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Build America Bond ETFs: Crushing The Muni Competition

Eric Dutram — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 13:45:26 +0000

This year has, so far, been a pretty strange period for municipal bond investors. It started off with a dire prediction from Meredith Whitney on the market as she stated her belief that we will see a large amount of defaults in the space in the very near future. “You could see 50 sizable defaults, 50 to 100 sizable defaults, more.” said Meredith in December of last year. “This will amount to hundreds of billions of dollars worth of defaults.” While this prediction has not come true– at least not yet– questions are beginning to pop up regarding the market nonetheless. In fact, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the capital and one of the ten largest cities in the state, recently filed for bankruptcy, although the State is trying to prevent this from happening in order to avoid a wave of defaults. Nevertheless, the situation in the state capital is looking grim; some estimates state that the [...]

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Five ETFs To Watch If Meredith Whitney Is Right

Michael Johnston — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 14:00:04 +0000

According to the ancient Mayan calendar, the world will end in December 2012. If banking analyst Meredith Whitney is right, the beginning of the end might be around the corner. Whitney, who rose to prominence after a pessimistic report on Citigroup issued in late 2007 later proved to be painfully accurate, has been zeroed in on the municipal bond sector for some time now as the next market to enter into a freefall. She first turned heads last year when predicting that between 50 and 100 local governments could default on obligations worth hundreds of billions of dollars–a collapse that would almost certainly be felt throughout global financial markets. That breakdown in muni bond markets so far hasn’t materialized; default rates have been in line with historical averages, and investors who held on to these securities have been rewarded with relatively strong performances. But Whitney hasn’t backed down from her [...]

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Daily ETF Roundup: MUB Tumbles, XLE Roars Higher

Eric Dutram — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 23:05:10 +0000

Stock markets in the U.S. finished the day mixed as a strong performance from the oil sector helped to buoy the broader indexes ahead of the more concentrated DJIA. Still, both the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 finished the day up by less than 10 points each while the Dow slid by just five, in what was a surprisingly flat session for most of the widely-held portfolio components. Commodities were also mixed in the session as gold rose marginally above the $1,360/oz. mark while oil fell back below the $85/bbl. level, however, the real focus was on the base metals, especially copper. Prices of the red metal surged by close to 10 cents a pound or just about 2.1% as China increased its copper imports for the month of January despite ongoing concerns over a slowdown in the country. One of the biggest winners in the ETF world was the [...]

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Daily ETF Roundup: UNG Soars, MUB Tumbles

Eric Dutram — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 22:14:15 +0000

Wall Street started off the holiday-shortened week on a mixed note as a stronger U.S. dollar weighed on a variety of asset classes. Despite a stronger greenback, both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq managed to post gains of 0.3% while the Dow slid marginally, posting a 0.1% loss. Commodities, an asset class usually crushed by a strong dollar, also saw broad strength as softs, metals, and energy all posted solid days, especially considering the lack of truly bullish news. While the day was relatively void of market moving events, some ongoing issues helped to move certain sectors. Fears over a Federal Reserve plan to cut debit-card interchange fees once again weighed on American Express as analysts at Stifel Nicolaus cut their rating on the company from buy to hold, pushing down shares of the blue chip giant by more than 6% on the day. Meanwhile, the dollar continued to [...]

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Looking For Juicy Yields? Try Muni Bond ETFs

Michael Johnston — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 12:00:12 +0000

When the Federal Reserve slashed the federal funds target rate to a range of 0.0% to 0.25% in late 2008, most expected that the drastic measure would be temporary, and that interest rates would gradually climb higher. But nearly two years later, the U.S. economy continues to languish as job creation has failed to materialize and the debt burden continues to grow. With interest rates expected to remain near record lows for the foreseeable future, many investors who depend on their portfolios to deliver a current return have been forced to get creative in their hunt for attractive yield. For some that search has lead to junk bonds or debt of emerging market issuers, two asset classes that offer relatively attractive coupons in the current environment. Others have embraced high-yielding equities as a solution, pouring money into MLP ETNs dividend-weighted ETFs. And given the events of the last several weeks, [...]

