It’s difficult to put a finger on the exact cause of the recent surge in popularity of commodity investing. More than likely, the boom is attributable to a number of different factors. Correlation between international equity markets (and even between stocks and bonds) has surged in recent years, increasing both the importance and difficulty of adding non-correlated assets to investor portfolios. Given the relatively weak correlation with other asset classes, commodities have found a home in many investors’ portfolios. Moreover, unprecedented injections of liquidity into the financial system have created anxiety over a coming uptick in inflation that could erode returns to stocks and fixed income instruments. Commodities have historically served as an effective inflation hedge, and many are once again turning to natural resources to protect assets from a surge in the CPI. [click to continue…]
With the tremendous rise of ETF investing has come the “democratization” of many asset classes previously out-of-reach to all but the biggest and richest individuals and institutions. One of the primary areas of growth in the ETF industry has been commodity products, which have continued to multiply and attract billions of dollars in assets. According to the ETF screener, there are now more than 90 exchange-traded commodity products, including both diversified funds and single-resource funds targeting everything from cotton to tin. [click to continue…]
Over the last year, U.S. equity markets have staged a remarkable recovery as volatility has plummeted and the emergency stimulus measures implemented amidst heated debate appear to have had their intended effect. Indications that unemployment may be close to peaking and that consumer confidence is on the rise once again only add fuel to the [...]
Unemployment was the story of the day on Friday, as a report from the Labor Department showed that unemployment unexpectedly declined to 10.0% in November. Only 11,000 jobs were shed in the U.S., the best monthly showing since December 2007. Economists had predicted a loss of 125,000 jobs and an unemployment rate holding steady at [...]
It’s been an interesting week in the world of ETFs: U.S. equity markets ended the week on a sour note with most benchmarks down about 2%. Here are the ETF Database staff picks of the week’s most important and interesting stories from around the Web:
The label “gold bug” may suggest a kooky old man who spends a lot of time in his basement reading conspiracy theory newsletters. The truth, however, is that there are many legitimate reasons to trade in gold and its derivatives. Gold has been proven time and time again to be an excellent “safe haven” investment, [...]
IndexIQ, a pioneer in the hedge fund ETF industry, has expanded its product line to include two new ETFs designed to provide protection against inflation: the IQ CPI Inflation Hedged ETF (CPI) and IQ ARB Global Resources ETF (GRES). These ETFs hit the market at a time when investors are becoming increasingly concerned about the [...]
Just as there are various “celebrity stock tickers” that every investor recognizes instantly (GOOG, MSFT, F, JNJ), there are some ETFs that everyone knows. Generally, these ETFs, such as SPY, GLD, and QQQQ, reflect the most widely-known investment strategies and asset classes. And while the 25 largest funds that account for more than half of [...]
After more than six years of negotiations, the government of Mongolia has signed a major deal expected to drive billions of dollars of foreign investment into the Asian country. The agreement for the $4 billion Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine is a major step forward for one of the world’s most resource-rich countries that [...]
When they were introduced several years ago, exchange-traded commodity products were hailed as a major breakthrough, offering average investors easy, cost efficient exposure to an asset class that had previously been accessible primarily through futures markets and physical storage of natural resources, both of which are beyond the reach of many investors (see our complete [...]
It’s been an interesting week in the world of ETFs: The leaders of the G-20 nations met in Pittsburgh, existing home sales fell 2.7% in August, and oil fell below $66/bbl. Here are the ETF Database staff picks of the week’s most important and interesting stories from around the Web:
