ETF Database » BZF

The Cheapest Actively Managed ETFs

Stoyan Bojinov — Thu, 10 May 2012 11:00:35 +0000

Institutional money managers, financial advisors, and investors of all walks have largely embraced the advantages offered by the exchange-traded product structure over traditional mutual funds. The rising popularity of indexing strategies makes it easy and affordable for investors to tap into virtually any asset class around the globe through the purchase of a single ticker. Thanks to the ongoing innovation in the ETF Universe, investors don’t have to settle for a passive strategy; in fact, increasing cost competition among issuers has led to lower prices for both passive and actively managed funds, allowing for investors to tap into a diverse suite of strategies without incurring astronomical expenses [see also Five Questions To Ask When Buying An ETF]. Cost efficiency is one of the founding pillars of the ETF industry, and as such, the exchange-traded product structure continues to evolve into a more affordable investment vehicle. Cost-conscious investors have several dozen “cheap” ETFs with rock bottom expense ratios to choose [...]

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When An ETF Distribution Isn’t A Dividend: Explaining Capital Gains

Jared Cummans — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 13:00:33 +0000

Income investing has become particularly popular in recent years, as near-zero interest rates have left many starved for attractive yields. As such, many investors turned to equity ETFs paying out high dividends to find a stable source of income. But looking through past distributions and current yield metrics is not always the most accurate method for evaluating an ETF’s yield, as there are several nuances to these products that need to be taken into account, including capital gains [see also 12 High-Yielding Commodities For 2012]. Capital Gains Though the exchange-traded structure helps these products to avoid incur capital gains far less frequently than mutual funds, a number of ETFs incur capital gains through out the year, which will ultimately lead to high distributions to investors. The shareholders of the ETF, like you, will be responsible for paying the taxes on these capital gains, the same as you would if you had sold [...]

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Five ETFs With Sky High Yields

Jared Cummans — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 11:00:28 +0000

Investors have enjoyed the bull market that has been 2012, as a number of asset classes have experienced marked gains. But many are also aware that the growth in major equity benchmarks could come to a screeching halt at any time, especially if (and when) euro zone fears spark up again. To protect their portfolios against unpredictable markets, many investors have turned to income investing over the past few years, using dividends to procure the majority of their gains. But finding strong yields in an environment with record-low interest rates can be a tall order. Many investors feel that dividend-paying firms present strong plays because a cash payout to shareholders is typically a sign of a strong company; all of the crafty accounting techniques in the world couldn’t fake a dividend payout and many feel that these distributions comment on the overall health of a firm. For those seeking to [...]

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Tax Efficiency Report Card

Daniela Pylypczak — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 12:00:24 +0000

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 nuances of the exchange-traded structure have the potential to bring additional tax efficiencies to investors thanks to the availability of an “in kind redemption” that ultimately gives investors more control over the timing of tax obligations. Mutual funds, on the other hand, have a nasty tendency to stick remaining shareholders with tax liabilities incurred as a result of redemptions by others–a development that can obviously be undesirable [see Tax Loss Harvesting With ETFs: 6 Ideas To Lower Client Liabilities]. ETFs won’t allow investors to skip out on their taxes, but this product structure can deliver [...]

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UBS Launches Risk On / Risk Off ETNs

Michael Johnston — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 14:00:49 +0000

UBS, the issuer behind one of the broadest lineups of ETNs available to U.S. investors, continued the aggressive expansion of its product lineup this week with the introduction of two unique offerings. The company rolled out a pair of blunt instruments designed to be used in high level “risk on / risk off” trades, a term that has become popular in recent months as risky assets have exhibited strong correlations with one another and so-called “safe havens” have thrived whenever uncertainty pops up. The new ETRACS Fisher Gartman Risk On On ETN (ONN) will seek to replicate the Fisher-Gartman Risk Index, a benchmark that includes long positions in various risky asset classes such as stocks and commodities and short positions in traditional safe haven investments such as sovereign bonds. The index consists of 150% long positions combined with 50% short exposure, resulting in a net 100% long portfolio: Sector Long [...]

