It’s baaaaaaaack. After a brief hiatus that saw investors rushing to determine the best ways to battle deflation, inflationary concerns have begun to surface again. The cause of the latest bout of inflationary anxiety is of course the QE2 program recently announced by the Federal Reserve that calls for the purchase of hundreds of billions of dollars in bonds in an effort to push down borrowing costs and kick start the economy. [click to continue…]
ETFs are a relatively new addition to the scene, but they have already begun to impact the world of investing in more ways than one. The bargain basement expense ratios have forced investors to reevaluate the merits of pricey active management, with many turning away from mutual funds. The enhanced liquidity and immediate diversification have [...]
A choppy session in equity markets left the major indexes mixed to end the day, after a tame CPI report did little to sway investor sentiment. The Dow fell by 0.1% while the Nasdaq jumped by 0.3% and the S&P 500 barely squeaked by with a gain. Commodity markets finished the day slightly lower across [...]
by Eric Dutram on October 22, 2010 | Updated April 20, 2011
As the ETF world continues to grow, the competitive landscape continues to evolve. In recent years, a growing number of firms have attempted to differentiate themselves by offering unique exposure to asset classes and strategies not previously available–such as funds tracking the Philippine stock market or ETNs linked to the price of industrial metals such [...]
by Eric Dutram on October 10, 2010 | Updated October 20, 2010
As the ETF world continues to expand, more online brokerage houses are beginning to offer their clients commission-free trading on ETFs as a way to generate interest in these relatively new investment vehicles. Among the first firms to offer this program were Fidelity, which currently offers 26 commission-free iShares ETFs, Charles Schwab (11 ETFs), and [...]
As the ETF world has surged ahead in recent years, perhaps no corner of the industry has generated as much interest as the commodity space. The introduction and proliferation of exchange-traded commodity products has granted many investors access to a section of the investable universe that was previously beyond their reach. The democratization of an [...]
The ETF industry has gained the momentum of a runaway freight train in recent years, raking in billions of dollars every month as more and more investors embrace the benefits of the exchange-traded structure. Over the last 20 months or so, the commodity ETF space has been the engine of that train, accounting for a [...]
The incredible growth in ETF assets in recent years has come not from the equity corner of the investable asset universe, but from an asset class that generally receives a very minor allocation in long-term portfolios (if any at all). Cash inflows into commodity ETFs in the first half of the year topped $18 billion, [...]
All eyes were on the Federal Reserve on Wednesday, as the central bank offered up its latest rate decision and economic assessment. Despite virtually zero chance for an immediate rate hike, investors still parsed the Fed’s latest statement for hints on future policies and insights into the pace of economic growth. “Financial conditions have become [...]
The rise of the ETF industry has changed the way many approach investing. The rock-bottom expense ratios charged by many ETFs have sparked a closer look at the merits of active management and a more critical look at the fees charged by traditional actively-managed mutual funds (see The True Cost Of Active Management). The ability [...]
Since its launch in April 2007. the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) has endured a strange existence. After enjoying moderate success during its first 18 months–assets stood at more than $700 million at the end of 2008, UNG exploded as the natural gas craze hit and investors lined up for access to the “fuel [...]
