U.S. President Donald Trump has accomplished a near-impossible task in getting investors to diversify their portfolios. Exposure to international markets is foundational diversification, but it’s been a struggle to get investors interested. U.S. stocks have outperformed massively, and domestic stocks have a perennial advantage through the home-country bias of Canadian investors. International stocks – who needs them? In the global trade war that began in early 2025, a lot of investors decided they very much need international exposure. Money poured into this fund category at levels many times higher than usual. If you’re looking to markets outside North America, this edition of the 2025 Globe and Mail ETF Buyer’s Guide can help. All the funds presented are suitable for core exposure to developed international markets, which are dominated by exposure to Europe and Asia. Japan is the top holding in all cases, generally followed by Britain and France. Canada and the United States are excluded. Many of these funds come in versions with and without currency hedging, which eliminates the effect of fluctuations in the value of our dollar on returns. Unhedged funds are more popular for the most part, and thus they’re the focus in this edition of the ETF guide. It’s widely thought that hedging is unnecessary if you’re a long-term investor holding a diversified group of international stocks. This year’s ETF Buyer’s Guide has so far covered Canadian equity and bond funds and U.S. equity funds. Still to come: Canadian dividend funds and asset allocation funds. For the tax implications of holding international funds in a non-registered account, consult our ETF tax primer. (tgam.ca/ETF-tax-primer). Here’s a look at the investing terms used in the ETF Buyer’s Guide: Assets: Shown to give you a sense of how interested other investors are in a fund. Management expense ratio (MER): The main cost of owning an ETF on a continuing basis; published returns are shown on an after-fee basis. Trading expense ratio (TER): Reflects the cost of stock trading to maintain the portfolio. TERs tend to be much larger for international equity ETFs than other fund categories. Yield: An annualized number based on the latest dividend payout. Dividends from international stocks are not eligible for the dividend tax credit in non-registered accounts. 50-day trading volume: Average number of shares traded daily over the previous 50 days; it’s easier to buy and sell at competitive prices if an ETF is heavily traded. Returns: Shown on an annualized total return basis, which means share price changes plus –dividends. Launch date: The older an ETF is, the more likely it is that you can look back at a history of returns through good markets and bad. Download the source excel here. Are you a young Canadian with money on your mind? To set yourself up for success and steer clear of costly mistakes, listen to our award-winning Stress Test podcast.