BLK - BlackRock

XEU ETF Review: Europe underperforms S&P 500

Affiliate Disclosure

The XEU ETF provides exposure to a broadly diversified portfolio of European stocks. It replicates the performance of the MSCI Europe Investable Market Index, net of expenses.

The ETF tracks more than 1,300 companies. The Index covers ~99% of the free float-adjusted market capitalization of the European Markets.

XEU’s current principal investment strategy is the Sampling Strategy.

Pros of iShares XEU ETF

  • It seeks to provide long-term capital growth.
  • It provides exposure to a broad range of large, mid, and small-cap equities from 15 developed markets in Europe.
  • It provides international diversification.

Cons of iShares XEU ETF

  • Diversification limited only to Europe.
  • It is a relatively smaller ETF with assets worth just CAD $300M.
  • Expensive with MER of 0.28% when compared to VGK ETF.
  • XEU is not hedged to CAD.

iShares XEU ETF Facts

  • Inception Date: April 15, 2014
  • Benchmark: MSCI Europe Investable Market Index
  • Net Assets: $301M
  • MER: 0.28%
  • 12 Month Trailing Yield: 1.90%
  • Distribution Yield: 1.72%
  • Dividend Schedule: Semi-annual

iShares XEU MER – Management Expense Ratio 

XEU’s management fee stands at 0.25% and MER is 0.28%. Your other options are BMO’s ZEQ ETF and Vanguard’s VGK ETF with an MER of 0.45% and 0.08% respectively.

The MER is what Blackrock takes to manage the fund for you. It’s much cheaper than mutual funds and in some cases cheaper than investing on your own.

Mutual funds can charge over 2% and it robs you of your returns. It’s time to ditch your mutual funds and switch to ETF ASAP. Many brokers such as Questrade offer free ETFs.

iShares XEU Performance

The annual rate of return for iShares XEU ETF since inception is 7.02%. It has underperformed the broader S&P 500 index.

Why take the risk on Europe then …

XEU vs TSX vs SP500 2021
Dividend Adjusted Chart by Stock Rover - Try it out.

The annual rate of return for iShares XEU ETF since inception is 7.02%. When you compare with my annual ROR of 14.40%, there is a big difference. Just look at the S&P500 index to get a different perspective.

Take your TFSA account as an example. The rules are the same for everyone and I mean everyone. The growth is ultimately a factor of your investment performance provided you make your TFSA contribution limit every year. The annual performance of an ETF matters as you can see below the growth over 20+ years.

wdt_ID Year Yearly Limit Cumulative 5% Growth 10% Growth Dividend Earner Spousal
1 2009 5,000 5,000 5,250 5,500 Not Tracked Not Started
2 2010 5,000 10,000 10,762 11,550 Not Tracked Not Started
3 2011 5,000 15,000 16,550 18,205 Not Tracked Not Started
4 2012 5,000 20,000 22,628 25,525 Not Tracked Not Started
5 2013 5,500 25,500 29,534 34,128 $41,742 Not Started
6 2014 5,500 31,000 36,786 43,590 $52,820 Not Started
7 2015 10,000 41,000 49,125 58,949 $56,307 Not Started
8 2016 5,500 46,500 57,356 70,984 $70,200 Not Started
9 2017 5,500 52,000 65,999 84,034 $78,900 $13,308
10 2018 5,500 57,500 75,074 98,487 $96,937 $58,818
11 2019 6,000 63,500 85,128 114,986 $129,467 $82,596
12 2020 6,000 69,500 95,684 133,030 $153,993 $95,906
13 2021 6,000 75,500 106,769 152,933 $181,601 $113,194
14 2022 6,000 81,500 118,407 174,827 $183,031 $144,633
15 2023 6,500 88,000 131,152 199,459 $217,738 YTD $167,963 YTD
16 2024 7,000 95,000 145,061 227,105
17 2025 7,000 102,000 159,664 257,516
18 2026 7,000 109,000 174,997 290,967
19 2027 7,000 116,000 191,097 327,764
20 2028 7,500 123,500 208,526 368,791
21 2029 7,500 131,000 226,828 413,920
22 2030 7,500 138,500 246,044 463,562
23 2031 7,500 146,000 266,221 518,168
24 2032 7,500 153,500 287,407 578,235
25 2033 7,500 161,000 309,653 644,308
26 2034 7,500 168,500 333,011 716,989
27 2035 7,500 176,000 357,536 796,938
28 2036 7,500 183,500 383,288 884,881
29 2037 7,500 191,000 410,327 981,620
30 2038 7,500 198,500 438,719 1,088,032

iShares XEU ETF Holdings

XEU ETF is a good way of investing in the top European companies.

Nestle is its most significant holding with 2.6% weightage, followed by ASML Holding with a ~2% allocation. Roche Holding is its third-largest holding, accounting for 1.8% of iShares XEU’s fund allocation.

XEU’s allocation is not heavily weighted on its top 10 holdings. The top 10 holdings also include Europe’s leading pharma companies like Roche Holding, Novartis, and AstraZeneca and consumer-focused companies like Nestle, Unilever, and LVMH making it a necessity-based portfolio.

European stocks like Nestle SA and SAP constitute some of the world’s biggest and best-known companies.

iShares XEU ETF Sector Allocation

The ETF is inclined towards the Financials sector with ~17% of asset allocation towards this sector. Overall, 65% of the ETF is exposure to financials, industrials, healthcare, consumer discretionary and staples.

However, these allocations may change from time to time. Energy ranks low on this fund’s allocation list as compared to other popular Canadian ETFs like XDV, XIU, XIC, etc., while healthcare, consumer discretionary and consumer staples rank high on the list.

wdt_ID Sector Ratio
1 Financials 16.41
2 Utilities 4.03
3 Communication Services 4.03
4 Consumer Cyclical 12.09
5 Energy 4.05
6 Basic Materials 7.73
7
8 Industrials 15.90
9 Consumer Defensive 11.56
10 Real Estate 2.53
11 Cash 0.57
12 Technology 8.09
13 Healthcare 13.00

Why hold iShares XEU ETF

XEU, when you look at the sectors, tends to cover the opposite of what Canadian ETFs cover.

If you like XIU, XEU is possibly an interesting option to maintain a similar performance but to expose your money to a different type of businesses and a much larger economy.

XEU vs XDV vs XIU 2021
Dividend Adjusted Chart by Stock Rover - Try it out.

If you want the dividends, it’s not clear you will get the same growth but the the best banks and the best utility stocks will give you more income.