The first quarter of 2010 was one of the most active periods in recent memory for the ETF industry. Approximately 60 new funds hit the market during this three month period, continuing the impressive expansion and innovation that has become standard in a space that has huge potential (see the March ETF Roundup). This trend looks to continue in the second quarter of the year, as UBS announced today the launch of the E-TRACS Alerian MLP Infrastructure Index (MLPI). [click to continue…]
Most of what’s written about ETNs is cautionary in nature, focusing on the credit risk inherent in any debt security. And with good reason; the risks of ETN investing are very real. While most exchange-traded notes are issued by major financial institutions with lofty credit ratings, the last few years have taught investors that credit [...]
ETFs have surged in popularity in recent years in part because of the numerous advantages they offer over traditional actively-managed mutual funds: lower costs, potential tax efficiencies, intraday trading, and enhanced transparency. But ETFs aren’t without potential drawbacks of their own. Although most funds appear relatively simple on the surface, there are some rather complex [...]
Thursday marked the first day of trading for the UBS E-TRACS S&P 500 Gold Hedged ETN (SPGH), a unique product that offering investors exposure to large cap equities along with a hedge against a declining U.S. dollar. SPGH will track the S&P 500 Gold Hedged Index, a benchmark designed to measure the performance of an [...]
Commodities are the new black in the world of investing, thanks in no small part to the rise of ETFs as the tool of choice in more and more portfolios. Commodity ETFs saw cash inflows of more than $30 billion in 2009, as total assets more than doubled on the year. According to the ETF [...]
In two weeks, the curtain will close on 2009, bringing to an end a banner year for the ETF industry that saw hundreds of fund launches and tens of billions of dollars in cash inflows. Ongoing product development and innovation continues to expand investor options, bringing almost every corner of the investable asset universe within [...]
The reasons for the incredible rise of the ETF industry are numerous. Intra-day trading, enhanced transparency, and efficient tax features are all features that investors, individual and institutional alike, have embraced in record numbers. But perhaps the main reason why ETFs have attracted hundreds of billions of dollars in assets in recent years is the [...]
The rise of the ETF industry has made commodity investing readily available to millions of investors whose options for exposure to this “fourth asset class” were previously limited. Most of the money in commodity exchange-traded products is in diversified funds offering exposure to more than a dozen natural resources through a single security (see a [...]
The National Stock Exchange has released the latest facts and figures on the ETF industry for the month of November, and the results continue to impress. Total ETF assets increased to $752 million, an increase of more than 6% over October results. Strong performances from equity markets played a major rise in the asset uptick, [...]
While the differences between traditional actively-managed mutual funds and exchange-traded products include several somewhat complex distinguishing characteristics, most investors focus on the relatively simple issue of expenses when making comparisons. Due to their passive nature, ETFs generally offer much lower expenses than mutual funds that can employ teams of analysts and conduct thorough research in [...]
As U.S. equity markets have soared in recent months, the dollar has steadily declined against most of its major rivals, recently falling below the key $1.50 level against the euro for the first time since August of last year. This extended fall has investors wondering if the dollar’s decline reflects temporary volatility, or a long-term [...]
