MSCI EAFE

The MSCI EAFE is a stock market index of foreign stocks, from the perspective of a North American investor. The index is market capitalization weighted (meaning that the weight of securities is determined based on their respective market capitalizations.) It first ranks each stock in the investable universe from largest to smallest by market capitalization. Basically, the largest 70% will comprise the MSCI EAFE Large Cap (new index), the largest 85% will comprise the MSCI EAFE Standard, and the largest 99% will comprise the MSCI Investable Market index (“IMI”). The 71st to 85th percentiles represent the MSCI EAFE Mid Cap, and the 85th to 99th percentiles represent the MSCI EAFE Small Cap. It is maintained by Morgan Stanley Capital International; the EAFE acronym stands for "Europe, Australasia, and Far East".

The index includes a selection of stocks from 21 developed markets, but excludes those from the U.S. and Canada. The index has been calculated since 31 December 1969, making it the oldest truly international stock index. It is probably the most common benchmark for foreign stock funds.

List of countries

Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom

Weights of countries

Europe (excluding United Kingdom) 45.268%
United Kingdom 23.712%
Japan 22.555%
Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan) 8.465%

(as of 12/31/06)

Annual Returns

Returns are calculated on a total return basis, which includes reinvestment of gross dividends before deduction of withholding taxes.

ee also

References