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ETF Insider: Picky Bulls, Broad Bears

Stoyan Bojinov — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 14:18:15 +0000

Wall Street continued its wild ride last week as equity indexes sank lower after a discouraging downgrade of Ireland to junk status and ongoing worries about the debt ceiling on the home front. Alcoa started the week with upbeat results and Google left investors smiling on Friday as shares soared upwards of 10% after the internet giant crushed analyst expectations. Gold emerged as the strongest performing asset class yet again; the precious metal continues to ride higher as financial markets across the globe largely remain uncertain and last week’s futures prices climbed to record highs of $1,594 an ounce. Our trade recommendations for this week include a defensive position with international exposure in the fixed-income market, while our other two picks are positioned to gain from a rally in select corners of the equity-market from across the globe. Weekly Outlook The coming week is fairly sparse with economic data on [...]

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Emerging Market ETFs: Seven Factors Every Investor Should Consider

Eric Dutram — Tue, 09 Nov 2010 14:30:53 +0000

No matter where investors look in the developed world, the picture isn’t pretty. In the U.S. unemployment remains intolerably high, and uncertainty over the latest round of QE will continue to hang over stock markets. In Europe efforts to control surging deficits have been met with protests and public outrage, complicating the process of reeling in government spending through austerity and establishing a platform for sustainable economic growth. And in Japan, the central bank has taken steps to weaken the currency in order to keep the country’s important exporters competitive on the global stage. However, the country’s debt levels now approach 200% of GDP–by far one of the highest levels in the developed world–raising all sorts of red flags around a market that has been stick in economic quicksand for the better part of two decades. While a few advanced markets have managed to avoid this malaise–namely those with significant [...]

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Three ETFs To Watch During The Great Currency War Of 2010

Eric Dutram — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 11:00:39 +0000

As the American economy continues to grow at a painfully slow pace, investors have begun to lose confidence in the once rock solid greenback. This has pushed many investors into the relative safety of gold and other precious metals, many of which are now breaking through or approaching all-time highs. Even the much maligned euro–despite a patch of weakness earlier this week–has seen a spike in its value as of late, surging by close to 10% over the past three months. Given the ongoing troubles in the American market and the fact that even the euro has been gaining against the dollar, it should not come as a surprise to many to find out that the dollar has also been struggling against a variety of more fundamentally sound currencies as well. While some smaller countries, such as Switzerland and South Korea, have been intervening in the currency markets throughout the [...]

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Brazil ETFs: Nine Ways To Play

Cathy Carlson — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 14:30:04 +0000

Brazil has become one of the most popular investment destinations in recent years, as U.S. investors have begun to question their “home country bias” and tilt portfolios more heavily towards the fast-growing emerging markets. Once upon a time, options for exposure to Brazil were somewhat limited; most mutual funds and some of the first ETFs covering the country were dominated by a few mega cap stocks, essentially offering exposure to Brazil’s biggest banks and oil companies. But the growth of the ETF industry has given investors more options than ever before. China is perhaps the superstar of the BRIC bloc, receiving a great deal of attention from international investors (and with good reason). But Brazil offers an intriguing opportunity as well; the country is rich in a wide variety of natural resources and in a unique position to thrive as a supplier of raw materials to the emerging world [see [...]

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Currency ETFs: A Better Way To Play The BRIC?

Eric Dutram — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 12:34:32 +0000

When the global economy transitioned into “recovery mode” following the latest recession, the emerging markets of the world jumped into the lead and quickly left their developed counterparts in the dust. Although advanced economies have resumed expansion, growth rates in the U.S. and Western Europe lag far behind the impressive figures being put up by China, Brazil, and countless other emerging economies. Some investors have always embraced emerging markets as an opportunity to access high growth areas of the economy, but in recent years interest has surged to new highs. With significant hurdles to growth in advanced economies–including sky high unemployment and mounting debt– many investors are rethinking the traditional wisdom that has called for them to allocate huge chunks of portfolios to domestic securities. The “home country bias” isn’t dead, but it’s taken some body blows [see this Q&A With Richard Kang for more on this topic]. Most emerging [...]

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ETF Database » BZF

The Cheapest Actively Managed ETFs

Related Posts:

When An ETF Distribution Isn’t A Dividend: Explaining Capital Gains

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Five ETFs With Sky High Yields

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Tax Efficiency Report Card

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UBS Launches Risk On / Risk Off ETNs

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ETF Insider: Picky Bulls, Broad Bears

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Emerging Market ETFs: Seven Factors Every Investor Should Consider

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Three ETFs To Watch During The Great Currency War Of 2010

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Brazil ETFs: Nine Ways To Play

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Currency ETFs: A Better Way To Play The BRIC?

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