With the finish line in sight, it’s fairly safe to say that 2011 will be remembered by most investors as a wild, back-and-forth year that brought plenty of both hope and despair. A hot start raised optimism of a continued recovery after a generally impressive 2011, but the summer months were anything but relaxing; major indexes suffered some of the worst losses since the recent recession.
In examining the year-to-date performances for the 1,000+ ETPs that have been around since the beginning of the year, there are a number of interesting figures that jump out, including both pleasant surprises and bitter disappointments–and some that are just plain confusing [the complete, sortable, document is available in ETF Edge--sign up for a free 7-day trial to get full access]. [click to continue…]
The last five years have seen a tremendous expansion of the ETF industry, as assets have skyrocketed and the number of products available to U.S.-based investors has multiplied. That same period of time has also been a period of tremendous volatility in global financial markets; the last five years have witnessed an unprecedented financial crisis, [...]
With the fourth quarter of 2011 now well underway, the year is generally shaping up to be one that many investors will try quickly to forget. After 2009 and 2010 brought steady recoveries from the chaotic downturn in 2008, this year has seen renewed concerns about mounting debt burdens around the globe and slowing growth [...]
ProShares, the Bethesda, Maryland-based ETF issuer best known for its suite of leveraged and inverse products, announced plans to expand its offering in the Treasury bond space with its latest SEC filing. In the document, the company detailed four new funds that are vastly different from anything else in the market, giving investors new ways [...]
Last year was a good year for most asset classes, as investor portfolios continued to recover from the recent recession. The difference in performance between many comparable funds was significant, and many of the best performers of 2010 are relatively small funds that maintain considerably smaller asset bases than their more popular competitors. Below, we [...]
As the U.S. economy continues to struggle despite record low interest rates and strong growth in emerging markets, Ben Bernanke and the rest of the Fed team have been forced to get more creative in their attempts to stimulate job creation and sustainable economic expansion. With interest rates already near record lows, the Fed took [...]
As investors have become more comfortable with the marriage of fixed income exposure and the ETF wrapper, billions of dollars have flowed into bond ETFs in recent years. Impressive innovation in the space has provided investors with more options than ever before, including enhanced granularity in virtually every corner of the fixed income market. Still, [...]
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 [...]
Earlier this year, with the economic recovery showing signs of sustainability and the printing presses in Washington were still red hot from an unprecedented injection of liquidity, many well-known and well-respected investors turned bearish on long term bonds. In a piece titled “Play Bear In The Bond Market” in January, Forbes columnist John Dobosz wrote [...]
Uncertainty over the prospects for the global economic recovery in recent months has prompted some investors to vacate equity positions in favor of safe havens that tend to perform well in turbulent economic environments [see Five Safe Haven ETFs]. Once upon a time, long-term bonds would have been a popular option for investors seeking safety. [...]
As U.S. stocks continue to reflect pervasive uneasiness about the prospects for a robust recovery, investors are flocking towards low-risk securities with impressive pace. Recent weeks have seen investors shed their appetite for risk, fleeing equity markets and piling into the relative safety of U.S. Treasury bonds. That has pushed many key rates to record [...]
