U.S. equity indexes extended their gains last week as Cyprus bailout woes took a backseat and buying pressures returned on Friday after a brief profit taking period. With the S&P 500 now sitting on 5-year highs, bears are once again lurking and will surely look to take profits at the first sign of pessimistic news [...]
When it comes to ETF investing, it is no secret that a handful of funds dominate the universe. A first-mover advantage can pay dividends in the exchange traded world, and the largest ETFs list illustrates that concept. So when it comes time for many investors to add an ETF to their portfolio, size is often [...]
The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed further into previously uncharted territory yesterday as upbeat weekly jobless claims data kept euphoria levels elevated. Buying pressures were a dominant theme after the weekly jobless claims figure came in at 340,000, showing a healthy improvement over the previous figure of 347,000. With housing and labor market data both [...]
Suppose that natural gas prices are on the rise and you’d like to capitalize. Like most retail investors, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are probably the first thing that comes to mind, as they’re a lot easier to buy than commodity contracts. So, you decide to purchase a natural gas ETF that holds natural gas futures contracts [...]
One of the hottest sports events in the United States is slated to kick off on March 19, as 64 NCAA basketball teams will duke it out to see who takes the championship crown. While most eyes will be fixed on major sports networks for constant scores and updates, we will be offering investors with [...]
For issuers of ETFs, it is no secret that the barriers to entry are relatively high. While many have the ability to create a new exchange-traded product, keeping it alive has proven a difficult task for many. It seems that investors have allocated their trust to the oldest and largest funds, leaving a tough road [...]
Buying euphoria remains a dominant theme on Wall Street as made apparent by yesterday’s rally. Investors came back in a buying mood Tuesday morning following the extended weekend in observance of President’s Day. Stocks continued their ascent even after home builders’ index data missed the mark, coming in at 46 versus last month’s reading of [...]
Finding the right ETF to buy or sell is only half the battle; having a disciplined exit strategy is what separates average traders from consistently profitable ones. Most traders focus all of their energy on the entry, attempting to find that perfect time to buy right before an ETF takes off. While the entry is [...]
Wall Street experienced several lackluster days of trading last week, with most Asian markets closed for holiday. Stocks struggled to find a definitive direction as the bulls and bears seemingly reached a stalemate due to a lack of significant market catalysts. On the economic front, U.S. retail sales, job openings and consumer sentiment came in better than [...]
ETFs are excellent building blocks for long-term portfolios given the inherent cost-efficiency and transparency benefits associated with this product structure. Nonetheless, like every other financial instrument, ETFs are far from perfect; tracking errors commonly occur, leaving investors wondering why they got one return, when the underlying index had another [Download 101 ETF Lessons Every Financial [...]
