The competitive landscape of the ETF industry has evolved rapidly over the last several years, with several new players–both big and small–making a push into the space. From financial giants such as RBS and Citi to relative unknowns such as Javelin and Precidian, the roster of active ETF issuers has grown to nearly four dozen. Now, mirroring a trend playing out in the lineup of exchange-traded products, it appears that some contraction is in order. Coming months could see a few ETP issuers wiped off the map, as a series of fund closures and mergers should reduce the number of companies that market exchange-traded products [see also ETF Update: Pipeline Continues To Fill]. [click to continue…]
UBS rolled out two new ETNs on Thursday, debuting products that offer exposure to Internet-related companies that have recently completed an initial public offering (IPO). The new ETRACS Internet IPO ETN (EIPO) is linked to the UBS Internet IPO Index, a benchmark that consists of companies that maintain operations focused on the Internet that have [...]
With more than 1,200 products in a lineup that adds dozens of new funds every month, navigating through the ETF universe has become an increasingly challenging task in recent years. Innovation in the space has given investors more options than ever before for accessing asset classes and investment strategies that may have previously been out [...]
Recent weeks have been plagued by foreign conflicts which have push markets back and forth between steep losses and quick rebounds. First, a revolution in Egypt which lasted for several weeks, led to President Mubarak relinquishing his position in what was considered a major win for social rights and democracy in the country. This movement [...]
In the early days of the ETF industry most of the products were broad-based equity funds that offered exposure to domestic and international stock markets. But as ETFs have gained market share and become more popular with both buy-and-holders and more active traders, products have become increasingly specialized. Since the debut of the sector SPDRs [...]
This focus of this past week was diverted overseas, as foreign affairs weighed heavily on U.S. equities. One of the biggest stories came out of China when the country hinted that they may raise their rates in an effort to cool off their overheating economy and limit surging inflation. Friday then saw an announcement that [...]
Equity markets are coming off another rough stretch, as the S&P 500 fell by close to 4% and oil lost nearly 7% last week on increased anxiety over the global economic outlook. These fears came as a result of the Fed’s August policy meeting in which the central bank announced that it was leaving rates [...]
Earnings season is upon us yet again, giving anxious investors plenty to chew on as equity markets look for direction in the second half of the year. The first week of this critical stretch saw a number of reports come in all over the board; some bellwethers posted solid numbers and guidance while others disappointed [...]
Equity markets are coming off one of the wildest weeks in recent memory, as a plethora of issues combined to cause anxiety and sink the Dow more than 1,500 points on the week. Continued troubles in Greece pushed European equity markets lower, as protests of the harsh austerity measures passed by the government in order [...]
For the most part, ETFs are pretty similar regardless of which issuer is behind the fund. But as many investors know, there’s one notable exception to this rule. The HOLDRS products from Merrill Lynch are similar to traditional ETFs in many ways, but also feature some nuances that make them very different in others. HOLDRS [...]
For investors looking to make a play on the technology sector through ETFs, there are a number of options offering varying degrees of exposure. The PowerShares QQQ Trust (QQQQ) tracks the Nasdaq 100 Index, meaning it is tilted heavily towards the technology sector (about 65% of its holdings), but maintains moderate exposure to health care [...]
