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Thursday’s ETF To Watch: COMEX Gold Trust (IAU)

Jared Cummans — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:00:28 +0000

Markets seem to be in a state of confusion, as positive news and data is offset by just as many negative factors. Some investors feel that 2012 will continue to see its nice rally, as this past month was the best January for equities since 1997. Others think that the fun is over as a number of potential issues have begun to rear their head. One of the most disturbing bits of news is the potential for Standard & Poor’s to downgrade U.S. debts once again. Though it is merely speculation at this point, another downgrade would likely erase all of the progress we have made since August of last year [see also ETFs For The Capital Preservationist]. For now, investors will have their attention fixated on Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, as he testifies before Congress on the state of the economy later today. “The appearance will come just a [...]

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2011 Recap: Another Big Year For ETFs

Michael Johnston — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 11:45:14 +0000

The ETF industry finished 2011 with assets of about $1.06 trillion according to data recently released by the ETF Industry Association. Total assets grew by about 5% over the previous year, when the industry stood at $1.01 trillion. Net cash inflows for the year totaled about $117.6 billion, a slight decrease from 2010 when the industry took in $118.7 billion. In 2009, total ETF inflows tallied about $119.4 billion, meaning that creations have been remarkably consistent over the last three years. December was one of the best months of the year from a cash inflows perspective; approximately $16.2 billion, or about 14% of the annual total, came in during the final month of the year. U.S. equity ETFs accounted for about $41.3 billion in inflows, or approximately 35% of the industry total. But the real growth came in the fixed income arena; bond ETF assets grew from about $129 billion [...]

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Looking Back At Our ETF Ideas For 2011

Michael Johnston — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 14:00:48 +0000

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 the last 11 months, but little to show for it in way of returns. Like many others, we put forth a list of actionable ETF ideas that we believed were positioned to perform well in 2011 at the end of last year, laying out the investment thesis behind 11 exchange-traded products that we thought would thrive this year. With 2011 coming to a close, it’s time to take a look back at our predictions for this year, noting some big wins and lamenting a few calls [see 11 Rapid Fire ETF Ideas For 2011]: “Rapid [...]

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Cost Competition: Inflows Surge For Cheap ETFs

Jared Cummans — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 14:00:36 +0000

The ETF industry has been praised for the many advantages that it offers investors. Exchange traded products are liquid, transparent, and cover a broad range of investment classes to help round out portfolios. On top of all of these advantages lies the cost factor; one of the founding principles of ETPs was to maintain cost efficiency that had been lost on mutual funds. With some funds offering expenses as low as just five basis points, investors have been reaping the rewards of effective fee structures ever since the first ETF debuted [see also Giving Thanks: Ten Reasons ETFs Are Better Than Mutual Funds]. In recent years, issuers have began something of a cost battle by slashing prices to gain an edge on a similar fund offered by a competitor. Many were unsure how this strategy would turn out, as the ETFs who saw costs drop would now make less money [...]

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Three ETFs To Watch This Week: EWC, FXB, IAU

Jared Cummans — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 09:00:07 +0000

This past week was a rough one for equities, as euro fears overshadowed global data to send stocks into a tailspin. It seems that after taking the weekend to mull over the euro debt deal, investors were less than impressed with the final outcome. The smoking gun probably came from the U.K. refusing to participate, showing that the deal did not do enough to meet the needs of each European nation. The week saw gold and oil take hard hits, as commodity trading was particularly volatile. The coming week will feature a variety of key economic data that will hopefully pull markets from their slide and finish out 2011 on a positive note [see also 12 High-Yielding Commodities For 2012]. Below, we outline three ETFs to keep a close eye on as the coming week unfolds: MSCI Canada Index Fund (EWC) Why EWC Will Be In Focus: This fund seeks to replicate [...]

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November ETF Stats: Small Step Back

Michael Johnston — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 12:00:34 +0000

U.S. ETF assets declined slightly in November according to the latest data from the National Stock Exchange, as the rapidly-growing industry experienced net outflows amidst a general flight from both domestic and international equities. The industry finished last month with $1.06 trillion in net assets, down about 2% from the previous month but up 12% from the same period last year. The net decline in assets was attributable to domestic equity ETFs, which saw $7 billion in outflows, and international equities, which saw another $1.9 billion. Those big losses were offset by tremendous interest in commodities and bonds; fixed income ETFs raked in more than $5 billion in cash inflows, while exchange-traded commodity products captured almost $2.9 billion [see Ten Unexpected Observations In YTD Returns]. Four ETFs saw outflows of at least $1 billion on the month–all of them domestic equity funds. The S&P 500 SPDR (SPY) saw assets decline [...]

