The iShares MSCI Turkey ETF tracks the MSCI Turkey IMI 25/50 Index, which is a broad-based index of Turkish equities. With a population of over 84 million and a GDP of $719 billion in 2020, Turkey is one of the largest emerging markets. The Turkish economy is very diverse, with many strong sectors ranging from manufacturing to tourism.
Here are some important facts about this ETF:
- Net Assets: $285 million
- Date founded: March 26, 2008
- Expense ratio: 0.57%
- Yield: 3.56%
- Total holdings: 47
- Top three sectors: Industrials (23.33% of fund), materials (20.13%), financials (18.80%)
- Net fund flows (past year): $43.31 million
How has this ETF performed?
In the last 10 years, TUR has returned -45.2% to investors. During the same time period, the Vanguard Emerging Markets ETF (VWO) has returned 42.2% and the Vanguard S&P 500 (VOO) has returned 294.5%.
In the last 5 years, TUR has returned -27.8% compared to 32.2% for VWO and 108.3% for VOO.
In the last year, TUR has returned -2.1% compared to -8.9% for VWO and 10.2% for VOO.
What would a $10k investment made 10 years ago be worth today?
An investor who bought $10k worth of TUR, VWO and VOO ten years ago would have the following amounts today:
- TUR: $5.4k
- VWO: $14.2k
- VOO: $39.4k
In conclusion, if you are a US-based investor looking to invest in the Turkish market, TUR is the only ETF solely focused on the country. But this ETF has not delivered strong results for investors and has significantly underperformed both US and emerging market indexes since its inception.
If you are looking for an emerging market ETF to invest in for the long term, we recommend looking at other options. If you are looking at specifically Turkish investment opportunities, you should also look at Turkish ADRs which are for individual stocks.