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WisdomTree Investments (NASDAQ: WETF ) is the name of the game in the currency-hedged equities ETFs space. Though other big issuers like State Street and bellwether iShares of BlackRock are now looking to beef up their currency-hedged portfolio, WisdomTree seems in no mood to give up its top rank among the currency-hedged ETFs’ space (read: Can Anyone Match WisdomTree in Currency-Hedged ETFs? ). After all, the investing paradigm will now be in focus as the Fed is on the course of policy tightening and the most developed economies are walking along the easy-money path. Among them, the Euro zone and the Japan are under the spell of QE polices. Thanks to this policy differential, the greenback will likely gain strength in the coming days while other developed currencies will lose it. Probably this is why WisdomTree rolled out four currency-hedged ETFs lately, each with a focus on dividends. Let’s delve a little deeper: WisdomTree Dynamic Currency Hedged International Equity Fund (BATS: DDWM ) The newly launched fund seeks to provide exposure to dividend-paying companies in the industrialized world ex U.S. and Canada while hedging exposure to fluctuations between the U.S. dollar and foreign currencies (read : 2 Excellent Dividend Growth ETFs in Focus ). With this focus, the index currently holds a well-diversified basket with HSBC Holdings, Nestle SA and GlaxoSmithKline Plc as the top three holdings. In fact, the fund also provides a nice exposure to various sectors. Financials tops the list with 47.9% allocation, followed by Industrials with 24.5%, Consumer Staples with 23.4% and Consumer Discretionary with 22.9% of the basket. Country-wise, United Kingdom and Japan get double-digit exposure. The fund charges 35 bps in fees. Competition: The newly launched product is likely to face competition from quite a number of funds prevalent in the global equities space. Still, a few ETFs can emerge as strong contenders. The db X-trackers MSCI All World ex US Hedged Equity Fund (NYSEARCA: DBAW ) and the MSCI All World ex US High Dividend Yield Hedged Equity ETF (NYSEARCA: HDAW ) are some of the examples. WisdomTree Dynamic Currency Hedged International SmallCap Equity Fund (BATS: DDLS ) The fund looks to track the small-cap dividend-paying companies of the industrialized economy outside of the U.S. and Canada while offering currency-hedging exposure. The fund is pretty well spread out across components with no firm making up more than 0.56% of assets. Salmar ASA, Cofinimmo and Ladbrokes Plc are the top three holdings of the index. The ETF is skewed toward Industrials (48.8%), Consumer Discretionary (41.2%) and Financials (35.6%). In terms of country allocation, Japan (27.9%), U.K. (16.3%) and Australia (10.9%) take the leading positions. The fund’s net expense ratio is 0.43% annually. Competition: The foreign mid and small cap equities ETF space is relatively less jam-packed. In the set, while non-hedged small-cap ETFs like the FTSE All-World ex-US Small Cap Index ETF (NYSEARCA: VSS ) and the FTSE RAFI Developed Markets ex-U.S. Small-Mid Portfolio ETF (NYSEARCA: PDN ) pose as threats, products like the Currency Hedged MSCI EAFE Small-Cap ETF (NYSEARCA: HSCZ ) may give direct competition. WisdomTree Dynamic Currency Hedged Europe Equity Fund (BATS: DDEZ ) This one follows the same strategy with a focus on European stocks. In terms of country allocation, Germany, France, Spain and Italy are leading with double-digit exposure. Company-specific concentration risk is moderate with around 4.25% exposure. Anheuser-Busch InBev NV, Banco Santander SA and Total SA are the top three holdings of the fund. The fund has a tilt toward Financials (46.9%) while Industrials, Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples and Utilities account for considerable weight in the fund. The fund’s net expense ratio is 0.43% annually. Competition: The hedged Europe equities ETFs are teeming with products. The WisdomTree Europe Hedged Equity ETF (NYSEARCA: HEDJ ) , the Deutsche X-trackers MSCI Europe Hedged Equity ETF (NYSEARCA: DBEU ) and the ProShares Hedged FTSE Europe ETF (NYSEARCA: HGEU ) are to give neck-and-neck competition. WisdomTree Dynamic Currency Hedged Japan Equity Fund (BATS: DDJP ) Obviously, there will be a separate fund for Japan with the above-mentioned investment objective. WisdomTree already has several successful currency-hedged ETFs on Japan. Toyota Motors, NTT DoCoMo, Nippon Telegraph are the top three holdings of the fund. No stock accounts for more than 4.60% of the basket. Consumer Discretionary (41.9%), Industrials (39.4%) and Financials (33.1%) are the top three sectors of the fund. Competition: The likely peers of this newbie are the WisdomTree Japan Hedged Dividend Growth ETF (NYSEARCA: JHDG ) , the WisdomTree Japan Dividend Growth Fund (NYSEARCA: JDG ) and the Deutsche X-trackers MSCI Japan Hedged Equity ETF (NYSEARCA: DBJP ) . Link to the original article on Zacks.com Scalper1 News
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