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 Should Know About ETFs] . [click to continue…]
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 [...]
The last five years have seen a tremendous expansion of the ETF industry, as assets have skyrocketed and the number of products available to U.S.-based investors has multiplied. That same period of time has also been a period of tremendous volatility in global financial markets; the last five years have witnessed an unprecedented financial crisis, [...]
The impressive pace of expansion in the ETF industry over the last several years has been well documented; continuous product development has resulted in the launch of more than 250 so far in 2011, and there are now more than 1,300 names in the ETF lineup. But while the depth of the ETF space has [...]
Few asset classes have delivered more impressive performances over the last several years than gold; investors seeking safe havens–or perhaps just fiat currency alternatives–have flocked to the yellow metal in droves in recent past, pushing asset prices sharply higher. And, not surprisingly, more and more investors seeking out precious metals exposure have elected to utilize [...]
Total ETF assets declined by almost 4% in August thanks to abysmal performances from equity markets around the globe. But the industry kept its monthly winning streak alive, managing to generate net inflows of about $2 billion during one of the worst months performance wise since late 2008. Not surprisingly, fixed income ETFs saw a [...]
As the roster of exchange-traded products has grown to nearly 1,300, many investors find themselves with the luxury of multiple options for establishing a position in a desired asset class. There are, for example, four different pharmaceutical ETFs, three homebuilder funds, and even two choices for playing the automotive industry. Once the ETF universe has [...]
Over the past few months the price of gold has soared to record highs, as investors have become increasingly fearful of an impending “double dip”, given the latest round of gloomy economic data from the U.S. coupled with Europe’s deteriorating financial health. Gold has always been a popular safe haven for investors seeking refuge during [...]
Wall Street plunged into the abyss last week as investors prepared for the worst after the ECB and Bank of Japan intervened in the markets, sending widespread waves of fear, and inducing one of the worst sell-offs that the market has seen since the dismal days of 2008. Domestic equity indexes fell over 4% on [...]
Despite a dismal month for most equity benchmarks, ETF assets climbed past the $1.1 trillion level in July thanks to another strong round of inflows into exchange-traded products. More than $13 billion flowed into ETPs last month, led by strong demand for U.S. equities and commodities. Domestic equity funds accounted for about $4.4 billion of [...]
Continuing a trend that has been playing out over the last couple years, two more issuers announced reductions to expense structures over the past few days. Teucrium, the company behind three resource-specific commodity products, announced the introduction of an expense cap on its natural gas ETF, while WisdomTree cut fees on one of its most [...]
