New International Treasury Bond ETF
State Street Global Advisors recently launched a new exchange-traded fund focused on bonds. It’s the SPDR Lehman International Treasury Bond Fund (BWX). This new fund, which began trading on the American Stock Exchange Friday, Oct. 5, is the first international bond ETF available to U.S. investors.
This ETF carries an annual expense ratio of just 0.5%. That’s really low — considering you are getting access to a variety of international fixed income assets. To give you an idea of how varied BWX’s holdings are, consider that it provides exposure to 674 issues from 18 countries. Those issues are denominated in 11 currencies.
International bonds are an asset class that historically has had a low correlation with the U.S. stock and bond markets. So, if you’re looking for diversification at low cost and ease of entry, BWX is a new ETF that you just might want to consider.
Jim Woods is a 30-plus-year veteran of the markets with varied experience as a broker, hedge fund trader, financial writer, author and newsletter editor.
His books include co-authoring, “Billion Dollar Green: Profit from the Eco Revolution,” and “The Wealth Shield: How to Invest and Protect Your Money from Another Stock Market Crash, Financial Crisis or Global Economic Collapse.” He’s also ghostwritten many books and articles, as well as edited content for some of the investment industry’s biggest luminaries. Read more about Jim Woods.
