Many investors have had a rough time so far in 2011 as a number of issues have plagued markets around the world. European debt crises appear to be in the news every other day while an increasingly large number of emerging markets appear to be abandoning their focus on fighting inflation. This has pushed many investors back into American securities, however this too has been a losing pick as broad indexes have slumped thanks to a lower credit rating for U.S. government debt and weakness in job prospects for a variety of industries. [click to continue…]
Few asset classes have delivered more impressive performances over the last several years than gold; investors seeking safe havens–or perhaps just fiat currency alternatives–have flocked to the yellow metal in droves in recent past, pushing asset prices sharply higher. And, not surprisingly, more and more investors seeking out precious metals exposure have elected to utilize [...]
This year started off strong, as it looked like the economic recovery was finally gaining some steam. Major indexes trended upwards for the first seven months of the year, with the S&P 500 hitting 1,370 at its peak. It marked good progress as we exited the “Lost Decade” where most indexes finished where they were [...]
The first half of 2011 is officially in the books, and many investors find their portfolios in approximately the same place as they were to start the year (though a furious rally in the final week of the quarter gave a nice boost at an opportune moment). Most major equity indexes are up slightly on [...]
Morgan Stanley has rolled out a new ETN that combines access to large cap U.S. equities with exposure to a futures-based investment in crude oil. The new S&P 500 Crude Oil Linked ETN (BARL) will offer returns of the S&P 500 Oil Hedged Index. That benchmark provides exposure to the S&P 500 Total Return Index [...]
The S&P 500 Index is perhaps the world’s best known benchmark. First published in 1957, the cap-weighted index consists of 500 large cap U.S. stocks listed on either the NYSE or NASDAQ and has become a widely-followed barometer measuring the performance of the U.S. economy. The S&P 500 is a common benchmark for active managers [...]
A relative tame week on Wall Street came to an end with modest gains in most equity markets, as attention continued to focus on the fallout from the Gulf oil spill. Following an eventful string of days that saw BP’s chief testify before Congress, the suspension of the oil giant’s dividend, and creation of a [...]
Most investors were happy to see the calendars turn to June and put a dismal month of May in the rear view mirror. Global equity markets took their cues from Europe for most of the month, as anxiety over the impact of sovereign debt woes on global growth dominated financial headlines and caused a wave [...]
When ETFs began to make their way into the investing mainstream, almost all products were “plain vanilla” funds linked to well known stock benchmarks, such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500. But as the popularity of ETFs has surged, so too has the number of product offerings, with approximately 30 issuers now [...]
The first quarter of 2010 was one of the most active periods in recent memory for the ETF industry. Approximately 60 new funds hit the market during this three month period, continuing the impressive expansion and innovation that has become standard in a space that has huge potential (see the March ETF Roundup). This trend [...]
After adding more than 100 new funds and taking in nearly $120 billion in cash in 2009, it seemed that the ETF industry would be hard-pressed to match that impressive pace in 2010. But an action-packed January that saw more than a dozen new funds, setting a pace that would shatter last year’s expansion. The [...]
