ETF Database » MBB

Best ETF Performers Of 2010: Winners For Every ETFdb Category

Michael Johnston — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 12:00:23 +0000

Last year was a good year for most asset classes, as investor portfolios continued to recover from the recent recession. The difference in performance between many comparable funds was significant, and many of the best performers of 2010 are relatively small funds that maintain considerably smaller asset bases than their more popular competitors. Below, we profiled the top performing ETFs in more than 60 ETFdb Categories covering all major asset classes. ETFs that launched in 2010 were excluded, as were those that stopped trading during the year [for more ETF insights, sign up for our free ETF newsletter]: Equity ETFs Many equity ETFs turned impressive performances in 2010; below, we profile the best of the best: All Cap Equities: The First Trust Multi CG AlphaDex (FAD) added 25.2% last year, besting the more popular VTI (up 17.4%) and IWV (up 16.8%) by a wide margin. Large Cap Blend Equities: The [...]

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ETF Tax Efficiency Report Card

Michael Johnston — Wed, 22 Dec 2010 15:00:04 +0000

When rattling off the advantages that ETFs hold compared to traditional actively-managed mutual funds, most investors usually start with the issue of expenses. The easiest comparison to make involves expense ratios, the fees charged by ETF and mutual fund companies for investing in a product. Though some mutual funds offer single-digit expense ratios, most actively managed products charge in excess of 1% (the average for the mutual fund industry is in the neighborhood of 1.4%). By comparison, the average expense ratio for ETFs is less than 0.60%, and there are more than a dozen funds that charge less than 10 basis points. But the potential cost efficiencies of ETFs relative to actively-managed mutual funds go beyond simple expense ratios. ETFs also have the potential to be more tax efficient, thanks to the unique “in-kind” rules of the creation/redemption process. Whereas mutual fund investors may incur capital gains as a result [...]

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Bond ETFs: 12 Stops Along The Risk/Return Spectrum

Michael Johnston — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 14:45:46 +0000

As investors have become more comfortable with the marriage of fixed income exposure and the ETF wrapper, billions of dollars have flowed into bond ETFs in recent years. Impressive innovation in the space has provided investors with more options than ever before, including enhanced granularity in virtually every corner of the fixed income market. Still, the majority of fixed income ETF assets are concentrated in a handful of ultra-popular funds offering broad exposure to investment grade bonds and more targeted exposure to inflation-protected securities. The five largest bond ETFs include two tracking the Barclays Capital Aggregate Bond Index (AGG and BND) and another linked to the Barclays Capital U.S. TIPS Index (TIP), as well as funds focusing on investment grade corporate bonds (LQD) and short-term Treasuries (SHY). These five funds account for about half of all assets in fixed income ETFs. With nearly 115 non-leveraged bond ETFs now available to [...]

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Embrace QE With These Three ETFs

Eric Dutram — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 12:00:01 +0000

As the economy continues to flat-line, many investors have forsaken investments in the United States for higher growing economies in emerging nations around the world. Growth levels in many of these countries continue to impress–in excess of 8% in some instances–and are attracting significant amounts of capital away from developed markets which have struggled to post solid growth levels above 2% a year or create any meaningful amount of jobs. With a rather dismal outlook, investors have turned to the Federal Reserve, which is widely expected to engage in a second round of quantitative easing (QE 2) in an attempt to shake the U.S. economy from its malaise. The thought is that since near-zero interest rates were not enough to boost lending demand and liquidity, a program initiated by the Fed in order to boost the money supply and further drive down long-term rates might just do the trick. Economists [...]

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2010: Year Of The Bond ETF

Jared Cummans — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 10:00:52 +0000

After lingering in the background of the ETF industry for the last several years, fixed income funds have stepped up in recent months to become one of the primary drivers of growth. Through the first seven months of 2010, cash inflows to ETFs totaled $49 billion. Of this amount, more than $23 billion has been attributable to fixed income ETFs, reflecting that investors have become increasingly comfortable with the idea of achieving their fixed income exposure within the ETF wrapper. The movement to bonds has also come at a time when equity market uncertainty and volatility has surged. With uncertain prospects for economic growth, the safe haven of fixed income securities has new appeal; it’s not uncommon now for even the most risk tolerant investors to have bond allocations approaching 50%. Tremendous innovation in the fixed income ETF space has given investors more options than ever before. Once upon a [...]

