This Tech ETF Soars Despite Not Including Any US Stocks

Thanks to the likes of Apple Inc. AAPL, Microsoft CorporationMSFT, Facebook Inc FB and Alphabet Inc GOOG GOOGL, just to name a few, the technology sector is the best-performing group in the S&P 500 this year.

Technology's bullish ways are not confined to U.S. borders. Additionally, investors looking for exposure to the sector outside do not need to lean emerging markets stocks if that asset class is not suitable in terms of risk tolerance. Israel, a developed market, is home to some of the best-performing technology stocks in the world.

That sentiment is confirmed by the BlueStar TA-BIGITech Israel Tech ETF ITEQ. After hitting another record high Monday, the BlueStar TA-BIGITech Israel Tech ETF is up 28.1 percent year to date, meaning the Israel tech exchange-traded fund is outpacing the Technology Select Sector SPDR XLK by nearly 600 basis points.

Start-Up Nation

In the U.S., investors are familiar with tech-heavy locations, such as Silicon Valley in Northern California, Silicon Alley in New York and many more, including Austin and Los Angeles. However, Israel is every bit a credible destination for tech investors having been dubbed “start-up nation” in recent years.

Related Link: Tempting Tech ETFs

TA-BIGITech, ITEQ's underlying index, “is the broadest, deepest and most complete benchmark of the Israeli Global Technology sector. The index considers all Israeli companies regardless of listing venue and allows for the inclusion of companies operating in a range of industries from information technology to biotechnology to clean and sustainable agriculture and energy technology,” according to ITEQ's issuer.