ETF Database » BAL

Four Volatile ETFs For Active Traders

Jared Cummans — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 11:00:33 +0000

As the ETF industry has continued to expand, now with 1,300+ products to choose from, investors now have more ways than ever to make a play on their favorite market, sector, or region. One of the biggest advantages of ETFs over their mutual fund counterparts is their abundant liquidity; they can be traded intraday just like any other stock, opening up the world to active traders seeking to cash in on the lucrative opportunities offered through the exchange traded world. In fact, there are numerous products that are designed specifically for traders to use on a daily basis, as they offer exposure to volatile sectors that tend to exhibit large movements on an intraday basis. One popular option for trading comes in the form of volatility products; funds that track the VIX (CBOE Volatility Index) tend to experience large movements on a daily basis. But not all investors are comfortable [...]

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Don’t Fight The Curve: Five Commodity ETFs in Backwardation

Jared Cummans — Mon, 02 May 2011 14:00:18 +0000

The rapid development of exchange traded products has brought with it increased diversity in the investing space. Markets segments that were once nearly impossible for the average Joe to reach have now become as easy to buy as a share of ExxonMobil. Some of these elusive market segments include emerging markets, high yield fixed income, and commodities, the latter of which is one of the most popular and fastest growing segments of the exchange traded world. It used to be that investors had to own a futures account, which can be very complex and risky, in order to invest in commodities. With these accounts being so difficult for the average trader to use, exchange traded products stepped in to act as a vehicle for buyers interested in achieving commodity exposure but with minimal risks regarding margin and leverage. Now, traders can gain exposure to various futures contracts, or even [...]

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Seven Best ETF Performers Of Q1 (And Five Of The Worst)

Michael Johnston — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 13:00:57 +0000

The first quarter of 2011 is officially in the books, and the last three months have been a stretch marked by instability both domestically and abroad. Significant uncertainty remains, as investors are still divided on the outlook for interest rates, further stimulus measures, and the ability of emerging markets to continue driving global GDP growth. Despite the lingering concerns, the first quarter was a generally strong stretch for most portfolios. The broad-based SPY added a little more than 5% during the last three months, while the most popular emerging markets ETF (VWO) added close to 2%. Several ETFs have turned in blistering performances to start the year, surging by more than 20% in the first quarter of 2011. Among the best performers are a number of funds investors might expect, as well as several that likely wouldn’t come to mind immediately. Below, we profile the seven best ETF performers during [...]

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Cotton ETF (BAL) Skyrockets On Chinese Demand, Australian Crop Concerns

Eric Dutram — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 20:08:14 +0000

It’s hard to argue that 2010 was the year of the commodity, as products ranging from gold to oil and everything in between saw their prices surge on the back of rising fears over inflation and supply concerns for many of the world’s key soft commodities. However, the pace of gains has slowed considerably in 2011 for most commodities except for one; cotton is continuing its unprecedented surge higher this year as well. Cotton, a crucial commodity for textiles around the world, started 2010 around 75 cents a pound and after moderate gains in the first half of the year, took off in the second half of 2010, surging to $1.76 a pound. While some thought that the commodity was due for a pullback after these incredible gains, the fluffy commodity merely continued its run up to current prices above $2/lb. instead. This incredible surge came about early in Thursday [...]

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Commodity ETF Ideas: Profiting From Backwardation

Michael Johnston — Wed, 16 Feb 2011 15:00:11 +0000

By now, most investors are well aware of certain nuances of futures-based investment strategies that are capable of having a significant impact on the returns of exchange-traded commodity products. A select few of the 70+ commodity ETPs on the market offer exposure to natural resources by physically buying and holding the commodity; these “physically-backed” commodity ETFs generally focus on assets with high value-to-weight ratios–such as precious metals. But for the vast majority of commodities, exposure through a physically-backed structure simply isn’t possible–there are obvious hurdles to funds that invest in live cattle or barrels of crude oil. Most commodity ETFs implement futures-based strategies, offering exposure to everything from corn to gold to tin by investing in contracts that generally exhibit very high correlations to movements in spot prices. Since the commodity ETF boom began a few years ago, many investors have learned about the potential pitfalls of futures-based strategies–including the [...]

