So far, this year has been tough for markets around the globe. Since the downgrade of U.S. credit quality in August, equity markets have become plagued with rampant volatility, discouraging capital inflows and prompting many investors to pull out of the markets entirely. Just when the debt-ceiling drama at home came to an end, euro zone debt-woes stole the spotlight, adding fuel to the fire. Tensions in the debt-stricken currency block overseas have only added to the growing cloud of uncertainty looming over global financial markets.
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Precidian Funds, a New Jersey-based ETF newcomer, announced on Thursday the launch of the first U.S.-listed ETF offering exposure to the Nikkei 225 Index. The new MAXIS Nikkei 225 Index ETF (NKY) will seek to replicate the widely followed benchmark of Japanese stocks, often referred to simply as the Nikkei or the Nikkei Index. That [...]
IndexIQ, the firm behind a suite of hedge fund replication ETFs and small cap country-specific funds, notched another first for the ETF industry on Thursday. The IQ Japan Mid Cap ETF (RSUN) will seek to replicate an index that consists of about 100 mid cap Japanese stocks. The weighted average market capitalization of the companies [...]
Van Eck announced the latest addition to its fast-growing ETF lineup today, rolling out a fund that offers exposure to small cap German companies. The Market Vectors Germany Small-Cap ETF (GERJ) will seek to replicate the Market Vectors Germany Small-Cap Index, a benchmark that includes small cap companies listed in Germany or that generate at least [...]
The attention of investors shifted from the Middle East to Japan late last week, as the natural devastation caused by a massive earthquake trumped the manmade chaos that has been playing out in Libya, Saudi Arabia, and elsewhere in the oil-rich region. With rescue efforts intensifying in the north of Japan after a magnitude 8.9 [...]
With interest rates at record lows and expected to remain depressed for the foreseeable future, investors have been forced to get creative in their hunt for current return. Some have shifted domestic fixed income holdings along the risk/return continuum, seeking out more attractive yields from junk bonds. Others have ventured beyond the U.S. borders, embracing [...]
As the second quarter mercifully draws to a close, many investors are left scratching their heads and wondering just where the world economy will go from here. Just a few short weeks ago, investors were upbeat and many thought that the groundwork had been laid for a second half surge. However, recent events have called [...]
And so the carousel ride continues. In 2008, the U.S. was the center of the investing world as the financial sector meltdown began. Then it was China’s turn, as earlier this year investors focused on Beijing’s plan to continue the impressive growth without overheating. Now Europe is clearly in the spotlight, with every development from [...]
When the long-simmering debt crisis in Europe finally boiled over last week, chaos ripped through global equity markets. But the worst of the damage was done at the center of the storm, with many European equity markets plunging more than 10% on the week. Although most markets clawed back the ground lost with a sharp [...]
Value investing is one of the oldest and most popular equity strategies, mastered by legendary investors like Warren Buffett and Benjamin Graham and embraced by countless professional money managers and individual investors. The rise of the ETF industry has presented investors in pursuit of superior dividend yields dozens of options, each offering a unique twist [...]
Although Japan is perhaps mired in another ‘lost decade’ and faces significant obstacles on the road to material economic growth, the country remains the world’s second largest economy and as such is a major component of the international equity portion of most investor portfolios. After missing out on the bull market that sent much of [...]