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What’s The Difference? Understanding What Distinguishes Similar ETFs

Stoyan Bojinov — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 12:00:34 +0000

With over 1,400 exchange-traded products on the market, investors have likely run into some seemingly “duplicate” offerings. While many of the “plain vanilla” products have quite a bit in common, there are more than a handful of funds which offer seemingly identical exposure, although a closer look under the hood reveals some noteworthy surprises [see 25 Things Every Financial Advisor Should Know About ETFs]. The old saying “never judge a book by its cover” can certainly help investors when it comes time to doing the proper research necessary for selecting a fund that best suits their objectives and risk tolerance. Transparency, one of the many benefits offered through the exchange-traded product structure, allows for investors to take a detailed look under the hood of a product, as most issuers publish a complete list of holdings on a nightly basis. In many cases, the holdings of popular products like the S&P [...]

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Ten Unexpected Observations On YTD ETF Returns

Michael Johnston — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 16:00:16 +0000

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 indexes suffered some of the worst losses since the recent recession. In examining the year-to-date performances for the 1,000+ ETPs that have been around since the beginning of the year, there are a number of interesting figures that jump out, including both pleasant surprises and bitter disappointments–and some that are just plain confusing [the complete, sortable, document is available in ETF Edge--sign up for a free 7-day trial to get full access]. 10. Commodities Holding Up This year has been a tumultuous period for risky assets, especially over the last several months. So I was [...]

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How ETF Investors Can Save $415 Million (Without Breaking A Sweat)

Michael Johnston — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 12:00:44 +0000

Financial advisors and individual investors who have embraced ETFs are generally painted as a cost conscious crowd, passing over expensive active mutual funds in favor of cheap indexing strategies. In general ETFs are considerably cheaper than mutual funds, thanks not only to the indexing strategy but also to the more efficient exchange-traded structure. But not all ETFs and ETNs are equally tax efficient; in many cases, the differential between products offering similar exposure can be meaningful. In fact, there are several examples of products linked to identical indexes with wildly different expense structures. And while there has been a movement towards cheaper products, a number of more expensive ETFs remain tremendously popular. So much so that movements from a handful of funds to lower cost alternatives could result in aggregate annual savings of more than $400 million in management fees–without altering the underlying index [see 25 Things Every Financial Advisor [...]

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ETF Insider: Expect More Volatility

Stoyan Bojinov — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 17:02:10 +0000

After another up-down week dominated by Euro zone debt drama, domestic equity indexes managed to clinch a gain amidst the volatility. Investor sentiment swayed wildly as the anticipation of Italian Prime Minister Berlusconi’s resignation coupled with ongoing Italian debt woes sparked sell-offs one day and rallies the next, across virtually every corner of the global equity market. Gold prices oscillated between the $1,800 and$1,750 levels, managing to settle in the upper-half of its trading range as the trading week drew to a close. Weekly Outlook The coming week will see a host of economic releases both at home and on the international front, including several key CPI releases. Stock markets will likely continue to take cues from the Euro zone as investors keep their eye on the Italian debt situation. Below, we highlight ETFs that may see an increase in trading activity as relevant market data is released and evaluated [...]

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ETF Database » IAU

Thursday’s ETF To Watch: COMEX Gold Trust (IAU)

Related Posts:

2011 Recap: Another Big Year For ETFs

Related Posts:

Looking Back At Our ETF Ideas For 2011

Related Posts:

Cost Competition: Inflows Surge For Cheap ETFs

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Three ETFs To Watch This Week: EWC, FXB, IAU

Related Posts:

November ETF Stats: Small Step Back

Related Posts:

What’s The Difference? Understanding What Distinguishes Similar ETFs

Related Posts:

Ten Unexpected Observations On YTD ETF Returns

Related Posts:

How ETF Investors Can Save $415 Million (Without Breaking A Sweat)

Related Posts:

ETF Insider: Expect More Volatility

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