The Fed’s likely rate increase, coupled with the ECB’s continued monetary easing, suggests Continental stocks are relative bargains compared with American equities, adds Kevin Mahn, chief investment officer at Hennion & Walsh Asset Management. He says European country exchange-traded funds (except those focused on the U.K.) could offer an opportunity ahead of the Fed’s Dec. 13-14 meeting.

Separately, the Dogs of the Dow strategy is trashing the Dow itself this year. Through Thursday, the 10 Dow Dogs stocks were up 11.7%, versus 4.2% for the whole index and 1.6% for the remaining 20 Dow stocks.

Someone using the Dogs of the Dow approach invests equal dollar amounts in the 10 highest-yielding Dow stocks at year-end and holds them for 12 months. Each year, the portfolio is updated. According to dogsofthedow.com, a Website that tracks the Dogs, the strategy has returned an average 10.6% annually over the past 10 years, higher than 9.1% for the entire index.

The Dogs are getting a big lift this year from Caterpillar (CAT), up 27%, and Merck (MRK), up 17%. All but two Dog stocks have risen by double-digit percentages, and none are down.

The Dogs’ collective dividend yield is 3.7%, notes Neil Hennessy, founder of Hennessy Advisors and a longtime exponent of the Dogs strategy. That’s a nice contrast to the 10-year U.S. Treasury bond’s 1.74%.

Interest rates are going up, so bond prices will continue to fall, he contends. His Hennessy Total Return fund (HDOGX) employs about 75% of its capital in the Dogs strategy and the rest in Treasuries.

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