First Trust launched two more international AlphaDEX ETFs this week, on the heels of the debut of seven country-specific funds that employ the proprietary stock selection methodology [see AlphaDEX ETFdb Portfolio]. The new ETFs will offer broad exposure to emerging and developed markets outside the U.S., focusing specifically on small cap stocks in those segments: [click to continue…]
The year-end periods provides the ETF industry with a couple of opportunities to flex its collective muscle; performance comparisons generally tend to favor those products with lower expense ratios–a defining feature of exchange-traded funds. But early January also puts another benefit of exchange-traded products into focus: enhanced tax efficiency relative to traditional mutual funds. The [...]
For most investors, 2011 was a frustrating year; after some strong early gains seemingly pointed to a continuation of the recovery that took root in 2010, the appearance of some major obstacles sent many major indexes back towards negative territory. The impressive late December rally closed the year on a high note, but there is [...]
A quick look at the headlines on any given day is generally enough to explain why investors have been shifting greater percentages of their long-term portfolios towards emerging markets in recent years. The U.S. is grappling with elevated unemployment, and faces a regulatory gridlock that is creating undesirable tax uncertainty. Europe has been unable to [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Van Eck, the New York City-based issuer known in the ETF world for funds offering exposure to hard assets and emerging markets, continues to get creative in its product development efforts. In recent SEC filings the company detailed plans for a small cap emerging markets ETF and an ETF that invests in closed-end funds, putting [...]
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 [...]
In recent years, emerging markets have been established as the clear leaders of global GDP growth, while the economies of the U.S. and western Europe have stalled. Developed markets are facing stubbornly high unemployment and limited flexibility thanks to mounting debt burdens, while emerging markets continue to race ahead. In a recent economics paper, Goldman [...]
