Over the last couple of years, investor interest in certain asset classes and general strategies has spiked as a result of the challenges facing global financial markets. With interest rates at record lows and volatility jumping to higher-than-average levels, dividend-focused ETFs have become popular products. ETFs linked to indexes that screen based either on dividend stability or magnitude have the potential to enhance current returns while also smoothing out volatility, and as such have been the targets of some significant inflows [see our free ETF Screener]. [click to continue…]
iShares, the market leader in the U.S. ETF industry, rolled out a complement to its ultra-popular MSCI Emerging Markets Index Fund (EEM) on Thursday. The recently launched MSCI Emerging Markets Small Cap Index Fund (EEMS) will offer exposure to small cap companies in developing economies by seeking to replicate an index comprised of stocks that [...]
The developments of the last several years have highlighted the growing gap between the developed and emerging markets of the world. Advanced economies in North America, Europe, and Asia face mounting debt burdens and the prospect of a prolonged stretch of low economic growth. Meanwhile, many emerging markets have raced ahead, boasting blistering GDP growth [...]
For investors looking to generate current returns from the equity portion of their portfolio, there is no shortage of exchange-traded products offering attractive dividend yields in the current environment. From ETFs linked to dividend-weighted indexes to those that focus on companies with stellar distribution histories to simply sector-specific funds in high yield corners of the [...]
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 [...]
When considering the equity allocation of an investor portfolio, perhaps the most common bifurcation made is between developed and emerging markets. The distinction between developed and emerging markets has become a hot topic in recent years thanks to the tremendous gaps in growth and risk between the two groups. As developed markets have struggled to [...]
State Street rolled out two new ETFs on Thursday, launching products offering exposure to emerging markets equities and fixed income securities. The SPDR Barclays Capital Emerging Markets Local Bond ETF (EBND) will seek to replicate a benchmark consisting of fixed-rate local currency sovereign debt of emerging market countries, while the SPDR S&P Emerging Markets Dividend [...]
Frustrated with the diminishing prospects for growth in the developed world, investors have flocked en masse over the last two years towards red hot emerging markets that now account for the vast majority of global GDP growth. As interest in emerging markets equities has jumped, so too have the options for U.S. investors looking to [...]
The proliferation of U.S.-listed ETFs in recent years has simplified the asset allocation process for investors, making it easier than ever to execute various types of strategies in a cost-efficient and low-maintenance manner. Investors interested in focusing their equity exposure around stocks that exhibit low pricing multiples and attractive dividend yields, for example, have no [...]
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 [...]
Emerging markets ETFs have become tremendously popular in recent years, as investors frustrated by the stagnant growth in the developed world have been lured in by the impressive economic expansion occurring in the developing world. Though there are many options available, the most popular way to play emerging markets is through VWO or EEM; two [...]
