As interest in emerging markets has accelerated over the past few years, many investors have sought to identify the economies from the developing world that maintain the most significant long-term potential. Many engaging in that search have gravitated towards Brazil, home to an abundance of natural resources, a successful clean energy revolution, and an economy that maintains strong ties with the Asian powerhouses that have become major drivers of GDP growth. And it should come as no surprise that ETFs have emerged as a popular tool for gaining exposure to the Brazilian stock market; the flexibility and tax efficiency of the exchange-traded structure make ETFs a perfect way for tapping into promising emerging markets.
There are currently about nine different ETFs offering exposure to the Brazilian economy. While there is meaningful overlap between some of these products, Brazil ETFs are far from identical; each maintains unique risk/return profiles. Below, we highlight five factors that any investors considering a position in Brazil should consider; your viewpoints on these five topics should help to narrow down the lineup of Brazil ETFs to one that is consistent with your objectives [see the LatAm Centric ETFdb Portfolio]: [click to continue…]
State Street, the firm behind the two largest ETFs, announced this week the addition of two new international equity funds to its product lineup. The SPDR MSCI ACWI IMI ETF (ACIM) will offer exposure to global equity markets, casting a wide net across both developed and emerging markets. The SPDR EM 50 ETF (EMFT) will [...]
Today is not only leap day, but it is also the last trading day of the month, and it is poised to be a big one. After enduring a relatively calm period last week, traders and investors will be champing at the bit for today’s session, which marks something of a perfect storm scenario. Today [...]
Bullish euphoria continues to permeate Wall Street as major indexes finished the day in bright green territory, settling above key resistance levels. The Nasdaq led the way higher, gaining 0.7% on the day, bolstered by Apple, which hit an all-time high of $535.38 a share [see also How An Apple Dividend Would Impact ETFs]. The [...]
iShares continued to aggressively expand its ETF lineup last week with the addition of two new ETFs focusing on dividend-paying stocks in international markets. The iShares Emerging Markets Dividend Index Fund (DVYE) will combine two asset classes that have become tremendously popular in recent years, targeting stocks from emerging markets that deliver attractive dividend yields. [...]
Few stocks receive more attention from the financial presses than Apple (AAPL), the tech giant that has made a remarkable recovery from life support in the early 1990s to become one of the largest companies in the world. The stock has long been an investor favorite based on consumers’ insatiable appetite for almost every new [...]
As February draws to a close, investors will have plenty of key data points to digest as we enter the new month. Some of the biggest focal points of the month have been gold and oil, which have both been surging for the majority of the past few weeks, leaving investors to scramble in and [...]
Despite better-than-expected economic data on the home front, equity indexes were mixed and investors on Wall Street were reluctant to jump aboard the Dow and help push it through the 13,000 mark. The S&P 500 led the way higher, gaining 0.14% on the day, while the “blue chip” benchmark finished the day off by 0.01%. [...]
Stocks tacked on gains last week although trading activity on Wall Street was quite muted considering all of the encouraging economic data releases. Indexes ended the week on a high note after a better-than-expected consumer sentiment figure, which bolstered investors’ confidence. The real challenge comes this week however, as investors prepare to digest several key [...]
The innovation in the bond ETF arena just keeps on coming, as evidenced most recently by a trio of first-to-market products launched by iShares. Though there are more than two dozen ETFs in the Corporate Bonds ETFdb Category, until recently the level of granularity available from a sector perspective was rather limited. While investors can [...]
Though value investing never truly went out of style, it has certainly become an increasingly popular strategy over the past few years. Interest in dividend-paying stocks skyrocketed in 2011 as investors sought both safety and yield. Given the lingering risks to a still-fragile global economic, as well as the likelihood of low rates in many [...]
