For many investors, 2011 was an up-and-down year; risky assets came racing out of the gates, but a string of negative developments erased all of the early gains during a chaotic summer. Heading in to 2012, the outlook is mixed; there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about the future, as well as some considerable hurdles that could make coming months challenging. Against this uncertain backdrop, we outline 12 ETF ideas that seem to be positioned for success in 2012 [for more ETF ideas, sign up for the free ETFdb newsletter]: [click to continue…]
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 [...]
In recent years, ETFs have become increasing popular tools for accessing the fixed income corner of the market. The space initially grew much more slowly than equity ETFs, but investors have gradually become more comfortable with the combination of fixed income exposure and the exchange-traded structure. Innovation in the bond ETF space has been impressive [...]
Van Eck announced the latest addition to its ETF lineup on Wednesday, introducing the Market Vectors Mortgage REITs ETF (MORT). The new fund will seek to replicate the Market Vectors Global Mortgage REITs Index, a cap-weighted benchmark comprised of companies that generate at least half of their revenues from mortgage REITs. That segment of the [...]
Van Eck introduced the Market Vectors CEF Municipal Income ETF (XMPT) on Wednesday, giving investors another option for accessing a corner of the U.S. bond market that has been the subject of heated debate in recent weeks. The new ETF will seek to replicate the S-Network Municipal Bond Closed End Fund Index, a benchmark that [...]
According to the ancient Mayan calendar, the world will end in December 2012. If banking analyst Meredith Whitney is right, the beginning of the end might be around the corner. Whitney, who rose to prominence after a pessimistic report on Citigroup issued in late 2007 later proved to be painfully accurate, has been zeroed in [...]
With interest rates continuing to hover near record lows, investors accustomed to generating attractive current returns from high quality fixed income securities have been forced to get creative in their quest for yield. The prolonged period of low rates has posed problems for those who rely on their portfolio to generate proceeds to cover living [...]
Van Eck, the New York City-based ETF issuer known for its lineup of sector specific ETFs in the commodity space, filled with the SEC to expand its footprint in the bond arena with a proposal for a Municipal Bond Closed-End Fund ETF. The product would be the 39th fund from the company and it would mark the ninth [...]
State Street, the issuer behind the two largest U.S.-listed ETFs, made a new addition to the fixed income portion of its product lineup this week. The recently-launched SPDR Nuveen S&P High Yield Municipal Bond ETF (HYMB) will seek to replicate the performance of the S&P Municipal High Yield Index, a benchmark that consists of bonds [...]
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 [...]
When rattling off the advantages that ETFs hold compared to traditional actively-managed mutual funds, most investors usually start with the issue of expenses. The easiest comparison to make involves expense ratios, the fees charged by ETF and mutual fund companies for investing in a product. Though some mutual funds offer single-digit expense ratios, most actively [...]
