ETF Alternatives: For those looking to tilt exposure towards smaller companies, both the small cap BRF and mid cap (BRAZ) ETFs could be interesting. For exposure that is nearly identical to EWZ, the currency hedged DBBR offers access to Brazil without exposure to the value of the Brazilian currency.
20. COMEX Gold Trust (IAU)
Overview: The inclusion of two physical gold ETFs on a list of the 20 largest ETFs highlights how popular this asset class has become.
ETF Alternatives: Besides IAU and GLD, there are two other physical gold ETFs: SGOL holds bullion in Swiss vaults while AGOL stores its gold in Singapore. There are also plenty of options for achieving exposure to gold through stocks of companies that produce and extract the metal; in addition to the ultra-popular GDX, GGGG from Global X offers more of a pure play on gold mining stocks.
Michael Johnston is a senior analyst at ETFdb. ETFdb offers a comprehensive and original ETF database and analytical consulting services for advisors and investors, as well as a free newsletter. Learn more about their services by visiting ETFdb.com. Disclosure: the author was long BRF at the time of writing.