ETFriday: Single-Country Europe Claims Half the Ranks While Gold Miners Sit on a 15% Drawdown

This Week's Setup

Single-country ETFs claim five of the top nine Pixie Ranks, led by Italy at rank two with a 6.8 percent earnings yield just 2.6 percent off its 52-week high and the Netherlands at rank three posting a 5.0 percent yield on a 5.1 percent drawdown.

Emerging markets split the scoreboard between democracy-proxy funds and small-cap U.S. exposure, with FRDM at rank one delivering a 4.8 percent earnings yield on a 9.6 percent drawdown while IJR sits at rank four with a 5.4 percent yield and 3.8 percent decline from the high.

Energy and gold miners anchor the back half of the list, XLE trading 0.6 percent from its peak at a 4.8 percent yield and GDX sitting on a 14.8 percent drawdown with a 5.9 percent earnings yield as gold-equity leverage remains out of favor.

Quick Scan

The 8 Names

1. Freedom 100 Emerging Markets ETF (FRDM)

3y annualized return: n/a | Life annualized return: 17.4% | 52w drawdown: -9.6%

FRDM screens for emerging-market democracies and posts a 4.8 percent earnings yield on a 20.9 P/E, the widest exposure to political-risk-adjusted growth on the screener this week. The fund sits 9.6 percent below its 52-week high while delivering a yield spread just 0.03 percent above the 10-year Treasury, positioning it as the cleanest way to own EM equity risk without state-owned enterprise overhang.

Barron's reported the end of commission-free ETF trading at select platforms, potentially reshuffling passive flows back toward broad-market products and away from thematic funds. iShares analysts flagged three emerging-market funds beating the S&P 500 by 30 percentage points year-to-date, underscoring momentum in the asset class FRDM targets with governance filters.

The fund carries no dividend yield and no FCF yield data, leaving income-focused allocators without a cash-return anchor if price appreciation stalls in a Fed tightening cycle.

2. iShares MSCI Italy ETF (EWI)

3y annualized return: n/a | Life annualized return: 9.1% | 52w drawdown: -2.6%

Italy trades at a 14.8 P/E and delivers a 6.8 percent earnings yield, the tightest valuation relative to earnings power on the screener. The fund sits 2.6 percent from its 52-week high with a 2.0 percent yield spread over the 10-year Treasury, marking the strongest risk-adjusted entry point among European single-country funds this week.

Monte dei Paschi, Italy's oldest bank, closed a restructuring chapter that Bloomberg called a "Renaissance plot twist," removing a systemic overhang that weighed on Italian financials for a decade. Separately, a Parmesan cheese dairy secured a €10 million loan against aging wheels of Parmigiano, signaling credit availability down to agricultural supply chains and reflecting confidence in real-asset collateral.

The fund's 1.89 price-to-book ratio is the highest among single-country Europe exposures on the screen, suggesting equity premiums already price in the recovery narrative and leave limited multiple expansion room if earnings disappoint.

3. iShares MSCI Netherlands ETF (EWN)

3y annualized return: n/a | Life annualized return: 11.6% | 52w drawdown: -5.1%

Netherlands posts a 5.0 percent earnings yield on a 20.2 P/E with a 5.1 percent drawdown, landing it in the moderate-dip zone while maintaining a 0.18 percent yield spread over the 10-year Treasury. The fund's 1.29 price-to-book is the lowest among eurozone single-country plays on the screen, indicating equity valuation discipline relative to tangible asset backing.

The fund carries just a 0.67 percent dividend yield, the second-lowest on the screener, offering no income cushion if European growth slows and capital appreciation stalls. One-year trend momentum sits at 0.11 percent, the weakest directional signal among the top four Pixie Ranks.

Netherlands exposure concentrates heavily in multinational industrials and semiconductors, both of which face input-cost pressure and China demand sensitivity if global trade volumes contract in the second half of 2026.

4. iShares Core S&P Small-Cap ETF (IJR)

3y annualized return: n/a | Life annualized return: 12.5% | 52w drawdown: -3.8%

IJR sits 3.8 percent from its 52-week high and delivers a 5.4 percent earnings yield with a 0.62 percent spread over the 10-year Treasury, the tightest near-high valuation among domestic equity funds on the screener. The fund's 1.33 price-to-book and 18.6 P/E position it as the most attractively priced small-cap core exposure relative to IWM or VB, both of which carry higher multiples on comparable drawdowns.

Motley Fool published a head-to-head comparison of SPSM and IJR, concluding IJR offers superior factor balance for value-conscious allocators. 24/7 Wall St. reported institutional preference for IWM over IJR or VB, signaling flow concentration in the Russell 2000 tracker and potential relative undervaluation in the S&P 600 product IJR tracks.

The fund's 0.87 percent dividend yield trails both Sweden and Italy on the screener, limiting its appeal to income strategies and leaving total return dependent on multiple expansion or earnings growth that small-caps have struggled to deliver consistently since mid-2025.

5. iShares MSCI Sweden ETF (EWD)

3y annualized return: n/a | Life annualized return: 8.4% | 52w drawdown: -2.9%

Sweden posts a 6.2 percent earnings yield on a 16.2 P/E with a 2.7 percent dividend yield, the highest income component on the screener and a 1.41 percent spread over the 10-year Treasury. The fund sits 2.9 percent from its 52-week high, matching Italy's near-peak positioning while delivering twice the dividend income.