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Five Critical Questions To Ask When Investing In ETFs

Michael Johnston — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 08:00:58 +0000

ETFs have surged in popularity in recent years in part because of the numerous advantages they offer over traditional actively-managed mutual funds: lower costs, potential tax efficiencies, intraday trading, and enhanced transparency. But ETFs aren’t without potential drawbacks of their own. Although most funds appear relatively simple on the surface, there are some rather complex nuances as well. Below, we highlight five important questions for investors looking to avoid potential pitfalls and maximize efficiency of ETF portfolios (for more tips on ETF investing, sign up for our free ETF newsletter). 1. What Are The Underlying Assets? This sounds like a relatively simple question to ask, but I’d be willing to bet that there are a fair number of ETF investors who don’t understand exactly what they’re buying when they invest in certain exchange-traded products. This is most likely to happen with two types of products in particular: exchange-traded notes (ETNs) [...]

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Five Ways To Slash Your ETF Expenses

Eric Dutram — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 06:30:05 +0000

The reasons for the incredible rise of the ETF industry are numerous. Intra-day trading, enhanced transparency, and efficient tax features are all features that investors, individual and institutional alike, have embraced in record numbers. But perhaps the main reason why ETFs have attracted hundreds of billions of dollars in assets in recent years is the competitive cost structure they offer relative to traditional actively-managed mutual funds. Investors frustrated with the inability of most active managers to consistently beat their benchmark have been fleeing mutual funds in record numbers, embracing indexing as a strategy and ETFs as a preferred investment vehicle. But investing in ETFs doesn’t necessarily mean that investment expenses are kept to a minimum. Expense ratios among ETFs can vary significantly, and several of the most popular ETFs charge more than twice the fees of otherwise similar products. Reducing a portfolio’s weighted-average expense is a relatively easy task that [...]

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Will Fed’s Exit Strategy Bury MBS ETFs?

Eric Dutram — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:57:04 +0000

Due to the role they played in spawning the recent global financial crisis, mortgage-backed securities are viewed by many as “portfolio poison.” As individual and institutional investors looked to dump these securities last year, the federal government was “forced” to acquire a huge MBS position. With signs of a sustainable recovery popping up, the Fed has reportedly begun considering ways to unwind this massive position, a policy move that could have a big impact on prices of MBS ETFs in coming months. Despite some attractive yields and backing from agencies of the U.S. government, most investors have been hesitant to buy up these securities, opting instead for less risky fixed income products. When the Fed’s decision to cut borrowing rates to almost zero failed to thaw frozen credit markets, they adopted additional emergency measures, buying up almost $1.5 trillion of government-guaranteed mortgage related securities and Treasuries. As the Fed’s balance [...]

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ETFs To Play Along With Soros, Paulson, and Fournier

Michael Johnston — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 06:01:36 +0000

Even the most vocal supporters of passive management and indexing have to admit that certain investor track records are far too stellar to attribute entirely to luck. While I’ve frequently disparaged the concept of active investing, I’m still eager to hear what trends legendary investors are following. The Wall Street Journal’s Gregory Zuckerman recently compiled some thoughts from George Soros, John Paulson, and others on the current economic environment. So what are these experts betting on? Some of the answers might surprise you: Soros, known for his controversial currency attacks, calls the current environment a “trading market,” advising investors to take profits when prices rise. Although he is less involved in the day-to-day management of his $24 billion fund, Soros does have some investment ideas, and is bullish on most of the BRIC countries, particularly China. “China is the major beneficiary of the collapse of the financial system. For them it was [...]

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ETF Database » MBB

Best ETF Performers Of 2010: Winners For Every ETFdb Category

Related Posts:

ETF Tax Efficiency Report Card

Related Posts:

Bond ETFs: 12 Stops Along The Risk/Return Spectrum

Related Posts:

Embrace QE With These Three ETFs

Related Posts:

2010: Year Of The Bond ETF

Related Posts:

Five Critical Questions To Ask When Investing In ETFs

Related Posts:

Five Ways To Slash Your ETF Expenses

Related Posts:

Will Fed’s Exit Strategy Bury MBS ETFs?

Related Posts:

ETFs To Play Along With Soros, Paulson, and Fournier

Related Posts: