As interest in emerging markets has accelerated over the past few years, many investors have sought to identify the economies from the developing world that maintain the most significant long-term potential. Many engaging in that search have gravitated towards Brazil, home to an abundance of natural resources, a successful clean energy revolution, and an economy that maintains strong ties with the Asian powerhouses that have become major drivers of GDP growth. And it should come as no surprise that ETFs have emerged as a popular tool for gaining exposure to the Brazilian stock market; the flexibility and tax efficiency of the exchange-traded structure make ETFs a perfect way for tapping into promising emerging markets.
There are currently about nine different ETFs offering exposure to the Brazilian economy. While there is meaningful overlap between some of these products, Brazil ETFs are far from identical; each maintains unique risk/return profiles. Below, we highlight five factors that any investors considering a position in Brazil should consider; your viewpoints on these five topics should help to narrow down the lineup of Brazil ETFs to one that is consistent with your objectives [see the LatAm Centric ETFdb Portfolio]: [click to continue…]
The year-end periods provides the ETF industry with a couple of opportunities to flex its collective muscle; performance comparisons generally tend to favor those products with lower expense ratios–a defining feature of exchange-traded funds. But early January also puts another benefit of exchange-traded products into focus: enhanced tax efficiency relative to traditional mutual funds. The [...]
Since the ETF industry was conceived close to two decades ago, innovation has been a hallmark of this rapidly-expanding corner of the investing landscape. Thanks to a unique structure that allows for liquidity, transparency, and tax efficiency, ETFs have quickly and consistently taken market share from other types of securities, bringing newfound flexibility to all [...]
The saying “never judge a book by its cover” is certainly applicable to a wide range of situations. That includes the business of investing; for advisors and individuals who use ETFs, the old adage can be very relevant, valuable advice. There are now more than 1,300 exchange-traded products now available to U.S. investors, and that [...]
The rapid expansion of the ETF industry has been one of the most important developments of the last several decades to financial professionals; as the lineup of exchange-traded products has surged past 1,300, financial advisors now have more tools in their toolkits than ever before to help construct client portfolios. With these new financial products [...]
A deluge of bad data conspired to sink markets in the Holiday-shortened week as most major benchmarks finished the period down significantly. The S&P 500 sank by 2.8% on the week while the ten year Treasury Bond was boosted by heavy amounts of safe haven buying and flirted with the 3.00% mark to close out [...]
IndexIQ, the firm behind a suite of hedge fund replication ETFs and small cap country-specific funds, notched another first for the ETF industry on Thursday. The IQ Japan Mid Cap ETF (RSUN) will seek to replicate an index that consists of about 100 mid cap Japanese stocks. The weighted average market capitalization of the companies [...]
As the ETF industry has continued to expand at a breakneck pace, the introduction of first-to-market products has become somewhat commonplace. Well more than 100 ETFs have debuted this year, many of them targeting an asset class or investment strategy not previously accessible within the ETF wrapper. Recent weeks have seen the debut of the [...]
Van Eck announced this week that it has reduced the expense caps for five of its exchange-traded funds, effective May first. The move represents the latest development in a string of fee reductions by ETF issuers, reflecting both increasing asset bases and economies of scale as well as efforts to lure cost-conscious investors. The ETFs [...]
In recent years interest in achieving exposure to emerging markets has intensified tremendously, as the developing economies of the world have established themselves as the clear leaders of GDP growth while advanced economies have struggled to regain their footing. While there are dozens of countries that fall under “emerging” status, exposure to this investment strategy [...]
Today marks the first day of trading for the Market Vectors Russia Small-Cap ETF (RSXJ), the first exchange-traded product offering U.S. investors exposure to small cap Russian stocks. The new fund from Van Eck will seek to replicate the performance of the Market Vectors Russia Small-Cap Index, a benchmark that includes about 35 small cap [...]
