Who says stuff doesn’t come cheap anymore? Stocks in the United States are trading around 20 times earnings, these days. That translates to an earnings yield of about 5 percent. With Europe in turmoil and the euro under siege, as a currency, investors have been pulling out of those markets and moving towards the United States. The MSCI EAFE, representing the European broad markets, is trading at a multiple of about 11: Much more reasonable – but if the euro finally falls apart, who knows how that will shake out in the equity markets?

If we’re going to put new money to risk, we’re looking for a better deal. And, fortunately, we found some: Five ETFs trading at multiples well under 10 times earnings.

Global X China Financials (CHIX). Some big news hit China just at the tail end of November 2011: The Chinese government abruptly changed its monetary bias from a restrictive one to an accommodating one, lowering the reserves it required of banks. Chinese banks have been under pressure from having made a lot of questionable loans to favored parties. But they are nowhere near as leveraged as they are in the United States, and Chinese nationals have a tremendously high savings rate, so banks are generally flush with depositors. This could be volatile, like any single sector fund in a foreign country. But with a P/E of under 9, and expected economic growth in China hovering around that figure, there’s a built-in margin of safety for patient investors.

EGS Energy GEMS (OGEM). This is another emerging market play, specifically on oil and gas interests. If you hadn’t noticed, the Chinese have been trotting the globe, buying up energy interests all over the world to supply China’s relentless demand for energy to fuel growth and urbanization. Think the Chinese know something the markets don’t yet? Even a slow-growing Chinese economy still grows at between 6 and 10 percent – that’s AFTER a soft landing! and a billion people consume a lot of gasoline, diesel, electricity and heating oil, even in the slower part of an economic cycle. This fund tracks the Dow Jones Emerging Markets Oil and Gas Titans index. Current P/E is around 8.

iShares: FTSE NAREIT M+CI (REM). This ETF buys shares in companies that invest in asset-backed securities. That is, structured finance deals that primarily involve loans secured by an underlying interest in real estate. Currently, this ETF trades at a multiple of about 10. Mortgage REITs have taken a hit in recent months with a flattening yield curve, which narrows spreads between the rates that Mortgage REITs have to pay to borrow money and the higher rates they receive on longer term loans. However, if long term treasury rates rise (as the folks at iShares AOM and AOK above who have taken a short interest in treasuries apparently believe they will,) these spreads should increase again, which would bring an increase in profits and hopefully share prices for these mortgage REIT securities.

iShares S&P Conservative Allocation (AOK). This fund, managed by Black Rock Advisors, acts like a sort of mini-hedge fund. With a P/E of 3.21, AOK’s biggest single holding is actually a short position in an iShares fund that shorts treasuries. What, you think 2 percent yields are going to last forever? Meanwhile, the number two holding, curiously enough, is long in corporate bonds. We don’t put too much stock in the dirt-cheap 0.59 price-to-book ratio, though, since the equity position is all via other broad market stock ETFs – the S&P 500, MSCI EAFE, and mid and small caps. Want something just a hair more aggressive? Try iShares S&P Moderate Asset Allocation (AOM). This fund is very similar to its Conservative Allocation sibling, including a 25 percent short position in treasuries. In this version, the overall allocation to bonds, long and short, is dialed down a bit, and the allocation to stocks is dialed up – again through the same indexes. Current P/E is 5.57. You can also buy the Growth Allocation version, with a P/E of a little over 7.

Looking for some help? Consider the Cambria Global Tactical ETF (GTAA). This is an unusual breed in that it’s not a true ETF, but an actively-traded mutual fund that invests its portfolio in whatever ETFs the managers believe present the most compelling value at the moment – adjusted for risk. According to our screener, shares of Cambria Global Tactical are moving at a P/E ratio of 1.46. You can anticipate this fund to hold a portfolio of between 50 and 100 different ETFs, representing a variety of asset classes.