In recent years, ETFs have become increasing popular tools for accessing the fixed income corner of the market. The space initially grew much more slowly than equity ETFs, but investors have gradually become more comfortable with the combination of fixed income exposure and the exchange-traded structure. Innovation in the bond ETF space has been impressive in recent years; a number of first-to-market products have popped up that allow for precise access to various corners of the global bond universe.
Among the most popular bond ETFs are two products in the Total Bond Market ETFdb Category: AGG and BND. These ETFs have aggregate assets of more than $20 billion and individually trade close to one million shares daily. Both AGG and BND are linked to the Barclays Capital U.S. Aggregate Bond Index, a broad-based benchmark that covers the investment grade U.S. bond market. For many investors, an allocation to one of these products–or to one of a number of similar offerings–accounts for the vast majority of the fixed income portfolio. [click to continue…]
The first half of 2011 is officially in the books, and many investors find their portfolios in approximately the same place as they were to start the year (though a furious rally in the final week of the quarter gave a nice boost at an opportune moment). Most major equity indexes are up slightly on [...]
When President Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the nation was sharply divided on the bill. Designed to create jobs and promote investment during one of the worst recessions to ever hit the U.S. economy, “the Stimulus” called for measures worth a total of $787, including tax incentives, expansion [...]
As investors have become more comfortable with the idea of achieving fixed income exposure through the exchange-traded structure, bond ETF assets have skyrocketed and the number of funds has increased rapidly. For those in higher tax brackets, municipal bonds have always been a popular option, as the tax-exempt feature of the interest payment boosts the [...]
As the ETF world continues to expand at a tremendous pace, more and more traditional mutual fund companies are expanding ETF lineups in an attempt to capture a piece of a rapidly-growing pie. Bond fund giant PIMCO was late to the ETF game, but has made quite an impact since rolling out its first exchange-traded [...]
Encouraged by the impressive start to the first ETF offering exposure to Build America Bonds, PowerShares recently filed details on a second, more targeted fund within the same asset class. The latest proposed addition to the PowerShares lineup is the Intermediate Build America Bond Portfolio, a product that would track the BofA Merrill Lynch 1-12 [...]
The impressive pace of expansion in the ETF industry slowed a bit in May, as issuers introduced fewer new funds than in previous months. Still, more than a dozen new ETFs began trading last month, including some first-to-market products, a few ETFs that will go head-to-head with established products, and the second coming of an [...]
Municipal bonds are popular among investors in the highest tax brackets because unlike corporate bonds, the interest payments received are exempt from federal (and sometimes state) taxes. Moreover, because the issuers of such bonds are generally entities with the authority to levy taxes to make good on their debt payments, the level of perceived risk [...]
State Street has partnered with Nuveen Investments to launch the SPDR Nuveen Barclays Capital Build America Bond ETF (BABS), the second ETF offering exposure to a corner of the bond market created as a result of the recent recession. BABS will track the performance of the Barclays Capital Build America Bond Index, a benchmark that [...]
