10 Foreign Utility Stocks To Consider

ByGary Jakacky:By comparing the performance of the SPDRS S&P 500 Index Trust ETF (SPY) to its 9 component sector Spyders, investors can sometimes obtain clues to how the economy will perform in the near future. In this article I want to highlight how two of the sector ETFs, both underperformers, are sending a consistent, in fact an optimistic, message about the economy for 2013.

By David Hunkar: The STOXX® Europe 600 Utilities Index can be considered as a proxy for the European utility sector. The index is comprised of 25 utilities from the continent. As of November 25, 2012, the index is down over 58% in the past five years in U.S. dollar terms. Since 2008, the index has been on a downtrend trend as shown in the chart below.

By Alex Rasmussen:For investors looking to capitalize on sector trends, the Select Sector SPDR ETFs are a great option. Established and with significant volume, liquidity is not an issue for any of these ETFs. In order to find out how to best position our portfolios for 2012, I thought I'd break it down into three steps: Take a look at Past Performance Macro Discussion Valuation of Holdings Past Performance

David Hunkar submits: Currently the S&P 500 has a dividend yield of about 2%. Investors looking for higher yields can invest in overseas companies which offer much higher yields. Generally utilities and financials tend to have higher payouts. Though most foreign firms pay dividends once or twice a year, the paid out dividends will be significantly higher. Due to tax implications it is advisable to hold high dividend-paying foreign stocks in a taxable account.

By Visual Capitalist:Is now the time to rotate away from the defensive sectors and into the undervalued and under-owned metals and mining sector? Extremely high levels of recent insider buying in mining stocks suggest so.

By Bret Jensen:One of the keys to achieving outperformance as an investor is being aware of and taking advantage of sector rotations within the market. A lot of a portfolio's yearly performance is due to allocations to the right sectors, not necessarily the right stocks. A good example of this in 2012 was investments in the refinery sector.

By Moby Waller:As we have entered November, 2011 has turned into yet another year where "buy and hold" of the major market indices hasn't really worked. The 4 major U.S. stock index ETFs are mixed on the year: Year-to-Date (YTD) performance:

Tom Lydon submits: Exchange traded funds that invest in utilities stocks have endured the market’s recent turbulence relatively well as investors have shown a preference for more defensive sectors. Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (NYSEArca: XLU) is up 6.4% year to date, compared with a 2.7% gain for the S&P 500, according to Morningstar.