ETF Database » EIS

Looking Back At Our ETF Ideas For 2011

Michael Johnston — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 14:00:48 +0000

With snow now blanketing a big part of the country and 2012 just a few weeks away, looking back at the past year becomes a popular activity. For many portfolios, 2011 has been marked by big swings that seem to be leaving investors right about where they started; there has been plenty of activity over the last 11 months, but little to show for it in way of returns. Like many others, we put forth a list of actionable ETF ideas that we believed were positioned to perform well in 2011 at the end of last year, laying out the investment thesis behind 11 exchange-traded products that we thought would thrive this year. With 2011 coming to a close, it’s time to take a look back at our predictions for this year, noting some big wins and lamenting a few calls [see 11 Rapid Fire ETF Ideas For 2011]: “Rapid [...]

Click here to read the original article on ETFdb.com.

Wednesday’s ETF To Watch: iShares MSCI Israel Fund (EIS)

Jared Cummans — Wed, 11 May 2011 08:00:12 +0000

The last few weeks have been incredibly volatile in U.S. markets. Though major indexes have been trending upwards for the majority of 2011, last week saw a major blip in performance as commodities, namely oil and silver, took a nose dive bringing down equities across the board. The major sell off was due to an unexpected jump in jobless claims, as well as a reasonably stronger dollar, which was then followed by an unexpected dip in unemployment, helping to correct markets from their tailspin. This week will have its sights set on the closing days of earnings season as bellwether firms from around the world shed light on their most recent quarter’s performance [see also First Trust Wins Auto ETF Race, Debuts CARZ]. Today, prior to market open, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries (TEVA) will release their quarterly earnings report. Teva is primarily concerned with generic drugs and creating cheaper alternatives to [...]

Click here to read the original article on ETFdb.com.

Middle East ETFs Under Pressure As Protests Intensify

Michael Johnston — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 12:00:31 +0000

Investors have become familiar with the term “contagion” in recent years, but most are accustomed to hearing the phenomenon discussed in relation to sovereign debt defaults in Europe or across U.S. municipalities. But in recent days the Middle East has seen a wave of revolutionary protests and rallies spread across the region, as what began as calls for democratic overhauls in Cairo has quickly spread to a handful of other countries. U.S. markets were closed on Monday for the President’s Day holiday, with investors focusing on overseas developments anyways. Yemen’s president shot down calls for his resignation that have intensified during ten days of demonstrations throughout the country. “Why do they want to return to chaos?” said Ali Abdullah Saleh, who also offered to sit down to discussions with protestors inspired by movements that forced out leaders in Egypt and Tunisia [see also Examining International Dividend ETFs]. In Bahrain, an [...]

Click here to read the original article on ETFdb.com.

Active ETF Filings: Northern Trust Joins The Crowd

Michael Johnston — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 12:00:10 +0000

Northern Trust, the one-time issuer that began making plans for a second run at the ETF industry last year, has joined the crowd of major financial institutions seeking approval to launch actively-managed ETFs. In a recent SEC filing, Northern Trust requested permission “to create and operate an actively-managed series of the Trust…that offers exchange-traded shares.” The filing cast a wide net, noting that proposed funds could invest in foreign and domestic stocks and bonds. Round Two Northern Trust’s first run in the ETF space was unsuccessful–and quite brief. The company launched 17 ETFs in the spring of 2008, including funds focusing on the economies of Ireland, Israel, Germany, France, and South Africa. About eight months after launch, in early 2009, Northern Trust announced that it was pulling the plug on its infant ETF business. “The Board considered current market conditions, the inability of the Funds to attract significant market interest [...]

Click here to read the original article on ETFdb.com.

11 Rapid Fire ETF Ideas For 2011

Michael Johnston — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 15:00:38 +0000

Last week saw the end of a year that was relatively kind to investor portfolios, as most major asset classes managed to post strong results in 2010. As the calendars flip to 2011, the outlook remains uncertain; lingering obstacles in the form of high unemployment and bloated debt loads certainly pose problems, but rapidly-expanding emerging markets and resurgent corporate earnings provide reason to be optimistic. As investors review their performance over the last year and look forward for opportunities in the year to come, we offer up 11 high level thoughts on intriguing ETF investments for 2011 [for more ETF insights, sign up for our free ETF newsletter]: 1. PowerShares Listed Private Equity (PSP) After a relatively meager IPO year in 2010, many on Wall Street are predicting that 2011 could see the return of $1 billion-plus initial public offerings. “In 2011, we will see some very large multibillion-dollar IPOs,” [...]

Click here to read the original article on ETFdb.com.

