iShares, the issuer behind the $20 billion Barclays TIPS Bond Fund (TIP), has introduced two new ETFs offering exposure to inflation-protected bonds from issuers outside the U.S. The new iShares ETFs include: [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 [...]
by Eric Dutram on November 15, 2010 | Updated November 29, 2010
In recent years, one of the fastest-growing corners of the ETF market has been the fixed income space. As investors have become more comfortable with the idea of utilizing the ETF structure to achieve bond exposure, the number of products has multiplied and asset levels have surged. Ongoing innovation has brought increased granularity to the [...]
Thanks to Ben Bernanke’s $600 billion foray into the U.S. Treasury markets in the hotly debated QE2, many investors have begun to worry that a severe bout of inflation is right around the corner. Renewed anxiety has pushed Treasury Inflation Protected Bonds, or TIPS, to a negative yield in recent auctions, underscoring just how robust [...]
At the end of 2009 inflation was clearly on the minds of investors around the globe, as the massive injections of liquidity into financial markets sparked fears of an inevitable uptick in prices. As the year has progressed, those fears may have retreated–deflation may be more of an immediate concern–but many remain convinced that investors [...]
When governments around the world began implementing massive stimulus plans to lift the global economy from a deep recession, opinions were sharply divided. While it seems that these plans have been successful in the short run–as evidenced by the remarkable rally over the last 13 months–some investors have become increasingly concerned about the long-term impact [...]
Investors have historically embraced international diversification in their portfolios as a way to smooth out volatility and reduce overall risk. But the last two years have shown that the benefits of such diversification aren’t what they once were. A meltdown that began in the U.S. mortgage market quickly spread throughout the world, sparking countless complaints [...]
In the business of asset management, bond investing may not get much love, but it can be as vital a component of an investor’s portfolio as equities. Fixed income investing isn’t nearly as sexy as stock picking, but as many investors have learned in recent years, a well-rounded bond allocation can significantly reduce the overall [...]
Following a year that saw some of the worst performances in recent memory, many asset classes have bounced back in 2009. But some have performed better than others, and as the year draws to a close we take a look at some of the best-performing ETFs. The year’s top gainers include a few of the [...]
Despite a third quarter return to growth in the 16-country euro zone, Spain’s economy has continued to contract as fallout from the collapse of the nation’s construction industry continues to wreak havoc on unemployment rates and equity prices. The road to recovery got a bit rockier on Wednesday, as Standard & Poor’s lowered its ratings [...]
WisdomTree, a leader in the fundamental ETF and currency fund spaces, has registered the Real Return Fund (RRF) with the SEC, the next step in bringing to market an ETF that is designed to protect investor capital against the ravages of inflation. According to the filing, the proposed fund would seek to “provide investors with [...]
