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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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Top Performing Currency ETFs From The First Half Of The Year

Eric Dutram — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 14:21:06 +0000

The first half of 2010 was a very interesting period for currency ETFs, which look to remain in focus as the second half of the year gets underway and attention turns to central bank rate hikes. One of the biggest news stories from the first half of the year in the world of finance was the rapid deterioration of the euro and the crisis of confidence that this once mighty currency has suffered. Thanks to the sovereign debt issues that continue to plague Europe, many investors have turned their attention to the U.S. dollar as a relative safe-haven during this turbulent time. This has helped to send the PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish (UUP), a fund that tracks the dollar’s performance against a basket of developed market currencies, up by more than 6% on the year, ensuring that the fund is the top performer so far in 2010 in [...]

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Warning: Use Caution When Investing In Currency ETFs Of Commodity Dependent Nations

Eric Dutram — Fri, 21 May 2010 14:28:09 +0000

In recent weeks markets have encountered turmoil with prospects for growth around the world being slashed as debt issues in Europe weigh on investors. As investors continue to flee the euro, many are flocking towards the relative safety of the U.S. dollar, further driving up the greenback and dragging down commodity prices. In addition to basic metals, one of the most heavily impacted commodities has been oil, which has plummeted as of late. Traders have seen the price of crude slump from close to $90/bbl. to now down around $70/bbl.–and some see no end to the slide in sight. While this could translate into good news for consumers at the pump, it has been a negative development for oil production firms as well as currencies that are highly dependent on commodities. Generally speaking, when commodity-intensive economies see rising prices for their main exports, the currencies tend to rise as well. [...]

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Five Surprising Facts About The ETF Industry

Michael Johnston — Wed, 14 Apr 2010 07:00:50 +0000

As ETFs have transitioned from a closet industry to a mainstream investment vehicle, a growing number of investors has become familiar with the exchange-traded structure and the nuances of of the industry. Most advisors now recognize the “super tickers”–SPY, GLD, EEM, etc.–and have a good feel for the size and scope of the industry. But there are some interesting stats about the industry that may surprise even the most experienced ETF investors. Below, we present five surprising ETF stats (for more ETF features, sign up for our free ETF newsletter): 1. Expense Ratios Under 0.02% And Above 4%? Going by the official numbers, VTI has the cheapest expense ratio in the ETF industry at 0.07%. GSC and MES come in at the most expensive (excluding acquired fund fees) at 1.25% and 1.00%, respectively. But the expense methodology employed by the line of HOLDRS products from Merrill Lynch throws a wrench [...]

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ETF Database » BZF

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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Top Performing Currency ETFs From The First Half Of The Year

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Warning: Use Caution When Investing In Currency ETFs Of Commodity Dependent Nations

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Five Surprising Facts About The ETF Industry

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