Gaining Sector Exposure in Europe

Abstract

Investors can gain sector exposure in Europe with portfolio trades, exchange-traded funds, swaps, and futures. There are different factors investors should consider in choosing among these strategies, although the market impact of each strategy is similar because intermediaries usually use sector portfolio trades to facilitate a sector strategy. The main differences in performance arise because of holding costs. For each strategy, the after-tax dividend return can be different, a result that may outweigh additional costs such as management fees. Four different cases for long-term and short-term investors looking for long-and short-term exposure illustrate the trade-off between the costs and benefits of each strategy.