Funds: Buy sectors, not whole markets

Investing in industry sector funds is a better way to get a diversified equity portfolio than just selecting broad market benchmarks, says Paul Amery.

When putting together a portfolio of equity exchange-traded funds (ETFs), many investors think no further than country indices: the FTSE 100, CAC 40, S&P 500, and so on. But they may not be investing in the most efficient way, say researchers at French business school Edhec. Investing in industry sector funds is a better way to get a diversified equity portfolio than just selecting broad market benchmarks, they argue.

In Europe, there's an increasingly popular range of 19 sector ETFs based on the Stoxx 600 Index, which includes stocks from 18 countries across the region. A Stoxx 600 oil and gas ETF will get you exposure to BP, Total, Shell, BG, Italy's ENI and Norway's Statoil in one swoop. All major ETF providers offer their own versions, but only db x-trackers has the full range listed in London (these should be capital-gains tax-eligible as they have all applied for or received 'distributor' status but do check).

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Paul Amery

Paul is a multi-award-winning journalist, currently an editor at New Money Review. He has contributed an array of money titles such as MoneyWeek, Financial Times, Financial News, The Times, Investment and Thomson Reuters. Paul is certified in investment management by CFA UK and he can speak more than five languages including English, French, Russian and Ukrainian. On MoneyWeek, Paul writes about funds such as ETFs and the stock market.