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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, one of the most severe recessions in history, and a remarkable recovery in both 2009 and 2010.

A look back at the performance of exchange-traded funds over the last five years (ending October 31) highlights the tremendous growth of the ETF industry as well as the challenging realities of recent history. Though there are now more than 1,350 ETPs, only 330 or so were launched before November 2006. Of those that are still in existence, about half have delivered negative returns over that period–a remarkable testament to the impact that the volatility of recent years has had on portfolios. [click to continue…]

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Dividend ETF Investing: Mid Cap Options

by Michael Johnston on March 29, 2011

The universe of U.S.-listed exchange-traded products has grown at an impressive rate over the last several years, bringing the industry to a point where there are more than 1,100 products with aggregate assets exceeding $1 trillion. According to the ETF screener, there are nearly 800 equity ETFs available, an impressive total that allows investors to slice and dice global stock markets in a number of different ways. [click to continue…]

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Fidelity To Offer Commission-Free Trading On 25 iShares ETFs

by Michael Johnston on February 2, 2010

Fidelity Investments announced today that it will offer its retail customers commission-free online trades for a suite of 25 iShares ETFs. The funds included in the commission-free platform include ETFs in all nine domestic equity style/size categories, as well as international equity and fixed income options. “Fidelity has partnered with the leading ETF provider in [...]

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Best Performing ETFs Of 2009

by Michael Johnston on December 21, 2009

Following a year that saw some of the worst performances in recent memory, many asset classes have bounced back in  2009. But some have performed better than others, and as the year draws to a close we take a look at some of the best-performing ETFs. The year’s top gainers include a few of the [...]

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Size Does Matter (To a Point): Study of ETF Liquidity

by Michael Johnston on June 11, 2009

As the ETF industry has exploded on to the scene in recent years, sponsors have aggressively launched funds in an attempt to gain market share. While many of these new ETFs have attracted sufficient investor funds to justify continued operation, some have failed to garner a level of investment necessary to support an active, liquid market [...]

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