AdvisorShares, one of the largest issuers of actively-managed ETFs, has forged a partnership to bring an active sector rotation ETF to market. The new Rockledge SectorSAM ETF (SSAM), which began trading Thursday, will seek to generate stable and consistent returns in all market conditions, developing a dollar neutral portfolio comprised of sector ETFs. The new ETF will utilize the Sector Scoring and Allocation Methodology (“SSAM”), a technique based on a proprietary quantitative analysis model that forecasts the projected returns to various sectors of the U.S. economy. The ETF will establish long positions in sector ETFs that are expected to outperform the S&P 500 and short positions in those that are expected to underperform that benchmark. [click to continue…]
As most investors are painfully aware at this point, Europe is not in the best of fiscal shape at present. The continent is in the midst of a prolonged debt crisis that is now threatening the continued existence of the euro, and has transformed the region into a form of portfolio Kryptonite; most investors won’t [...]
With the finish line in sight, it’s fairly safe to say that 2011 will be remembered by most investors as a wild, back-and-forth year that brought plenty of both hope and despair. A hot start raised optimism of a continued recovery after a generally impressive 2011, but the summer months were anything but relaxing; major [...]
The ETF industry has grown by leaps and bounds over the last five years and innovation across products has brought forth a multitude of previously inaccessible investment strategies to mainstream investors. Aside from the vast expansion in the exchange-traded product universe, the last five years have been nothing short of a roller coaster ride. Global [...]
Given the broad weakness in the euro zone throughout 2011 and the ever-present fears of default in a number of nations, most investors shouldn’t be surprised to read that all of the ETFs in the European Equities ETFdb Category are down in year-to-date terms. In fact, at time of writing, only the iShares MSCI UK [...]
As the second quarter mercifully draws to a close, many investors are left scratching their heads and wondering just where the world economy will go from here. Just a few short weeks ago, investors were upbeat and many thought that the groundwork had been laid for a second half surge. However, recent events have called [...]
Late last week, news out of the central European nation of Hungary riled markets when the recently-elected prime minister announced that country could very well default and that the economy was in much worse share than the previous administration had conveyed. Noting that Hungary had a “slim chance” to avoid a “Greek situation,” prime minister [...]
Discussions over the next domino to fall in Europe’s sovereign debt crisis have been happening for months now, with much of the speculation focusing on Spain, Italy, Ireland, and Portugal. Whoever had Hungary in the office pool may be about to cash in big. Earlier today, a government spokesman in the central European nation warned [...]
Equity markets kept winning streaks going last week, as the S&P 500 jumped more than 2% on positive earnings reports and better-than-expected sales on new homes. Rising oil prices–crude inched higher to finish the week above the $85–gave the energy sector a boost. With even more earnings reports ahead, U.S. markets figure to be active [...]
Following a year that saw some of the worst performances in recent memory, many asset classes have bounced back in 2009. But some have performed better than others, and as the year draws to a close we take a look at some of the best-performing ETFs. The year’s top gainers include a few of the [...]
One of the major stories in recent weeks has been the resurgence of the U.S. dollar against many of its major rivals, as the greenback has reclaimed much of the ground lost in recent months against the yen, pound, and Australian dollar. But the dollar’s biggest surge has come against the euro, which has been [...]
