EFG ETF

iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF holds over 300 international stocks with fundamental growth characteristics. EFG is diversified across a number of countries and sectors, with a focus on Japan and industrials. EFG has outperformed its parent index since inception, but it has been average over the last 7 years compared to other factor-based ETFs in the same stock universe.

Swiss regulatory concerns scuppered talks between private banks Julius Baer and EFG International over a potential tie-up worth some 15 billion Swiss francs ($17 billion), two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

Overall, ETFs pulled in $12.8 billion in capital last week, pushing the year-to-date inflows to $324.7 billion.

Shares in EFG International jumped on Thursday as rumors swirled that Swiss private bank Julius Baer could be on the verge of taking over its Zurich headquartered rival for 4.5 billion Swiss francs ($5 billion).

Swiss private bank Julius Baer held talks with EFG International about a potential takeover in recent months but the discussions have stopped, people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

Switzerland's private banking group Julius Baer is exploring a potential acquisition of rival EFG International , Bloomberg News reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.

International stocks look more appealing relative to the US. EFG provides each access to a growth tilted portfolio of developed equities overseas. Outperformance potential looks real and early.

iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF is invested in nearly 400 companies from developed markets excluding the U.S. and Canada. The EFG ETF implements a growth strategy based only on fundamental metrics and disregards price momentum, resulting in a low turnover and a good sector balance. EFG has outperformed its benchmark since inception and several competitors since 2018, but a momentum ETF by Invesco is far ahead.

iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF includes Japanese tech exposures, which may not be as competitive in the AI race and are vulnerable to the chips war with China. The addition of Japan makes the EFG ETF more expensive from a management fee perspective than IEUR. We think that Japan requires a more incisive approach and that EFG does not offer that at all. IEUR gives more margin of safety and has lower management fees.