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DWM

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 market bonds as a higher-yielding alternative to Treasuries. Equities have also emerged as a potential source of current return, with the dividend yield on many stocks exceeding the yield on fixed income securities. Billions of dollars have flowed into exchange-traded products focusing on the MLP sector of the domestic energy market, thanks in part to yields in the neighborhood of 6% on these securities [see MLP ETFs: Fact And Fiction]. [click to continue…]

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EFA vs. HEDJ: A Better EAFE ETF?

by Michael Johnston on May 5, 2010

Over the last week, Europe has become the center of the investing world, as all eyes have focused on the ongoing Greek financial tragedy (see Six ETFs To Watch As The Greek Drama Unfolds). The proposed bailout package has been through countless iterations, as conflicting reports over the severity of Greece’s financial health have sent neighbors and the IMF repeatedly back to the drawing board. There are concerns that the latest aid package–which several European neighbors have reluctantly agreed to support–will only delay a fiscal collapse until late next year if capital markets don’t sense that sufficient progress has been made. Moreover, protests in Greece against proposed austerity measures have raised doubts over the ability of the Greek government to slash its costs as promised. [click to continue…]

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Beyond EFA: Five Alternative EAFE ETFs

by Michael Johnston on January 12, 2010

Following a meltdown in the U.S. financial markets that sparked a global recession, many investors have begun to question traditional asset allocation strategies that call for a significant weighting to American stocks. While emerging markets have seen huge cash inflows as a result of this trend, developed markets beyond North America have also benefited. For [...]

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