Don't let fears over the Greek debt crisis scare you away from a promising Europe ETF play.
After all, the European markets don't seem too concerned. Just look at the events that unfolded this week.
Greece presented to the Eurogroup - finally - its most detailed, explicit outline for reform yesterday (Thursday). Eurozone officials and bailout monitors holding 7.2 billion euros ($7.9 billion) in Greek bailout money on lock were unimpressed.
Reforms fell short of addressing labor and pension costs - conditions that populist Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras is loath to address. After all, it was his promise to fight for minimum wage increases and an end to austerity that swept him and his Syriza party to victory in January.
And Greece needs those 7.2 billion euros. Badly.
This week has seen a number of conflicting reports on the state of Greek finances.
Early yesterday, Reuters reported that Greece would run out of money on April 9. Greece's finance ministry later rebuffed those reports, saying it would have enough money to pay off 446.7 million euros ($490.3 million) in loan repayments due to the International Monetary Fund on April 13.
But even if Greece does pay off its IMF loan, does it have enough cash to rollover 2.4 billion euros ($2.6 billion) in treasuries that come due between April 14 and April 17?
And the debt payments don't stop there. In May, Greece needs to pony up another 744.5 million to repay principal on another IMF loan. Between May and July, Greece has to rollover 5.4 billion euros ($5.9 billion) in treasuries. In July, it has to pay 3.5 billion euros ($3.8 billion) on maturing bonds.
Those are the problems Greece is facing. It goes far beyond this single IMF loan that was bandied about in the financial press all this week.
The reports are so mixed that it's impossible to know for sure when Greece will exhaust its cash coffers.
But if Greece were on sound financial footing, it wouldn't have been seeking Chinese and Russian help.
And near the end of last month, reports surfaced that Prime Minster Tsipras' cousin went hat in hand to Tehran begging for money.
Greece can't repay its debts. This Greek debt crisis will only end in a default or a Greek exit - both of which have dire implications for the Eurozone.
And European markets hardly seem scathed by this.
That's why this Europe ETF play is a good way to jump in on the current investor indifference over Greece...
It's been known for a while that the Greek debt crisis wasn't going to end well. Despite this, the EuroStoxx 600, a broad Eurozone market index, is up 16.1%. It's traded up near 15-year highs.
So, is the European stock market concerned about Greece?
"Yeah, there's concern, but I think a lot of that got priced in," Money Morning Global Resource Specialist Peter Krauth said. "People are thinking, at the very least for now, 'There will be some sort of solution, even if it's some sort of compromise.'"
The central focus has been on European Central Bank President Mario Draghi's recently announced quantitative easing program, which aims to pump 1.1 trillion euros ($1.2 trillion) into the European financial sector by September 2016.
The limitations of Eurozone QE won't even allow Greece to take advantage of the ECB's bond-buying spree until some of its debt held on Eurosystem balance sheets matures in August. Even this one Band-Aid solution isn't addressing Greece, more evidence that those concerns have already been priced in in some fashion.
And that's why investors shouldn't worry too much about Greece.
One Europe ETF play provides a unique opportunity to add a little more to the upside in the near-term if you get in now.
That Europe ETF play is SPDR EuroStoxx 50 ETF (NYSE Arca: FEZ).
You see, since the euro bottomed mid-March at $1.0484, it has climbed back up a bit. It's up 4.7% to $1.0979. The euro is eventually going to fall to euro-dollar parity on a longer horizon, but not without a few rebounds on the way down.
"You benefit from the upside in European stocks and you benefit additionally from the potential upside in the euro right now," Krauth said.
FEZ is a good investment to get a piece of the surging European markets. And getting in sooner will add some positive alpha to those gains.
Looking for more exchange-traded funds to invest globally? You may want to give China a look. If you aren't investing in China yet, here are two Chinese ETF picks to get yourself started on investing in one of the most promising emerging markets...
