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The first half of 2011 is officially in the books, and many investors find their portfolios in approximately the same place as they were to start the year (though a furious rally in the final week of the quarter gave a nice boost at an opportune moment). Most major equity indexes are up slightly on the year, while fixed income benchmarks have similarly hovered around breakeven. Beyond these broad generalizations, there are some significant performance discrepancies among exchange-traded products that may seem to offer up similar risk/return profiles.

The following tables highlight the top performers from every ETFdb Category during the first six months of the year, shedding some light on the asset classes that have struggled and thrived so far in 2011–and reinforcing that the seemingly minor distinctions between ETPs can lead to big differences in performance [for monthly updates on the best performers, sign up for the free ETFdb newsletter]: [click to continue…]

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May ETFdb Category Kings: Best Performing ETFs

by Michael Johnston on June 3, 2011

The month of May was a generally disappointing stretch for investors, as both international and domestic equity markets struggled to overcome obstacles new and old. Commodities, which had been a nice source of absolute returns for much of the last year, fell on hard times as well; precious metals went into a brief freefall, and most other natural resources saw price declines as well.

May demonstrated the importance of a meaningful allocation to fixed income within any long-term portfolio, as most bond ETFs turned in nice gains during the month. The following tables highlight the best performers from each ETFdb Category during the month of May [ETFdb Pro members can download spreadsheets showing performance and expense data for the entire ETF universe]. [click to continue…]

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This Week in ETFs: April 23rd Edition

by Seth Dowling on April 23, 2010

After news of fraud charges against Goldman Sachs broke last Friday, anxiety built over the weekend and investors watched nervously to see if markets would plummet this week. But markets saw a relatively clam week, with most indexes posting moderate gains despite more trouble in Greece and jumping gas prices. It was another eventful week [...]

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Claymore To Close Four ETFs

by Michael Johnston on November 30, 2009

Lisle, Illinois-based Claymore, the ETF issuer that was acquired by Guggenheim Partners earlier this year, announced last week that it will close four of its lightly-traded ETFs. December 11 will be the last day of trading for the following funds:

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Definitive Guide To Water ETFs

by Michael Johnston on November 27, 2009

The rise of the ETF industry has democratized commodity investing, making this asset class accessible to more investors than ever before. ETFs offer exposure, both direct and indirect, to almost every commodity imaginable, ranging from popular resources such as metals and grains to obscure commodities like azuki beans and greasy wool. With all the attention [...]

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Fun And Games With ETFs

by Michael Johnston on October 27, 2009

Over the last few years, ETFs have seen a tremendous surge in use and popularity among all breeds of investors for a number of reasons. Some are attracted to the low costs. Others value the tax efficiency and liquidity. I love ETFs (in part) because they facilitate a “top-down” approach to investing. Picking individual stocks [...]

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