As the array of ETF product offerings has expanded in recent years, the biotech space has seen significant activity. Currently, there are five biotech ETFs that have accumulated nearly $3.5 billion in aggregate assets. Each of these funds focuses on stocks in the biotechnology industry, and in many cases there is significant overlap between the top holdings. But as the relative performance of these funds so far this year has shown, the biotech ETFs available to U.S. investors are far from identical. Each of the biotech ETFs is up at least 6% so far in 2010, making this sector one of the best performers of the year. But the top-performing biotech ETF is up nearly 25% on the year, a significant return gap between funds that seem, at least on the surface, to be relatively comparable. [click to continue…]
As the ETF industry has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years, continued innovation has enabled investors to achieve more granular exposure than ever through exchange-traded products. Diversified ETFs targeting relatively narrow sectors of the domestic and global economy have multiplied, including funds targeting the airline, gaming, insurance, gold mining, timber, and food and beverage industries. [click to continue…]
Healthcare reform has been in the news a lot lately, with constant finger-pointing, debate, and competing versions of comprehensive bills. Although the passage of comprehensive reform appears to be less certain that it was only weeks ago, it remains likely that major changes are coming before the end of the year. While many specifics are [...]
Biotechnology ETFs enjoyed bug jumps at the beginning of this week, thanks primarily to a huge increase in the stock price of a key component of several funds. Human Genome Sciences Inc. (HGSI) has jumped more than 450% over the last week on news that its lupus drug Benlysta showed late-stage success in a clinical [...]
