire in the next five years: 1. Consider the role of work in retirement Decide whether some kind of work is realistically part of your retirement plan. That income stream can make your retirement spending simpler, but it shouldn't be the linchpin of your whole plan. That's because you may not be able to work even if you want to. 2. Track your expenses Understand what you're actually spending today and see whether your spending will change over the next few years and into retirement. Getting a grasp of your future spending needs will help you determine whether your plan is on track. 3. Check up on Social Security For most people, Social Security is a key source of income in retirement. Create an account on the Social Security website and make sure they have your correct information. This will let you model out different Social Security claiming dates using your own information. 4. Assess your current retirement savings Look at your spending and subtract Social Security to get a sense of what you'll need from your portfolio. If your spending doesn't align with roughly 4% or less of your portfolio, you may need to make some changes. Consider saving more, investing differently, putting off your planned retirement date, or adjusting how much you plan to spend in retirement. 5. Derisk your portfolio As you get within 10 years of retirement, you'll want to make sure that your asset allocation can help protect your retirement plan from getting derailed by market volatility. If equity losses happen early on in your retirement, you can spend from your safer assets and wait until the market recovers to pull from your stock portfolio. By thinking about retirement preemptively, you'll have a better sense of when you want to retire and what you want it to be like. Plus, you can make any course corrections needed to make it happen. ___ This article was provided to The Associated Press by Morningstar. For more personal finance content, go to Margaret Giles is a senior editor of content development for Morningstar. Margaret Giles Of Morningstar, The Associated Press Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Winnipeg Free Press
5 hours ago
- Business
- Winnipeg Free Press
Ready to retire in 5 years? Here's your checklist
Many of the best investing moves are made on autopilot. Just look at the track record of automatic payroll deductions and savings increases. Other investing decisions, like a transition into retirement, require a more hands-on approach. Christine Benz, Morningstar's director of personal finance and retirement planning, recommends taking a preemptive approach as you get closer to retirement. The key is to visualize what you want your retirement to look like while you have enough time to make any adjustments you might need to get you there. Here are five steps to take now if you plan to retire in the next five years: 1. Consider the role of work in retirement Decide whether some kind of work is realistically part of your retirement plan. That income stream can make your retirement spending simpler, but it shouldn't be the linchpin of your whole plan. That's because you may not be able to work even if you want to. 2. Track your expenses Understand what you're actually spending today and see whether your spending will change over the next few years and into retirement. Getting a grasp of your future spending needs will help you determine whether your plan is on track. 3. Check up on Social Security For most people, Social Security is a key source of income in retirement. Create an account on the Social Security website and make sure they have your correct information. This will let you model out different Social Security claiming dates using your own information. 4. Assess your current retirement savings Look at your spending and subtract Social Security to get a sense of what you'll need from your portfolio. If your spending doesn't align with roughly 4% or less of your portfolio, you may need to make some changes. Consider saving more, investing differently, putting off your planned retirement date, or adjusting how much you plan to spend in retirement. 5. Derisk your portfolio As you get within 10 years of retirement, you'll want to make sure that your asset allocation can help protect your retirement plan from getting derailed by market volatility. If equity losses happen early on in your retirement, you can spend from your safer assets and wait until the market recovers to pull from your stock portfolio. By thinking about retirement preemptively, you'll have a better sense of when you want to retire and what you want it to be like. Plus, you can make any course corrections needed to make it happen. ___ This article was provided to The Associated Press by Morningstar. For more personal finance content, go to Margaret Giles is a senior editor of content development for Morningstar.
The Independent
5 hours ago
- Business
- The Independent
Ready to retire in 5 years? Here's your checklist
Many of the best investing moves are made on autopilot. Just look at the track record of automatic payroll deductions and savings increases. Other investing decisions, like a transition into retirement, require a more hands-on approach. Christine Benz, Morningstar's director of personal finance and retirement planning, recommends taking a preemptive approach as you get closer to retirement. The key is to visualize what you want your retirement to look like while you have enough time to make any adjustments you might need to get you there. Here are five steps to take now if you plan to retire in the next five years: 1. Consider the role of work in retirement Decide whether some kind of work is realistically part of your retirement plan. That income stream can make your retirement spending simpler, but it shouldn't be the linchpin of your whole plan. That's because you may not be able to work even if you want to. 2. Track your expenses Understand what you're actually spending today and see whether your spending will change over the next few years and into retirement. Getting a grasp of your future spending needs will help you determine whether your plan is on track. 3. Check up on Social Security For most people, Social Security is a key source of income in retirement. Create an account on the Social Security website and make sure they have your correct information. This will let you model out different Social Security claiming dates using your own information. 4. Assess your current retirement savings Look at your spending and subtract Social Security to get a sense of what you'll need from your portfolio. If your spending doesn't align with roughly 4% or less of your portfolio, you may need to make some changes. Consider saving more, investing differently, putting off your planned retirement date, or adjusting how much you plan to spend in retirement. 5. Derisk your portfolio As you get within 10 years of retirement, you'll want to make sure that your asset allocation can help protect your retirement plan from getting derailed by market volatility. If equity losses happen early on in your retirement, you can spend from your safer assets and wait until the market recovers to pull from your stock portfolio. By thinking about retirement preemptively, you'll have a better sense of when you want to retire and what you want it to be like. Plus, you can make any course corrections needed to make it happen. ___ This article was provided to The Associated Press by Morningstar. For more personal finance content, go to
