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 as zinc or tin. More recently, the ETF industry has witnessed escalating price wars, with multiple issuers lowering management fees in an attempt to lure cost-conscious investors. These price wars have sent expense ratios to as low as six basis points, much to the delight of investors accustomed to forking over upwards of 1.5% annually to active mutual funds. But many ETF issuers have recognized that the total cost of ETF investing goes beyond just expense ratios, and have aggressively marketed programs designed to save investors money when executing ETF trades [see The Total Cost Of ETF Investing]. [click to continue…]
Grail Advisors has announced that it will close two actively-managed ETFs the firm currently offers through a partnership with RiverPark Capital. Trading in the RP Technology ETF (RPQ) and RP Financials ETF (RFF) will be suspended prior to the market open on August 30, and shareholders will have their shares redeemed for cash the following [...]
ETFs have burst onto the investing scene in part because they allow for a tremendous simplification of the portfolio construction process. Even relatively novice investors are able to construct a well-diversified, balanced portfolio with just a handful of tickers, eliminating a slew of unnecessary expenses in the process.
Vanguard, known within the ETF and index fund industries for its rock bottom expenses, announced on Tuesday that it will begin offering commission-free trading on its ETFs. Vanguard brokerage clients will be able to make commission-free transactions in each of Vanguard’s 46 ETFs. The company also announced that most Vanguard brokerage clients will pay either [...]
It must be one of the oldest arguments in the history of mankind: who’s number one? Last year, we received regular updates on the status of the ongoing battle between General Motors and Toyota for the global sales crown (and more recently for the Cash For Clunkers crown). At present, this question is causing a [...]
In April of this year, Barclays announced that it had agreed to sell its iShares line of ETFs to private equity firm CVC Capital Partners for $4.4 billion. So why all the speculation lately that BlackRock and other banks are in the running to acquire the fund family? As part of its deal with CVC, Barclays [...]
By now, many investors have heard countless times the advantages of ETFs over mutual funds: lower costs, tax efficiency, improved transparency, etc., etc. While the cost issue is relatively straight forward, the tax advantages of ETFs are a bit more confusing. Even with a detailed explanation, this advantage remains a largely theoretical concept for most [...]
