I’m a European investor (Hungary) investing through Lightyear TBSZ account. I noticed something interesting today — my iShares Core S&P 500 (CSPX) is listed twice on Lightyear:
• EUR version: €660.80 (+€3.58 today)
• USD version: $779.79 (+$9.44 today)
Same ETF, same day — but the daily gain looks completely different depending on which currency you look at. The USD version showed +1.22% while the EUR version only showed +0.54%.
I understand this is the EUR/USD currency effect — when EUR strengthens vs USD, my EUR-denominated return looks smaller even if the underlying S&P 500 performed well in USD terms.
My current TBSZ portfolio:
• €EXUS (Xtrackers MSCI World Ex USA) — 42%
• €CSPX (iShares Core S&P 500) — 35%
• €EMIM (iShares Core MSCI Emerging Markets) — 15%
• $TSM (Taiwan Semiconductor) — 4%
• €ASML (ASML Holding) — 4%
My questions:
1. Is it worth switching CSPX to a EUR-hedged version like IBCF to avoid this currency drag?
2. Does EXUS (which holds non-US stocks in EUR/JPY/GBP) naturally offset the USD exposure from CSPX?
3. For a 15–20 year investment horizon, does the EUR/USD currency effect average out over time, making hedging unnecessary?
I’m leaning toward staying unhedged given the higher TER of hedged ETFs (0.20% vs 0.07%) and my long time horizon — but would love to hear from people with more experience.
Thanks!