Eni SpA (ADR) (E), Banco Santander, S.A. (ADR) (SAN), Italy, Spain, And Greece: Are There Any Opportunities?

The ETF that represents the Greek Index, the Global X FTSE Greece 20 has also performed well and its up by 10% YTD. The fund, which has been designed to reflect the performance of the twenty largest securities listed on the Athens Stock Exchange, is the only Greek related bet that I would recommend. Even though I think Greece will not leave the Eurozone, I still think that the risks of a new debt crisis remain. With a public debt overhang of 176% of GDP, the Greek economy is still essentially broke.

All of the above being said, betting on the Global X FTSE Greece 20, you will gain exposure to several sectors through companies such as Coca-Cola Hellenic, Hellenic Telecom, the gaming company OPAP and, of course, the National Bank of Greece. Its a risky bet but if you want to go long Greece, I think its the smartest way to do it.

Bottom line

I think it is possible to find compelling single stock investments in all but one of the aforementioned countries: Greece. I think there were fantastic opportunities in Greece earlier this year, but now the prices of some assets seem high for the risks one must take. Italy and Spain are a different story. They are both stronger and more diversified economies, and there are some companies within those countries that I think do represent good investments.

The article Italy, Spain, And Greece: Are There Any Opportunities? originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Federico Zaldua.

Federico is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network — entries represent the personal opinion of the blogger and are not formally edited.

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