The year-end periods provides the ETF industry with a couple of opportunities to flex its collective muscle; performance comparisons generally tend to favor those products with lower expense ratios–a defining feature of exchange-traded funds. But early January also puts another benefit of exchange-traded products into focus: enhanced tax efficiency relative to traditional mutual funds. The nuances of the exchange-traded structure have the potential to bring additional tax efficiencies to investors thanks to the availability of an “in kind redemption” that ultimately gives investors more control over the timing of tax obligations. Mutual funds, on the other hand, have a nasty tendency to stick remaining shareholders with tax liabilities incurred as a result of redemptions by others–a development that can obviously be undesirable [see Tax Loss Harvesting With ETFs: 6 Ideas To Lower Client Liabilities].
ETFs won’t allow investors to skip out on their taxes, but this product structure can deliver more control and greater efficiency in this regard. It is important to note, however, that not all ETFs are created equal when it comes to tax efficiency. Certain asset classes are less efficient than others; bond ETFs, for example, should be expected to incur capital gains taxes with some regularity.
Below, we run through the capital gains results for several of the largest ETF issuers, beginning with the market leader: [click to continue…]
AdvisorShares, one of the largest issuers of active ETFs, continues to cultivate new relationships and fill the product pipeline with ideas for new exchange-traded products. Earlier this month the company filed details on a fund that would combine a common and long-standing investment strategy with the exchange-traded structure, shedding some light on plans to launch [...]
Most investors have a pretty good idea which ETFs will perform well in bull markets (generally any type of risky asset, including equities and commodities) and which will perform well in bear markets (low risk bonds and inverse equity ETFs, among other asset classes). But finding products that have the potential to deliver meaningful gains [...]
This year has been a frustrating one for investors, as equity markets came racing out of the gate only to lose steam as much anticipated job creation failed to materialize and much of the developed world found itself facing a massive credit crunch. Every development that seemingly indicates a robust recovery–such as the impressive earnings [...]
After staying rangebound for much of Wednesday equity markets tanked in the final hour of trading, pushing the Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 to losses of more than 1% on the day. These losses came after payroll company ADP reported that private companies added just 13,000 jobs in June, far short of the 60,000 that [...]
Mounting fiscal problems in Europe finally spilled over into global markets last week, sending shares plunging sharply lower. At one point on Thursday, the Dow was down close to 1,000 points, with several stocks and ETFs rendered nearly worthless by a still-unexplained “flash crash” began (see Ten Shocking ETF Charts From The “Flash Crash”). Then [...]
The S&P 500 is one of the most widely-followed benchmarks in the world, a bellweather of the American economy that is included in the Index of Leading Indicators. Composed of 500 of the largest stocks listed in the U.S. (as well as a handful of non-U.S. companies), the S&P 500 has a weighted average market [...]
U.S. and global equity markets have enjoyed a months-long rally from their March lows, fueled by improving macroeconomic conditions, surprisingly healthy corporate earnings, and renewed consumer confidence. Following this tremendous rally, we are beginning to see indications that the market rally is running out of steam, as many sophisticated investors are beginning to pull out [...]
The majority of ETFs on the market follow the traditional ETF model – tracking an underlying equity or bond index. But as the benefits of the ETF structure become more widely accepted, inflows from increasingly sophisticated have created a demand for increasingly complex funds. Here are five of the more complex ETFs available to investors today, along [...]
