Last year was a very interesting year for the ETF industry, a stretch filled with both ups and downs. The industry suffered from numerous attacks that concerned investors about the possibility of an ETF collapsing and the role that these securities played in the Flash Crash. Yet many dismissed these claims as fear mongering, and shrewd investors continued to pile into ETFs as a way to reduce expenses, achieve more diversified exposure, and enhance the overall tax efficiency of their portfolios. In fact, ETF assets recently surged to the $1 trillion level, while the number of fund choices continued to expand as well–hitting the 1,100 mark. [click to continue…]
With interest rates at record lows and expected to remain depressed for the foreseeable future, investors have been forced to get creative in their hunt for current return. Some have shifted domestic fixed income holdings along the risk/return continuum, seeking out more attractive yields from junk bonds. Others have ventured beyond the U.S. borders, embracing [...]
If you were to ask a group of long-term investors about the preference for the exchange-traded structure over traditional actively-managed mutual funds, the response would be fairly predictable: lower costs mean higher bottom line returns, especially when compounded over a relatively long time horizon. But while ETFs may have been created with the buy-and-holder in [...]
IndexIQ, the ETF issuer best known for its funds that seek to replicate hedge fund strategies with liquid, transparent securities, announced today the launch of two new ETFs offering single-country equity exposure. The IQ Canada Small Cap ETF (CNDA) will track the performance of the IQ Canada Small Cap Index, while the IQ Australia Small [...]
In an unexpected development, the European Central Bank announced Friday that it will tighten the standards under which it accepts asset-backed securities as collateral from banks for refinancing tenders after March 1. While this step seems relatively minor, analysts viewed its as the first step towards unwinding the massive stimulus plans put into effect to [...]
Thanks to strong economic recoveries in Germany and France, the 16-country euro zone has now officially exited its worst recession in a half century. According to data released on Friday, the euro zone grew by 0.4% in the third quarter, compared with a 0.2% decline in the second quarter. Although the news strengthened hopes of [...]
Over the past several months, concerns over the fallout from the massive stimulus plans, rising unemployment, and continued weakness in corporate earnings have left many investors rethinking their allocations to U.S. equities. Once considered an essential element of any portfolio, American stocks have fallen out of favor with some investors who have shifted assets towards [...]
