ETF Database » IFAS

Ten iShares ETFs Every Investor Should Know (But Most Don’t)

Michael Johnston — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 14:38:48 +0000

San Francisco-based iShares, which was acquired by BlackRock from Barclays last year, has more than 180 U.S.-listed ETFs. But the distribution of assets is far from even across these funds. At the end of 2009, the ten largest iShares ETFs–only about five percent of the issuer’s product line–accounted for 50% of total assets. So there’s obviously a lot more to the iShares product line than the handful of mega-tickers–IVV, EFA, TIP, and AGG, just to name a few–that every ETF investor knows. Below, we highlight ten iShares ETFs that may deserve a closer look for inclusion in your portfolio. 10. Russell MicroCap Index Fund (IWC) While virtually every investor has exposure to large and mega cap stocks, the same cannot be said for the smaller end of the the spectrum. These securities, which tend to fall into a market capitalization range of between $50 and $550 million, only comprise 3% [...]

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Time For A Real Estate ETF?

Michael Johnston — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 17:41:32 +0000

Historically, no portfolio was complete without a material allocation to real estate. Consistently high real returns and low correlations to stocks and bonds made it easy to overlook the out-of-whack fundamentals that ultimately led to an unprecedented collapse. But when real estate markets got a reality check in late 2008, many investors swore off the asset class for good. Or so they thought. After losing their shirts in real estate investments during the financial crisis, many investors washed their hands (and their portfolios) of REITs, unable to tolerate such extreme volatility and unwilling to accept the downside ramifications of risky assets. But investors who were able to spot the bottom of the real estate market in the U.S. have been handsomely rewarded, and now many are beginning to consider a more significant allocation to this asset class. The ETF boom has presented dozens of options for investors looking to add [...]

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Low Cost ETFs: Complete List Of The Cheapest Exchange-Traded Funds

Michael Johnston — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:15:04 +0000

The reasons for the rise of the ETF industry are numerous: intraday liquidity, (potentially) superior tax efficiency, and enhanced transparency relative to traditional actively-managed mutual funds have all contributed to the billions of dollars of inflows that these funds have seen in recent years. But the real attraction for most ETF investors is the reduced expenses these products offer, often only a fraction of the fees charged by mutual funds. But between ETFs, expense ratios can vary significantly, ranging from 0.08% (for several Schwab ETFs) to a whopping 1.50% (for the DENT actively-managed ETF). For investors looking to minimize expenses and pursue an indexing strategy in favor of active management, investing in ETFs is only the first step. In order to assist cost-conscious investors, we’ve assembled the cheapest ETF options for almost every asset class and sub-asset class. Each of the 900-plus ETFs currently included in the ETF Screener were [...]

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Half Year In Review: Six ETF Stories From The First Six Months of ’09

Michael Johnston — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 06:05:58 +0000

With a roller coaster six months behind us that saw no shortage of interesting twists and turns and unsuspected headlines, we’ve finally reached the midway point of 2009. Ahead of us is the highly anticipated “second half of 2009,” which for months we’ve heard will hold returns to growth, a recovering economy, and enough green shoots feed a revolution (possibly the one taking shape in the streets of Iran?). When looking graphically at the market’s performance over the last two quarters, I felt like I was going through a sloppy to-do list. Everything looks like a squiggly checkmark, with a sharp decline in the beginning of the year followed by a longer upslope, bringing us right about back to where we started. But not all ETFs followed this pattern. Here’s a look at six groups of ETFs that distinguished themselves in the first half of 2009: 1. It’s G-O-O-D to be [...]

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Global Real Estate ETFs Leave U.S. Funds In Their Dust

Michael Johnston — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:28:30 +0000

As the first half of 2009 draws to a close, it seems that we’re finally starting to see things return to some semblance of normality. Equity markets have rallied sharply since bottoming out in March. Volatility is back within its historical range after hitting record highs over the past year. And politicians in Washington have been able to slowly turn their attention from the economy to other important disagreements, such as how to proceed in Iran, how to reform healthcare, and what to do about America’s dependence on foreign oil. But despite all these green shoots in the economy, U.S. real estate ETFs remains stuck in a rut, lagging far behind global rivals who have enjoyed tremendous rallies in recent months. Worst Yet To Come? By most analyst accounts, U.S. REITs have been held in check largely due to fears that the worst of the real estate bear market is yet [...]

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ETF Database » IFAS

Ten iShares ETFs Every Investor Should Know (But Most Don’t)

Related Posts:

Time For A Real Estate ETF?

Related Posts:

Low Cost ETFs: Complete List Of The Cheapest Exchange-Traded Funds

Related Posts:

Half Year In Review: Six ETF Stories From The First Six Months of ’09

Related Posts:

Global Real Estate ETFs Leave U.S. Funds In Their Dust

Related Posts: