Bethesda, MD — June 23, 2015 — ProShares, a premier provider of alternative ETFs, today announced the launch of two
currency hedged equity ETFs: ProShares Hedged FTSE Europe ETF (HGEU) and ProShares Hedged FTSE Japan ETF (HGJP).
Not exact matches
These include
currency -
hedged ETFs, triple - levered ETFs based on commodities, unconstrained bond funds with short positions betting against U.S. Treasurys, private
equity funds, emerging market debt instruments, historically less - liquid bank loan funds, and all manner of actively managed strategies packaged in supposedly easy to buy and sell wrappers.
It's important to weigh the pros and cons of investing in an EM
equity fund that
hedges currency risk, versus investing in one that offers
currency exposure.
A number of factors — such as rising US interest rates, the recurrence of big fluctuations in global
currencies, and the widening dispersion of
equity returns across sectors and regions — may have helped to create an increasingly conducive environment for
hedge - fund strategies, which have seen a positive turnaround in performance in recent quarters.
«We're long Japan
equities —
currency hedged — and think it still offers attractive valuation,» says Sheets.
And as they do, U.S. investors should preferably gain that exposure via instruments that seek to
hedge the foreign
currency impact, as dollar strength means
equity gains in local
currency terms will be muted when translated back into U.S. dollars.
A
currency - hedged take on German equities, the iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Germany ETF (HEWG D - 42), helps tell that tale, with gains of 15.4 percent in less than two
currency -
hedged take on German equities, the iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Germany ETF (HEWG D - 42), helps tell that tale, with gains of 15.4 percent in less than two m
hedged take on German
equities, the iShares
Currency Hedged MSCI Germany ETF (HEWG D - 42), helps tell that tale, with gains of 15.4 percent in less than two
Currency Hedged MSCI Germany ETF (HEWG D - 42), helps tell that tale, with gains of 15.4 percent in less than two m
Hedged MSCI Germany ETF (HEWG D - 42), helps tell that tale, with gains of 15.4 percent in less than two months.
Adjusted EBITDA is defined as net income / (loss) from continuing operations before interest expense, other expense / (income), net, provision for / (benefit from) income taxes; in addition to these adjustments, the Company excludes, when they occur, the impacts of depreciation and amortization (excluding integration and restructuring expenses)(including amortization of postretirement benefit plans prior service credits), integration and restructuring expenses, merger costs, unrealized losses / (gains) on commodity
hedges, impairment losses, losses / (gains) on the sale of a business, nonmonetary
currency devaluation (e.g., remeasurement gains and losses), and
equity award compensation expense (excluding integration and restructuring expenses).
Currently, we're invested in
currency -
hedged ETFs as a way to
hedge some of our emerging market exposure, and we've used them in the past as a way to
hedge our European
equity exposure from a falling euro.
COMEX synthetic gold and related over-the-counter derivatives are traded in macro strategies implemented by
hedge funds, HFT's, and commodity funds in pair trades with interest rate,
currencies,
equity futures, or even more exotic offsets.
Currency hedging is expensive and difficult for private investors, so I wouldn't worry too much about it provided you've got a long time horizon and you're spreading your
equity buying across the world.
«GEM (Local)» is when foreign investors trade permanently on their local stock exchange using
currency -
hedged ETFs for both
equity and bond trades.
With Japanese
equities, investors should seek a balanced exposure between exporters and domestic companies and — for now — the
currency should remain
hedged.
Oakmark International Fund: The percentages of
hedge exposure for each foreign
currency are calculated by dividing the market value of all same -
currency forward contracts by the market value of the underlying
equity exposure to that
currency.
Oakmark Global Fund: The percentages of
hedge exposure for each foreign
currency are calculated by dividing the market value of all same -
currency forward contracts by the market value of the underlying
equity exposure to that
currency.
He's an independent trader, successful
hedge fund manager, global macro consultant, trading foreign
currencies bonds commodities and
equities for over 40 years.
Yra Harris is an independent trader, successful
hedge fund manager, global macro consultant while trading foreign
currencies, bonds, commodities and
equities for almost 40 years.
Investors looking to access eurozone
equities may want to consider iShares MSCI Eurozone ETF (EZU), iShares
Currency Hedged MSCI Eurozone ETF (HEZU), or iShares Core MSCI Europe ETF (IEUR).
These features are incorporated into the Barra Integrated Model, which spans global stocks, bonds, commodities,
currencies, volatility futures,
hedge funds and private
equity.