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Look Out Below! Muni Bond ETFs In Freefall

Eric Dutram — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 14:14:19 +0000

After witnessing an impressive run-up through the first three quarters of the year, more and more investors are now expressing concern over a bubble in bond markets. Reaction to the recent announcement of another round of QE has skewed towards the negative, as economists both in the U.S. and around the globe have predicted that the Fed’s most recent initiative will only dig a deeper hole. Much of the attention has focused on Treasury markets, where the Fed has become increasingly active and where concerns over paltry yields have sparked sell-offs in recent weeks. While the turmoil in Treasury markets has been at the focus of speculation over a bond bubble, the recent tumble in the municipal bond market deserves some attention as well. This often-overlooked class of the bond market has long been a portfolio staple for current income-focused investors in high marginal tax brackets seeking to shield assets [...]

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Free ETF Trading: Comparing All The Options

Eric Dutram — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 15:00:25 +0000

As the ETF world continues to grow, the competitive landscape continues to evolve. In recent years, a growing number of firms have attempted to differentiate themselves by offering unique exposure to asset classes and strategies not previously available–such as funds tracking the Philippine stock market or ETNs linked to the price of industrial metals such as zinc or tin. More recently, the ETF industry has witnessed escalating price wars, with multiple issuers lowering management fees in an attempt to lure cost-conscious investors. These price wars have sent expense ratios to as low as six basis points, much to the delight of investors accustomed to forking over upwards of 1.5% annually to active mutual funds. But many ETF issuers have recognized that the total cost of ETF investing goes beyond just expense ratios, and have aggressively marketed programs designed to save investors money when executing ETF trades [see The Total Cost [...]

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Wide World Of Muni Bond ETFs

Michael Johnston — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 11:00:52 +0000

As investors have become more comfortable with the idea of achieving fixed income exposure through the exchange-traded structure, bond ETF assets have skyrocketed and the number of funds has increased rapidly. For those in higher tax brackets, municipal bonds have always been a popular option, as the tax-exempt feature of the interest payment boosts the tax-equivalent yield realized. And many in these higher tax brackets have embraced ETFs as the most efficient means of achieving exposure: the S&P National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Fund (MUB) has more than $2 billion in assets. But while MUB is the most popular ETF offering exposure to the muni bond market, it’s hardly the only option available. Below, we profile more targeted muni bond ETF options covering various durations, credit qualities, and geographies [for more ETF insights, sign up for our free ETF newsletter]: High Yield Muni Bond ETF For investors looking to capture the [...]

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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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Three ETFs To Shield From Expiring ‘Bush Tax Cuts’

Cathy Carlson — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:34:48 +0000

In the past two weeks, many large U.S. corporations have posted solid earnings which has sparked optimism over an economic recovery. However, recent testimony from Fed Chair Ben Bernanke has weighed on the markets and has kept many investors fearful about the near future. In his testimony, Bernanke called the American economic outlook ‘unusually uncertain’ and said that several tools were being discussed in order to help boost the economy. This gloomy proposition left many certain that a double dip was around the corner which has placed an extremely heavy burden on the federal government in order to quickly revive the economy before the November elections while simultaneously keeping the ever-increasing budget deficits in check. As a way to cut back on this deficit while keeping the vast majority of the electorate satisfied, legislators are discussing the possibility of allowing the now infamous ‘Bush tax cuts’ to expire for taxpayers [...]

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ETF Database » MUB

Build America Bond ETFs: Crushing The Muni Competition

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Daily ETF Roundup: MUB Tumbles, XLE Roars Higher

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Looking For Juicy Yields? Try Muni Bond ETFs

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Look Out Below! Muni Bond ETFs In Freefall

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Free ETF Trading: Comparing All The Options

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Wide World Of Muni Bond ETFs

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2010: Year Of The Bond ETF

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