As the stock market continues to rise, seemingly running ahead of fundamentals, more and more investors are becoming concerned that the stocks are becoming overvalued, and that a downward correction may be just around the corner. While safe haven investments such as the U.S. dollar and gold are popular picks for investors looking to profit from a decline in asset prices, the inverse correlation between these investments and equities is far from perfect.
A growing number of investors are beginning to utilize inverse ETFs to accomplish a wide range of investment goals, ranging from establishing hedges in their portfolios to speculating on a pullback in prices. If used correctly, these products can be very powerful, but they can be complex and come with a number of risks that should be carefully considered.
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With sluggish growth forecasted for the next few quarters an unemployment rate quickly approaching 10%, many U.S. investors are looking beyond their borders for new investment opportunities. While developed European and Asia Pacific economies have received a significant amount of attention, the most popular investment destinations remain the four largest emerging market countries: Brazil, Russia, India, and China, collectively known as the “BRIC” economies. Together, these four countries currently comprise 40% of the world’s population and 15% of GDP, ensuring that they will be a force to be reckoned with on the global stage for years to come. Meanwhile, combined foreign reserves total over $3.1 trillion, potentially allowing these countries to influence world trade and push politics more towards a multipolar world. [click to continue…]
Index compiler MSCI Barra announced earlier this week that Israel will be reclassified from Emerging market status to Developed market status, forcing some of the largest ETFs on the market to do some rebalancing in the coming months. Israel will be removed from the MSCI Emerging Markets Index and the MSCI EMEMEA Index, which includes emerging [...]
