The accompanying table [click to enlarge] includes statistics for all 82 companies in the ETF Innovators [ETFI] Scandinavian Select Nordic Region Index, which was last updated in mid-December.
This index tracks the performance of companies in the Nordic Region with market caps over $1B U.S. Dollars and would include the Top 35 Rated Companies as a new idea for a semi-active ETF with quarterly rebalancing as compared to the pending passive ETF for the Nordic Region filed by Global X which will track the 30 largest and most liquid stocks in the region based on the FTSE 30 Nordic Index.
The closest benchmark ETF on the market is iShares Sweden (EWD), which is down by 49% in the past year while related European ETFs are also in the red in the past 52 weeks – including iShares S&P Europe 350 (IEV) (-44.7%) and Vanguard European Stock (VGK) (-44.1%). The OMX Nordic 40 Index is not currently tracked by an ETF, but is down 49.4% in the past year as a proxy of the 40 largest and most liquid companies in Scandinavia.
Only six companies in the index have NYSE or Nasdaq listed ADRs, including NVO, StatOilHydro (STO) – Energy, Torm (TRMD) – Maritime Transport, Ericsson (ERIC) + Nokia (NOK) – Telecom & Wireless Communications, and Autoliv (ALV) – Supplier of Auto Safety Systems. The top five companies by market cap in descending order include NOK, STO, NVO, Hennes & Mauritz (HNNMY), and ERIC.
Former high-flyers in the index which have now posted large declines in market value in the past year include Vestas Wind Systems (VWDRY) – Wind Energy, Yara International (YARIY) – Fertilizers, Norsk Hydro (NHYDY) – Aluminum, SeaDrill (SDRLF) – Offshore Drilling, and Torm (TRMD) – Maritime Transport.
With many of the Nordic companies highly leveraged to economic growth (i.e. energy, basic materials, transports, and financials), the region will be one to watch along with maritime transport companies , the Baltic Dry Index, and commodity prices for signs of a turnaround in the global economy and a return to growth.
Legend of Symbols Used in Table: ADR – for NYSE or Nasdaq listed companies, DC – Denmark (Copenhagen), FH – Finland (Helsinki), NO – Norway (Oslo), SS – Sweden (Stockholm)
$15.32 (01/08/09)