Tuesday’s ETF To Watch: iShares Israel ETF (EIS)

Eric Dutram — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 08:00:32 +0000

Many of the world’s developed markets have struggled to return to solid levels of growth and have been weighed down by large budget deficits and high levels of unemployment. Due to this, many stock markets remain well below their 2008 lows, even when factoring in the large run-up in share prices over the past two months. Yet a few countries have managed to return to their pre-crash levels relatively quickly including the dynamic Israeli economy which has seen its fortunes boosted in recent months thanks to the discovery of a large gas field off of its coast in the Mediterranean. In fact, the Israeli Finance Minister recently said that the find could be worth “hundreds of billions of dollars” and some are projecting that the fields could help to double the surplus in the nation’s current accounts balance. Besides this massive find in gas reserves, the Israeli economy has been [...]

Click here to read the original article on ETFdb.com.

Five Ultra-Concentrated ETFs

Michael Johnston — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 15:10:01 +0000

In many instances, ETFs have allowed more active investors to change their strategy for allocating assets and alter the manner in which they seek to generate alpha. Instead of seeking to identify undervalued companies through detailed analysis of financial statements, many now implement a more high level approach that includes identifying sectors, regions, or even general asset classes that will outperform in the short- to intermediate-term. ETFs are ideal for such a strategy because of the immediate diversification they provide; spreading assets across dozens or even hundreds of individual securities will generally allow investors to minimize exposure to any one company. But there are, of course, a number of exceptions. The suite of HOLDRS products from Merrill Lynch can become concentrated because companies that are acquired or go bankrupt are not replaced [see Five Facts About HOLDRS Every Investor Should Know]. Even beyond HOLDRS, a number of popular ETF products [...]

Click here to read the original article on ETFdb.com.

Israel, Turkey ETFs In Focus As Another Showdown Looms

Michael Johnston — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 20:04:02 +0000

With the fallout from last week’s conflict between the Israeli navy and a flotilla seeking to deliver aid to the Gaza Strip still raining down on the Middle East, the next escalation of tensions may not be far off. An Irish ship carrying pro-Palestinian activists and supplies was closing in on Gaza Friday afternoon, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had vowed to intercept the vessel before it reached its destination. The Rachel Corrie, named after an American student killed in the Gaza Strip by and Israel Defense Forces bulldozer, was reportedly carrying about 20 passengers and crew, most of them Irish citizens. Medical supplies, toys, and cement were also on board, scheduled to be delivered to the blockaded area now controlled by Hamas. Israel had offered to allow the ship to dock in the port of Ashdod, and said that it would deliver the aid to Gaza after inspection. “We [...]

Click here to read the original article on ETFdb.com.

Israel ETF (EIS) In Focus As Tensions Flare

Michael Johnston — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 06:00:49 +0000

If you asked most U.S. investors to identify regions of the world where geopolitical tensions were running high, an overwhelming majority would probably point either to Korea, where a rapidly deteriorating relationship between the North and South threatens to escalate into a destabilizing conflict, or to Thailand, where months of clashes between the “Red Shirts” and the army-backed government have left dozens dead, disrupted trading, and brought the tourism-dependent corner of the economy to a halt. But recent events in Israel have sent stocks plummeting, as fears that the country is isolating itself from both enemies and allies and increasing the risk of investments in Israeli securities (see Three Country ETFs Full Of Risk). The Israeli military has reported that at least nine activists were killed on Monday when commandos boarding a flotilla bound for the Gaza Strip encountered resistance and opened fire. The six-ship flotilla was heading towards the [...]

Click here to read the original article on ETFdb.com.

Three Country ETFs Ripe With Risk

Michael Johnston — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 14:07:31 +0000

While the pace of GDP growth and strength of underlying economic fundamentals vary wildly between emerging and developed markets–and even from country to country–most global equity markets have moved in the same direction in 2010: up. Impressive earnings reports and data releases show that individuals and corporations are once again beginning to spend again, and the ripple effect is being felt in all sectors of the economy. Of course significant risks remain throughout the global economy. From still-rising unemployment in the U.S. to deflation in Japan to concerns of overheating economies in Brazil and China, the road ahead is littered with obstacles. While most investors focus on the potential economic potholes, political risks in many corners of the globe have increased significantly in recent months, adding yet another complication to some still-fragile recoveries. Most of the world’s most volatile regions aren’t readily accessible to international investors, and as such the [...]

Click here to read the original article on ETFdb.com.

ETF Database » EIS

Looking Back At Our ETF Ideas For 2011

Related Posts:

Wednesday’s ETF To Watch: iShares MSCI Israel Fund (EIS)

Related Posts:

Middle East ETFs Under Pressure As Protests Intensify

Related Posts:

Active ETF Filings: Northern Trust Joins The Crowd

Related Posts:

11 Rapid Fire ETF Ideas For 2011

Related Posts:

Tuesday’s ETF To Watch: iShares Israel ETF (EIS)

Related Posts:

Five Ultra-Concentrated ETFs

Related Posts:

Israel, Turkey ETFs In Focus As Another Showdown Looms

Related Posts:

Israel ETF (EIS) In Focus As Tensions Flare

Related Posts:

Three Country ETFs Ripe With Risk

Related Posts: