As the calendars prepare to flip forward, it appears as if 2011 will go down as a record-breaking year for the ETF industry on the product development front. More than 300 new ETPs began trading this year, shattering the previous record set in 2010. But despite the record size of the ETF lineup, it appears as if growth has slowed quite a bit; cash inflows into ETFs have dropped off in 2011 compared to previous years according to data from the National Stock Exchange. Through the first 11 months of the year, total inflows into exchange-traded products stood at about $101.4 billion, meaning that massive December inflows would be needed to match the hauls for 2010 ($118.7 billion) and 2009 ($119.4). Barring a big surge in the final month of the year, 2011 could be the worst year for the ETF industry since 2006. [click to continue…]
This time last year, investors were generally thrilled with the performances of their portfolios, which had continued to bounce back nicely from the devastating recession that hit in 2008. Unfortunately, few are feeling the same sense of accomplishment as 2011 draws to a close; this year has been frustrating in that a few large, swift [...]
This past year was the most active ever for the exchange traded industry in terms of product development; the launch of more than 300 new products shattered the record set in 2010. And innovation continues to run high in the industry; the creativity of issuers is still impressive, as many of the ETFs that have [...]
This past year has shaped out to be nothing short of a roller coaster ride for investors. Confidence in the global economic recovery was rattled after disaster struck in Japan; waves of uncertainty spread across financial markets as the economic superpower coped with one of the worst earthquakes in its history. On the home front, [...]
The ETF industry has been praised for the many advantages that it offers investors. Exchange traded products are liquid, transparent, and cover a broad range of investment classes to help round out portfolios. On top of all of these advantages lies the cost factor; one of the founding principles of ETPs was to maintain cost [...]
MSCI, the firm responsible for developing and maintaining some of the most widely-followed indexes in the world, announced on Wednesday that Qatar and the United Arab Emirates would remain classified under frontier status until at least the middle of 2012, ending speculation over whether the two Middle East economies would be upgraded to emerging status. [...]
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 [...]
A growing number of financial advisors are using exchange-traded funds to achieve international equity exposure for their clients, embracing funds that offer access to both developed and international market beyond the U.S. This should hardly be surprising; the exchange-traded structure delivers an efficient way to tap into an asset class that should be at the [...]
ETFs have made great progress in simplifying the investing processing; with more than 1,300 exchange-traded products covering just about every asset class, major world economy, and investment strategy, the potential portfolio combinations are endless. For those advisors looking to build a cost efficient, low maintenance portfolio for their clients, ETFs can be quite handy; constructing [...]
A quick look at the headlines on any given day is generally enough to explain why investors have been shifting greater percentages of their long-term portfolios towards emerging markets in recent years. The U.S. is grappling with elevated unemployment, and faces a regulatory gridlock that is creating undesirable tax uncertainty. Europe has been unable to [...]
Innovation across the exchange-traded universe has brought forth a host of investment strategies to mainstream investors, allowing for access to previously difficult to reach corners of the global financial market. Aside from the well-know benefits of ETFs, like ease-of-use and transparency, the structure of these investment vehicles holds several, often times overlooked, tax benefits as [...]