«However, over the past year, more
equity fund managers began
hedging currency risk,» he says.
Apparently, he is a Dutch
hedge fund manager, investor, and writer specialising in trading in
equities,
currencies and financial derivatives.
Bottom line: We remain overweight Japanese
equities (
currency -
hedged in the case of non-Japanese investors), and prefer stocks with greater foreign earnings growth.
Finally, the long - term strength in the dollar boosts the case for considering strategies that can help insulate an international
equity portfolio from the impact of weak foreign
currencies, such as
currency hedged exchanged traded funds (ETFs).
The asset - weighted average expense ratio for
currency hedged European
equity ETFs was 0.56 % and for
currency hedged Japanese ETFs was 0.47 %.
You have to
hedge, but you're taking an
equity risk, an
equity that's already risky, and
hedging away
currency risk, which is a little bit of risk that's added to
equity.
So far this year, we have seen a ravenous interest from U.S. investors in
currency -
hedged equity exposure.
The reality, as I've pointed out in previous posts, is quite different:
currency -
hedging funds significantly lag the returns of foreign
equity investors year after year.
They owned Altamira Canadian Index, TD International
Equity Index
Currency -
Hedged and US Index and the actively managed TD Canadian Bond.
I have no view on the direction of
currency movements, but I do prefer unhedged
equity ETFs, because
currency diversification can lower the volatility of a portfolio, and the cost of
hedging is a long - term drag on returns.
My model portfolios recommend US and international
equity index funds that do not
hedge their
currency exposure.
A portfolio manager who must purchase foreign securities with a heavy dividend component for an
equity fund could
hedge risk by entering into a
currency swap.
Not long ago, index investors were asking why it was so hard to find an international
equity ETF without
currency hedging, but iShares changed that in April with launch of the iShares MSCI EAFE IMI (XEF).
There is a lot more to say on the topic of foreign
equity ETFs, including suggestions on how you can dramatically lower that 1.5 %
currency exchange fee, and a look at whether the
currency hedging in Canadian ETFs is really a good deal.
I'm not sure why, but US - listed ETFs tend not to use
currency hedging for international
equities.
Last week I discussed
currency hedging as it applies to international
equity ETFs.
US and international
equity ETFs
hedge currency risk using futures contracts.
Investors seem to be falling out of love with
currency hedging, which causes a long - term drag on returns for Canadians who invest in US
equities, and ETF providers are responding.
The original Global Couch Potato portfolio used
currency hedging in its US and international
equity funds.
XWD holds approximately equal amounts of US and international
equities (plus a trivial allocation to Canada), but unlike XSP and XIN it does not
hedge currency.
I offered a couple of my own: an international
equity ETF that doesn't use
currency hedging, and an international bond ETF.
Beyond this, you must also consider their sector representation (some of the Canadian
equity ETFs, for instance, have large financial sector exposure) as well as whether a CAD
currency hedge (aimed at removing their foreign
currency risk) is something for you or not.
Meanwhile, using the S&P 500 as a
hedge covers broad
equity risk while leaving some of our
currency exposure unhedged, which is intentional.
To the extent that we use international futures to
hedge, we can
hedge the
equity risk, the
currency fluctuations, or both.
Hedging foreign exchange risk resulting from global
equity exposure is entirely reasonable when foreign
currencies appear expensive and likely to take a nosedive versus the Canadian dollar.
On a more structural basis, Canadian investors may have a higher bar for considering a foreign
currency hedge in their global
equity book, since the volatility dampening properties of the loonie typically have been beneficial — a stark contrast to the U.S. dollar which has tended to amplify risk.
While global
equities are historically more volatile for U.S. dollar investors than in local
currency terms, the Canadian dollar's procyclical nature has provided an almost natural
hedge that would have faded if foreign
currency exposure had been
hedged (see the chart below).
Investors wanting to avoid f / x risk have two unappetizing options: dial up their Canadian
equity exposure and miss some important sectors (such as health care & technology) or
currency -
hedge their investments.
There is one paper («Smart
Currency Hedging for Global
Equities» by Sanne De Boer, 2014) that has none of these errors.
The most dramatic example comes from early 2002 to late 2007, when the Canadian dollar soared from $ 0.62 USD to almost $ 1.09 USD, punishing investors who held U.S.
equity funds without
currency hedging.
During any period when the Canadian dollar rises in value (whether against the U.S. dollar or some other foreign
currency), using ETFs with
currency hedging will lead to higher returns in your foreign
equity investments.