During second quarter 2013, Germany and the Netherlands did better than the global EAFE average.
July returns continued this trend with the average from these select northern European countries beating the EAFE index by 3.80% (9.05% minus 5.25%). This is also better than the iShares Core S&P 500 (IVV) which only appreciated 5.08%.
Sweden led the pack and appreciated 11.02% during the month. iShares Sweden (EWD) is 30% Financials and 29% Industrials. Among the top ten holdings are Ericsson telecommunications, H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB clothing store, and AB Volvo vehicle manufacturer.
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Wealth Manager
Austin Fey is a Wealth Manager at Marotta Wealth Management, specializing in charitable giving and asset allocations. She is a regular contributor to our Marotta On Money articles, often giving advice to those just getting started in finance.
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David John Marotta is the Founder and President of Marotta Wealth Management. He played for the State Department chess team at age 11, graduated from Stanford, taught Computer and Information Science, and still loves math and strategy games. In addition to his financial writing, David is a co-author of The Haunting of Bob Cratchit.