With the finish line in sight, 2010 has been a generally solid year for commodities as an asset class; strong demand from emerging markets, a shaky dollar, fears about inflation, and a number of supply issues have conspired to send prices of everything from corn to gold to sugar skyward [see Top Five Commodity ETFs Of 2010]. Despite the impressive performance from a number of different commodities, inflows into commodity ETFs have been light in 2010. After more than $30 billion flowed into commodity ETPs in 2009, inflows through the first ten months totaled only about $10 billion–almost all of which was attributable to physically-backed gold products. [click to continue…]
It’s baaaaaaaack. After a brief hiatus that saw investors rushing to determine the best ways to battle deflation, inflationary concerns have begun to surface again. The cause of the latest bout of inflationary anxiety is of course the QE2 program recently announced by the Federal Reserve that calls for the purchase of hundreds of billions [...]
Adam Patti is the Chief Executive Officer and Founder of IndexIQ, a New York-based ETF issuer behind several of the most innovative ETF products to hit the market in recent years. He recently took time out of his busy schedule to discuss commodity investing, ETF options for protecting against inflation, and replicating hedge fund-like returns [...]
ETFs trended higher this week but finished flat on Friday as the markets digested conflicting data reports. This came after retail sales rose by 0.3% but the consumer sentiment index headed lower, leaving investors to wonder which direction the American consumer will take the economy. In other news, Obama is set to nominate Janet Yellen, [...]
It’s difficult to put a finger on the exact cause of the recent surge in popularity of commodity investing. More than likely, the boom is attributable to a number of different factors. Correlation between international equity markets (and even between stocks and bonds) has surged in recent years, increasing both the importance and difficulty of [...]
Last year saw more than 100 new product launches, ranging from plain vanilla equity and bond funds to ETFs offering exposure to exotic new investment strategies and asset classes previously available only to a limited slice of the investing community. The innovation that has made ETFs a popular alternative to mutual funds seems ready to [...]
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 [...]
Michael Johnston, senior analyst at ETF Database, appeared on live television this morning to discuss a few ETFs that would serve as possible hedges against inflation, including: WisdomTree Dreyfus Emerging Currency Fund (CEW) IndexIQ CPI Inflation Hedged ETF (CPI) Claymore/Clear Global Timber Fund (CUT) Market Vectors TR Gold Miners Fund (GDX) IndexIQ ARB Global Resources [...]
Over the last year, U.S. equity markets have staged a remarkable recovery as volatility has plummeted and the emergency stimulus measures implemented amidst heated debate appear to have had their intended effect. Indications that unemployment may be close to peaking and that consumer confidence is on the rise once again only add fuel to the [...]
IndexIQ, the ETF issuer behind the first hedge fund ETFs, has brought its fifth exchange-traded product to market, the IQ ARB Merger Arbitrage ETF. The fund began trading Tuesday on the NYSE Arca Exchange under the clever ticker MNA. The new ETF will track the IQ ARB Merger Arbitrage Index, a benchmark that includes global [...]
IndexIQ, the New York-based developer of alternative indexes and exchange-traded funds, has taken the first step towards launching a 130/30 ETF, filing a 40-APP application with the SEC earlier this week. IndexIQ currently maintains the IQ 130/30 Index, a rules-based benchmark that employs fundamental factors to select U.S. stocks with a long exposure of 130% [...]
