This post is part of a special annual report -- Top Stock Picks '09 -- in which TheStockAdvisors.com asked 75 leading newsletter advisors to select their favorite investment for the new year.

"If emerging markets at 6-8 times earnings are not cheap I don't know what is," says Carl Delfeld of Chartwell Advisors, who eyes WisdomTree Emerging Market Small Cap (NYSE: DGS) as a top pick for 2009.

"Using the best historic measures, normalized earnings, book value, and free cash flow, stocks around the world are very cheap (although not as cheap in absolute terms or versus interest rates as they were in the 1930s or at the 1974 bottom).

"Nevertheless, the 4% dividend return on the S&P 500 exceeds the yield on the ten and thirty year Treasury bonds for the first time in fifty years. If emerging market equities, where the growth is, at six to eight times earnings are not cheap I don't know what is.

"Our reasons for this selection:

1) Relative to emerging-markets large caps, this fund has far less exposure to commodities producers or telecoms while concentrating instead in local consumer and business services, which should hold up relatively well as growth in emerging economies slows.

Continue reading Top Stock Picks '09: WisdomTree Emerging Market Small Cap (DGS)

Top Stock Picks '09: WisdomTree Emerging Market Small Cap (DGS) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 03 Jan 2009 15:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"My ETF pick for the week is in honor of John Templeton not just because of his meeting his final summons this week at age 95 but because it highlights one of the key tenets of his legendary investment career. Templeton's first maxim was to buy at the point of 'maximum pessimism'. IRL trades at a 15% discount to net asset value.

"Ireland has gone from darling to outcast in less than a year in the eyes of the global investment community. Rather than look for markets that were performing well, Sir John built a career looking for troubled or ignored markets that traded at attractive valuations.

"Due to vastly overvalued property markets and loose banking and fiscal policy, the market is done close to 70% since last fall. It's growth rate has averaged 7-8% during the past decade but growth prospects have been officially lowered to zero for 2009 and its economy actually shrank in the first quarter of this year.

"To make matters worse, property prices in the posh retail areas of Dublin have already dropped 50% and home prices have fallen 20%. Ireland's stock market is now the cheapest market in the world based on forward price earnings and price to book."

Each day, Steven Halpern's TheStockAdvisors.com offers the latest market commentary and favorite investment ideas from the nation's leading financial newsletter advisors.

New Ireland (IRL): A 'Templeton value' originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 28 Jul 2008 09:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I've just returned from the World Money Show in Orlando where more than 10,000 investors gathered to learn about global investing. I had a chance to meet with many of the U.S. and foreign financial experts featured at the show, and over the next week I will share some of their top investment ideas. To view all of the stocks featured in this special global report, click here.

"In 2006, investing in BRIC countries -- Brazil, India, China -- was the rage," notes Carl Delfeld, a expert on exchange-traded funds. In his Chartwell Advisors he focuses on Brazil.

"While China and India received most of the attention last year, the iShares Brazil ETF (NYSE:EWZ) was up 45.4% -- not bad, not bad at all. But the lingering question is whether Brazil's economic recovery is sustainable or just another stage in the economic cycle.

"What is most interesting to me is that Brazil's stock market's performance during the past four years is not due to superior economic growth. It has had an annual average growth rate of only 2.6%, about half of world economic growth during the same period. My view is that Brazil has been primarily a balance sheet story supported somewhat by the commodity boom.

"Inflation is muted and was only 3% during 2006. Brazil is almost energy independent, and foreign exchange reserves are now almost $100 billion after paying off its nettlesome IMF debt. In 2006, it recorded a trade surplus of $46 billion, and while interest rates are high, they are beginning to fall.

Continue reading Global gains: Two experts bet on Brazil

Global gains: Two experts bet on Brazil originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 17 Feb 2007 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Each year Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, surveys the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is part of his 24th annual Top Picks Report.

ishares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 (NYSE: FXI ), an exchange-traded fund, is the top speculative pick for 2007 from ETF expert Carl Delfeld, editor of the Chartwell ETF Advisor.

"The FTSE/Xinhua China 25 index was launched in October 2004 and has risen 55.7% year to date. The biggest sector weightings are financial services 35%, telecom 22%, energy 20%, and industrial materials 12%. China Mobile is the biggest holding at around 11% of assets; PetroChina and China Life Insurance are other strong contributors.

"While no fan of state-owned companies, I do see the argument that the Chinese government is likely to protect its 'crown jewels' and that, with the 2008 Olympics approaching, attention on China will increase commensurately. My advice for speculative investors is to buy this exchange-traded fund and maintain a 10% trailing stop loss."

To see Carl's favorite conservative idea for 2007, click here.

Top Picks 2007: Chartwell charts ETF path to China originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 31 Dec 2006 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Each year Steven Halpern, editor of TheStockAdvisors.com, surveys the leading financial newsletter advisors asking for their favorite stocks for the coming year. This article is part of his 24th annual Top Picks Report.

iShares MSCI Canada (ASE: EWC), an exchange-traded fund, is the top conservative investment idea for 2007 from ETF expert Carl Delfeld, editor of the Chartwell ETF Advisor.

Delfeld explains, "For a conservative pick, I like Canada. The overall Canadian market, as reflected in the iShares Canada index is trading at just 14 times earnings with strong currency, fiscal discipline, and great play on long-term commodity upswing.

"The perception that Canada is nothing but a commodity play is wrongheaded. In fact, the Canadian economy is well diversified, with only 5% of of its GDP attributed to mining. About 15% of GDP comes from tourism and 60% from services. It also represents a sizable and liquid stock market, and a healthy and vibrant financial center."

To see Carl's favorite speculative idea for 2007 click here.

Top Picks 2007: Delfeld looks north of the border originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 24 Dec 2006 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.