Nordic ETF Showdown

For over a year now, investing in Europe has been a tricky bet to put it kindly, but there has been a stark, positive exception to that rule. While the PIGS have floundered, weighing on other Eurozone members in the process, the Nordic region has offered not only refuge, but positive returns as well. When it comes to ETFs, investors have three primary choices to hone in on the region that is the safer alternative for European investing. The iShares MSCI Sweden Index

is the king of the Nordic ETF castle with over $664.3 million in assets under management and more than 15 years on the market. The Global X FTSE Nordic ETF

is nearly two-years old and has accumulated almost $33.4 million in AUM and the Global X FTSE Norway 30 ETF

is the new kid on the block, having made its debut in November. To NORW's credit, it has garnered nearly $50 million in AUM in just six months. GXF is clearly the choice for investors that want exposure to the entire region. Well, Iceland is excluded and that's probably a good thing. Sweden accounts for more than 47% of the ETF's weight and Denmark chips in another 20%, making GXF the best bet to get some Danish exposure. Norway and Finland combine for the rest of GXF's country allocation. GXF is up almost 26% in the past year. To be exact, the ETF is up 25.65%, a performance that beats EWD by a tenth of a percent. That's not a knock on EWD or Sweden. In fact, investors that are looking for ex-U.S. developed markets exposure would do well to tune into Sweden's story. The country's economy is expected to grow at double the clip of the European Union this year and tax cuts are being planned to facilitate even more growth. NORW hasn't been a slouch either, returning 17.2% since its November debut. The allure here is a 28.2% sector allocation to energy and an almost 19% weight to Statoil

, Norway's largest oil company. As Norway is a major non-OPEC oil producer, NORW is an interesting way to hedge against rising oil prices. Norway's economy, which was essentially unscathed by the global financial crisis, is chugging along with a 3.6% unemployment rate (that's nearly 6% better than the Eurozone) and the government has a 9.5% budget surplus that would make plenty of other developed markets envious. Combining the bullish thesis behind both Norway and Sweden, it looks like EWD and NORW are sound bets, but it also makes one wonder why GXF hasn't received more fanfare.