Creativity on the product development front has become a defining characteristic of the ETF industry, as the surge in the number of ETF offerings in recent years has been driven not by duplication but by innovation. Many of the new fund launches are first-to-market concepts, offering exposure to asset classes or strategies not previously available within the ETF wrapper. The bond ETF space in particular has seen a number of major developments in recent years, and many of the ETF newcomers have become popular among investors and furthered huge asset growth rates. [click to continue…]
Russell Investments and Research Affiliates announced this week the creation of a new suite of indexes based on the Fundamental index methodology developed by Research Affiliates founder Rob Arnott. The two companies formed a partnership last year, and are now introducing 24 fundamental-weighted benchmarks measuring the performance of domestic and international equity markets.
U.S. ETF assets topped $1 trillion for the first time in December, as a year-end rally in global equity markets and another strong month of inflows pushed the industry past the milestone. ETF assets also finished the year above this key mark, according to the latest data from the National Stock Exchange, representing an increase [...]
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 ETFs have become increasingly popular among more active traders in recent years, it may be easy to forget that the vehicle was originally designed with the long-term buy-and-holder in mind. For those who take stock in the numerous academic studies indicating that active management generally destroys value over the long haul, cost efficient vehicles [...]
by Eric Dutram on October 22, 2010 | Updated April 20, 2011
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 [...]
With the first three quarters of the year now in the books, 2010 has so far seen a continued expansion of the ETF industry; more than 100 new funds have launched and assets have climbed closer to $1 trillion in total. But some corners of the industry that had been pegged as major sources of [...]
The impressive ETF boom of the last several years has in many ways changed the investing landscape quite dramatically. Although index mutual funds have been around for more than 30 years, the introduction of low-cost ETFs has many investors questioning the merits of pricey active management [see Two Cases Against Active Management]. The introduction of [...]
The monthly ETF statistical bulletins have become somewhat predictable in recent months, as continued inflows into the ETF industry have been about as certain as death and taxes. So the latest figures from the NSX came as a bit of a shock; total ETF assets declined from about $835 million to $815 million during the [...]
For investors used to living off of juicy coupon payments from fixed income portfolios, the last several years have been trying times. As central banks around the world slashed benchmark rates to stave off a recession and investors flocked to safe haven investments, yields on high quality fixed income securities have plunged to a fraction [...]
This year has been a frustrating one for investors, as equity markets came racing out of the gate only to lose steam as much anticipated job creation failed to materialize and much of the developed world found itself facing a massive credit crunch. Every development that seemingly indicates a robust recovery–such as the impressive earnings [...]
