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 increased, the industry remains quite top-heavy; a relatively small number of products accounts for the lion’s share of total assets.
Most of the largest ETFs are also among the oldest; their impressive asset bases are perhaps more attributable to their seniority than the appeal of the underlying methodologies. In fact, impressive innovation in the industry has given investors plenty of alternatives to the “super tickers” that dominate the space.
The largest ETFs have become so popular for a reason; they generally offer cheap, liquid exposure to core asset classes. But for investors willing to dig a bit deeper, there are some potentially exciting alternatives beyond the big dogs at the top: [click to continue…]
After recently rolling out a suite of ETFs linked to popular S&P indexes, Vanguard continued its push to grab a larger share of the ETF market on Wednesday by introducing seven new products linked to Russell benchmarks. The new Vanguard ETFs include:
There is no denying that the ETF boom is in full swing, as billions of dollars continue to flow into the industry every month despite a difficult economic environment. As individual investors and advisors alike become more informed on the nuances and potential benefits of ETFs, usage has surged. Part of the impressive surge in [...]
An already tumultuous day took a terrifying turn in afternoon trading on Thursday, as several major U.S. indexes lost multiple percentage points in a matter of minutes before reclaiming big chunks of the ground lost. At 2:40 on Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down about 415 points, putting it on pace for one [...]
The crowd gathering around the periphery of the ETF industry continues to expand, and some big names are joining the group. Russell, known in the ETF space as the index provider behind some of the largest exchange-traded products, recently detailed plans for 11 of its own ETFs in a filing with the SEC, including:
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 [...]
When discussing their portfolios and asset allocation tactics, many investors and advisors indicate their preference for either value and growth investing in an effort to define their general investment strategy. ETF investors are no different, with dozens of funds that tilt their holdings towards each strategy offering ways to construct portfolios designed to take advantage [...]
ETFs have enjoyed a tremendous surge in popularity in part because they allow investors to gain exposure to a broad (or narrow) market index in a timely and cost efficient manner. When implementing their investment strategy through construction of an ETF portfolio (or when using ETFs to round out a portfolio), investors have the option [...]