Effective December 1, the Financial Regulatory Authority (FINRA) will implement new margin requirements for leveraged ETFs and uncovered options overlying leveraged ETFs. Under Regulatory Notice 09-53, which was first released in August of this year, margin requirements for leveraged and inverse leveraged funds will increase significantly beginning on Tuesday. [click to continue…]
Despite still rising unemployment, abysmal consumer confidence, and signs of ongoing crises around the world, there is little doubt, at least technically speaking, that the recession is finally over in most of the world. The downturn proved to be far more severe and prolonged than many had imagined, leaving its mark on even the most [...]
Lisle, Illinois-based Claymore, the ETF issuer that was acquired by Guggenheim Partners earlier this year, announced last week that it will close four of its lightly-traded ETFs. December 11 will be the last day of trading for the following funds:
Earlier this month, iShares launched the Emerging Markets Eastern Europe Index Fund (ESR), offering U.S. investors an efficient way to gain exposure to an often overlooked corner of the European market. While there are countless European ETF options, these funds generally focus on the developed economies of western Europe, including France, Germany, and the United [...]
Although U.S. markets were quiet on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday, an unexpected development halfway across the globe is likely to send domestic markets sharply lower when investors return from their brief vacation. The Dubai government said on Thursday that it would restructure Dubai World, its corporate flagship, and begin a six-month halt on debt [...]
The rise of the ETF industry has democratized commodity investing, making this asset class accessible to more investors than ever before. ETFs offer exposure, both direct and indirect, to almost every commodity imaginable, ranging from popular resources such as metals and grains to obscure commodities like azuki beans and greasy wool. With all the attention [...]
As Thanksgiving hosts across the country focus intently on preparing a proper turkey, opportunistic investors have been considering another kind of Turkey product: the iShares MSCI Turkey Investable Market Index Fund (TUR). Turkey isn’t even on the radar screens of most investors, but this Mediterranean nation has a unique economy and a potentially attractive risk [...]
New York-based Van Eck launched on Wednesday the Market Vectors Poland ETF (PLND), a fund that will track the 26-company Market Vectors Poland Index. PLND will trade on the NYSE Arca Exchange and charge an expense ratio of 76 basis points. Unlike most single-country international ETFs, which tend to be dominated by holdings in multi-national [...]
Allstate Corp., the largest publicly-traded insurer of homes and automobiles in the U.S., announced this week that it is making some major shifts in its investment portfolio that now exceeds $100 billion. The Northbrook, Illinois-based company announced that it is reducing its exposure to commercial real estate and municipal bonds in favor of corporate debt.
Boasting competitive cost structures, enhanced tax efficiencies, and improved liquidity features, ETFs have quickly become one of the most popular tools for all types of investors. But despite the rapid rise of the industry over the last five years, there are still countless investors, including many financial advisors, who are completely unaware of exchange-traded funds. [...]
Once considered a vital “return enhancer” in almost every portfolio, real estate as an asset class has fallen out of favor with investors following its spectacular collapse during (and role in causing) the recent global economic downturn. Real estate was historically embraced because of its potential for delivering excess returns in bull property markets and [...]
