The universe of U.S.-listed exchange-traded products has grown at an impressive rate over the last several years, bringing the industry to a point where there are more than 1,100 products with aggregate assets exceeding $1 trillion. According to the ETF screener, there are nearly 800 equity ETFs available, an impressive total that allows investors to slice and dice global stock markets in a number of different ways. [click to continue…]
As the ETF world continues to expand at an impressive pace, a number of companies have sought to bring their own lineup of funds to the market in order to grab a piece of this rapidly-increasing pie. However, some have taken a different approach to gaining an ETF foothold, preferring to buy up existing issuers [...]
Equity markets have been enduring a rough patch lately, as fears over a double dip recession have returned. The problems appear to be more than isolated incidents, as weak job growth in the U.S., ongoing credit concerns in Europe, and higher rates in China have all emerged as cause for concern. This comes despite the [...]
One of the hottest topics in the industry at present is the future of actively-managed ETFs. The issue is also a very divisive one; some expect that widespread adoption of active ETFs is only a matter of time, while others believe mutual funds will continue to be the vehicle of choice for those interested in [...]
In the quest for alpha, investors pursue a wide variety of strategies designed to isolate stocks poised to deliver excess returns. While some investors rely on quant models for this endeavor, others use more descriptive characteristics to filter the universe of equities. One particular group of companies has a history of beating the market, but [...]