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Commodity ETFs Get No Love From Investors

Michael Johnston — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 15:00:34 +0000

It doesn’t seem like that long ago that exchange-traded commodity products were the darlings of the ETF world. Praised for democratizing an entire asset class (and one capable of delivering non-correlated returns to investors at that), commodity ETFs saw billions of dollars of cash inflows in 2009. Investors rushed to get their hands on everything from copper to tin, and they embraced the transparency and liquidity that the exchange-traded structure had to offer. Last year was a banner year for commodities, with inflationary pressures, surging demand from emerging markets, and a host of supply issues conspiring to push prices of various resources sharply higher. Corn prices surged, gold repeatedly set new record highs, and a host of other agricultural products–including sugar and soybeans–climbed sharply higher. While 2010 was a stellar year all around for investors–most major asset classes posted nice gains–commodities were clearly the star. Lists of the year’s best [...]

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Six ETFs That Surged In January

Michael Johnston — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 12:00:42 +0000

The first month of 2011 is in the books, and January certainly displayed no shortage of action for investors. Earnings season kicked off to a relatively strong start, though disappointments sprinkled throughout cast some doubt on the strength of an ongoing recovery. Last year was a good one for almost every asset class, with the vast majority of U.S.-listed ETFs turning in gains. And for the most part, that positive trend continued in January, with many ETFs inching higher. A handful of products raced ahead in January, posting double digit gains over the course of a single month. And many of the big winners from January were the few dogs of 2010; those that were battered last year staged sharp rebounds to start the new year. Below, we highlight a handful of exchange-traded products that gained at least 10% during January [for more ETF insights, sign up for our free [...]

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ETFs To Watch As Egyptian Drama Plays Out

Michael Johnston — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 12:00:14 +0000

Egypt has become the center of the news world over the last week, as a series of violent protests and intensifying calls for a regime change have left the future of one of Africa’s most populous countries in doubt. Though violence has been limited to a relatively small number of incidents, protesters have continued to take to the streets to decry what they perceive to be years of economic mismanagement under what amounts to a dictatorship. The U.S. and other countries have begun to call for their citizens to leave the country, while toeing a delicate line in terms of involvement in the conflict. Egypt is a relatively small economy, with a GDP of just about $200 billion. But the economic impact of the ongoing protests and uncertainty goes far beyond Egyptian borders, affecting broader financial markets in recent days. “The turmoil in Egypt is reverberating around the world, battering [...]

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Best ETF Performers Of 2010: Winners For Every ETFdb Category

Michael Johnston — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 12:00:23 +0000

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 profiled the top performing ETFs in more than 60 ETFdb Categories covering all major asset classes. ETFs that launched in 2010 were excluded, as were those that stopped trading during the year [for more ETF insights, sign up for our free ETF newsletter]: Equity ETFs Many equity ETFs turned impressive performances in 2010; below, we profile the best of the best: All Cap Equities: The First Trust Multi CG AlphaDex (FAD) added 25.2% last year, besting the more popular VTI (up 17.4%) and IWV (up 16.8%) by a wide margin. Large Cap Blend Equities: The [...]

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Top Five Commodity ETFs Of 2010

Jared Cummans — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 15:00:43 +0000

As we put the finishing touches on 2010, the year has shaped up to be one of the most eventful in recent memory for global markets as a number of important events impacted the world economy. Among the events that dominated financial headlines this year were an (ongoing) sovereign debt crisis, the flash crash, a violent volcanic eruption that grounded air traffic for some time in Europe, a major oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and another wave of quantitative easing aimed to get the U.S. back on track. Equities have struggled to fall into a pattern, as the S&P 500 started the year off around 1,132, and has managed to fight through uncertainty to gain around 100 points on the year. Overall, a 100 point gain seems solid from the outside looking in, but halfway through 2010, the S&P was down 100 points from its opening level, showing [...]

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ETF Database » BAL

Four Volatile ETFs For Active Traders

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Don’t Fight The Curve: Five Commodity ETFs in Backwardation

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Seven Best ETF Performers Of Q1 (And Five Of The Worst)

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Cotton ETF (BAL) Skyrockets On Chinese Demand, Australian Crop Concerns

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Commodity ETF Ideas: Profiting From Backwardation

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Commodity ETFs Get No Love From Investors

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Six ETFs That Surged In January

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ETFs To Watch As Egyptian Drama Plays Out

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Best ETF Performers Of 2010: Winners For Every ETFdb Category

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Top Five Commodity ETFs Of 2010

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