The rise of the ETF industry is often attributed (in large part at least) to a shift in investor preference from pricey active management to low-cost indexing strategies. ETFs burst on to the investment scene by offering fees equivalent to only a fraction of those charged by traditional actively-managed mutual funds, and have continued to attract assets as investors frustrated with the inability of active management to consistently generate alpha seek out more cost-efficient alternatives. [click to continue…]
Total ETF assets grew by more than $240 billion in 2009, as funds continued to flow from traditional actively-managed mutual funds and issuers introduced more than 100 new products. Despite some suggestions that the a saturation point is nearing (or has perhaps even been passed), the ETF industry is poised to continue its rapid expansion in 2010, and is on pace to surpass last year’s new product total.
Many of the new funds launched this year have been instant hits, and the pipeline is full of exciting new products (see the Seven Most Anticipated New ETFs of 2010). In a new weekly feature on ETF Database, we take a look at some of the more interesting products currently awaiting approval and launch. First up are three international ETFs offering exposure to hard-to-reach regions of the world, including a frontier, emerging, and developed market. [click to continue…]
When U.S. investors returned from a Thanksgiving break last month, they were greeted by chaos in Dubai, as the government moved to restructure Dubai World, its corporate flagship, and temporarily halt debt payments to certain creditors. The announcement threw up red flags around the world, with the most bearish of investors speculating that Dubai would [...]
The beginning of December brought more good news for the ETF industry, as cash continued to flow in and innovative new products continued to gain traction with investors. It was an active week on Wall Street as well, with a pleasant surprise from the jobs front wrapping up a week that saw continued rises in [...]
Although U.S. markets were quiet on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday, an unexpected development halfway across the globe is likely to send domestic markets sharply lower when investors return from their brief vacation. The Dubai government said on Thursday that it would restructure Dubai World, its corporate flagship, and begin a six-month halt on debt [...]
Big oil is turning its attention to Iraq once again. But this time, instead of fear and dread, oil companies are looking to the Gulf state with hope and optimism. In recent years, the Iraqi oil industry usually made the news for all the wrong reasons: sabotages of pipelines, bomb attacks at drilling sites, employee [...]
Many investors who had the resolve to keep their equity holdings in place as global markets plunged to new lows in the first few months of 2009 were the beneficiaries of a familiar gift from an old friend. Emerging markets, which have regularly enhanced investor returns in recent years (well, prior to 2008 at least) [...]
Gulf States ETFs, which had been enjoying sustained rallies in recent months, paused last week as turmoil in Iran intensified and tremendous uncertainty looming over the entire region. While few ETFs on the market maintain any direct holdings in Iranian companies, the fallout over presidential elections held earlier this month threatens to destabilize the entire [...]
