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 the market to bring investors the best brokerage offering in the industry today,” said Kathleen A. Murphy, president of Personal Investing at Fidelity Investments. “Simply put, we’re offering the broadest selection of commission-free ETFs from the undisputed ETF leader, and it’s only available through Fidelity.” [click to continue…]
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 and been shuttered. And then there are those that remain in business but are cited as having “insufficient liquidity.” Although there are certain rules of thumb – assets under management (AUM) of $25 million and daily volume of 25,000 are often cited as “liquidity thresholds” – there is no hard evidence to support these guidelines. In an effort to determine where illiquidity ends and an active market begins, I analyzed the impact of size and daily volume on the liquidity of various ETFs. [click to continue…]
