One of the oft-cited benefits of the ETF boom over the last several years is the democratization of asset classes, such as commodities and volatility, that were previously available only to sophisticated and wealthy investors. The marriage of these asset classes with the exchange-traded structure allows investors to tap into securities that can be extremely valuable to both long-term portfolios and more active, tactical investing approaches.
The rise of exchange-traded products has also had the effect of bringing countless investment strategies within reach of the average investor; there are now products that segment the markets in almost every way imaginable. From investment disciplines to factor models to quant-based screens, ETFs allow investors to achieve cheap, easy access to stock portfolios that would otherwise require significant time and expenses to construct. [click to continue…]
Russell, the firm behind many of the indexes underlying popular equity exchange-traded products, recently entered the industry as an issuer. Earlier this year, Russell Investments acquired Reno-based U.S. One, and subsequently renamed the actively-managed One Fund (ONEF) to the Russell Equity ETF. Now that the firm has actively-managed relief under its belt, Russell is taking [...]
Over the past several weeks, markets have become increasingly choppy as a number of issues are plaguing the global economy. America teeters on the brink of a recession while debt downgrades and slumping investor confidence have rattled European markets as well. Meanwhile, in emerging markets, inflationary concerns are continuing to wreck havoc leaving investors with [...]
AdvisorShares, the firm behind one of the largest lineups of actively-managed ETFs, brought its latest idea to market on Wednesday. The most recent addition is the TrimTabs Float Shrink ETF (TTFS), the result of a partnership with a firm known for innovative research on the connections between stock liquidity and long-term performance. The TrimTabs methodology [...]
The ETF industry’s strong growth in recent years has led to innovation across the board. Now, investors can find products that offer exposure to nearly every corner of global markets through a single ticker. And while many of these new options have been welcomed with open arms, investors have been wary of others. One space [...]
The downgrade handed down from Standard and Poor’s on U.S. debts was detrimental to American stocks for a short period, as major indexes saw plunges of 5% or more upon the release of the news. With investors flocking to pull their assets from equities, gold has seen yet another historic landmark as it broke through [...]
The recent economic crisis has led to a frenzy of activity on Wall Street, as we have seen dramatic swings in both directions on a regular basis. Starting with a debt deal that did little to reassure investors, markets began to drop. Next came the downgrade from S&P, the first ever from a domestic credit [...]
One of the more popular corners of the actively-managed ETF landscape has been in the bond category where several new funds have managed to amass a great deal of assets in a short period of time. Investors have likely embraced active management in this slice of the market thanks to perception that bonds are still [...]
Actively-managed ETFs have been all the rage so far this year as a number of issuers have thrown their hats into the increasingly competitive ring. One person who offered up some insight on this rapidly changing market was Tom Graves, CFA, who is an Equity Analyst at Standard & Poor’s. Tom wrote a piece on [...]
The past few weeks have been a relatively slow stretch for the ETF industry–at least in terms of product development. Since EGShares rolled out a suite of sector-specific emerging markets ETFs on June 23, only two new products have hit the market: the S&P 500 Crude Oil Linked ETN (BARL) from Morgan Stanley and the [...]
June was another interesting month for markets around the world as a number of important events transpired over the past few weeks. The Federal Reserve meeting came and went without much of a hitch as Bernanke called for the end of QE at the end of the month but suggested that the economy was still [...]
