iShares Continental European Equity Index Fund

Some of the world’s most prestigious and well-known brands can be found in Europe, from Nestlé and Volkswagen to L'Oréal and Airbus. Europe also offers a diverse mix of companies, from global technology businesses to a selection of the world’s most successful industrial and healthcare companies. Europe is a market that offers potentially rewarding opportunities for investors. It certainly has a place in a diversified investment portfolio.

Go passive?

Investors looking for an easy way to invest in the shares of European companies may wish to look at a tracker fund (also known as a passive fund). A tracker fund aims to deliver the same returns as that of the overall market, by investing in all the companies that make up that market. The iShares Continental European Equity Index Fund invests in over 500 companies that make up the index it is tracking, the FTSE World Europe ex UK Index.

The fund will automatically adjust how much it invests into the shares of each company every day to ensure it always looks the same as the index, and hence performs the same. Crucially, most passive funds are operated automatically rather than by a fund manager, which dramatically reduces their running costs.

Europe within a diversified portfolio

On their own, European economies are relatively small parts of the global stock market. But together, the region offers investors the potential to invest in some of the world’s most exciting growth companies. Europe is home to what is probably the most important company in the global semiconductor market. It’s also home to the world’s leading luxury goods producers, including brands such as Louis Vuitton, Cartier, and Gucci. And the world’s leading manufacturer and developer of diabetes care medication is a European company. Three unique businesses, all based in Europe. And just three reasons why Europe deserves a place in a diversified investment portfolio.

Tracker funds at Barclays

With thousands of different funds to choose from, it can seem like a big task to find the ones right for you. The Barclays Funds List is one way to help you narrow down the huge range of options available. We have selected 12 tracker funds which allow you to track the performance of different investment sectors at a low cost.

The tracker funds on our Funds List are selected solely on cost – those featured are simply the cheapest available tracker fund we offer in each sector where a relevant product is available. The funds included in this selection are reviewed every six months, in June and December.

If passive funds appeal to you, you may wish to look at the tracker funds in the Barclays Funds List. Find out more information on these funds.

Correct at the time of publishing.

To diversify your investment, you may like to consider our own Barclays Ready-made Investments (RMI). The RMI are just one example of a range of diversified funds which allow you to select the level of risk you are most comfortable with. These Barclays multi-asset funds invest in passive funds across a range of asset classes and regions, offering a globally diversified solution for investors. Ready-made Investments are not the only funds that we offer and they won’t be appropriate for everyone.

Past performance of the fund and its manager are not a reliable indicator of their future performance.

We don’t offer personal investment advice so if you’re unsure you should seek that independently.

Funds are designed for the long term so you should only consider them if you can stay invested for at least five years.

These are our current opinions but the future, as ever, is uncertain and outcomes may differ.

Read the Assessment of Value report for funds run by Barclays [PDF, 683KB].