A question that I had always asked myself when looking to invest in International ETFs was:

When I purchase International ETFs that trade on the US stock exchange, is there a currency risk in doing so?

I recently found a rather good explanation of the topic on Canadian Financial DIY in an article called Clarification of Foreign Exchange Risk on International ETFs.

The short answer is YES: There is a foreign currency risk. However, it isn't that straightfoward. If you purchase International ETFs traded on American stock exchanges (that trade in US dollars), you actually have no exchange risk against the US dollar. The exchange risk, exists against the currency of the underlying assets that those ETFs hold.

For instance, an ETF the tracks the Japanese stock exchange will have an exchange risk against the Yen, despite being traded in US$.

This is really useful information for managing your currency exposure. If you own a lot of US equity, you need not avoid buying International ETFs for fear of too much exposure to the US$.