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PKOL

With three quarters of 2011 officially in the books, it is now safe to say that the year has not played out as many investors had hoped it might. After coming flying out of the gates–most major benchmarks were solidly in positive territory after the first quarter–a perfect storm of negative developments has conspired to hammer valuations of risky assets, leaving many portfolios drenched in red ink. Most equity indexes are down considerably in 2011, with many recently testing new lows on renewed concerns about debt woes in Europe and the frustrating lack of job creation in the U.S.

While the vast majority of equity ETFs are now deep in negative territory for the year, some have, of course, been hit harder than others. A handful of funds have piled up year-to-date losses that exceed 35%, with several losing almost half of their value since the start of the year. For those with positions in these products, the abysmal performance can of course be frustrating. But for those with capital waiting to be deployed, a review of the dogs of 2011 can perhaps generate some intriguing opportunities. [click to continue…]

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Van Eck Plans Mongolia ETF

by Michael Johnston on May 24, 2011

Van Eck, the issuer behind a number of country-specific emerging markets ETFs, recently laid the groundwork to launch what would be the industry’s first Mongolia ETF. In an SEC filing last week, the company outlined an ETF that would seek to replicate a to-be-determined index that would consist of companies domiciled and primarily listed on an exchange in Mongolia or that generates at least half of its revenue in Mongolia. The filing didn’t include an expense ratio or ticker symbol for the proposed fund. [click to continue…]

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Mining ETFs: Eight Ways To Play

by Michael Johnston on August 25, 2010

Commodities have been one of the hottest corners of the ETF market, exploding on to the scene in recent years as investors have rushed to gain access to a suddenly democratized asset class that has been shown to add valuable diversification benefits to traditional stock-and-bond portfolios [see Rethinking Commodity ETFs]. But some investors have been [...]

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One Year Later: Top Ten Performing ETFs Since The Market Bottom

by Michael Johnston on March 9, 2010

March 9, 2009 is a date etched into the memories of many investors. After months of unprecedented volatility, depressing statistical releases, and countless false bottoms, that’s the day most equity markets finally hit their lows. It also marked the beginning of an impressive rally that saw most major indexes climb steadily for the remainder of [...]

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Will Buffett’s Railroad Bubble Derail Transportation ETF?

by Michael Johnston on December 3, 2009

Despite the fact that shares of Berkshire Hathaway have lagged far behind broad market benchmarks this year, the events of the last month have shown that the investment community still hangs on Warren Buffett’s every word and tries to draft his every move. Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway announced in early November that it would purchase the [...]

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Daily ETF Roundup: UNG Surges, VXX Plummets As Markets Rebound

by Michael Johnston on October 5, 2009

The United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) surged more than 6% in trading Monday as investors looked ahead to forecasts of cold weather in major gas-consuming regions. Brisk temperatures are expected in the Midwest and Northeast over the next two weeks, giving natural gas a big boost after a year of declining prices. Huge discoveries [...]

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Are Investors Hoping For A Coal ETF In Their Stocking This Year?

by Eric Dutram on September 29, 2009

According to our ETF screener, of the ten best performing equity ETFs year to date, coal ETFs account for two of the  list, both are up more than 97% in 2009. With winter fast approaching, many investors are wondering if coal ETFs can continue to power portfolio gains, or if their rally will fizzle out. [...]

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