Whenever a company prepares for a public offering, executives have been known to spend an inordinate amount of time choosing the combination of letters that will serve as the company’s ticker and often nickname within the investment community. To many, the fixation on selecting the perfect ticker seems like an irrational obsession on par with Patrick Bateman’s affinity for business cards. But there’s some evidence to support the idea that picking a clever ticker can be worth quite a bit of money. [click to continue…]
One of the best sources of information on the state of the ETF industry is the monthly data download from the National Stock Exchange. While the most interesting numbers are generally the fund flows into exchange-traded products and the issuer “totem pole,” the release has some pretty thorough statistics on notional and share trading volumes. A closer look at the December version reveals some interesting insights about the ETF industry and sheds some light on a few interesting patterns behind ETF use among investors: [click to continue…]
The rapid rise of the ETF industry has caused the expanded the investment arsenal of millions significantly, bringing asset classes previously reserved for only the largest and most sophisticated investors within reach. This development is perhaps best demonstrated by the surge in popularity of exchange-traded commodity products. According to data from the National Stock Exchange, [...]
With some 3,700 companies, the NASDAQ has more trading volume than any other stock exchange in the world. The NASDAQ 100 is one of the world’s most widely-followed indexes, measuring the performance of 100 of the largest domestic and international nonfinancial companies listed on the NASDAQ Stock Market. As the ETF industry has boomed, billions [...]
Following a year that saw some of the worst performances in recent memory, many asset classes have bounced back in 2009. But some have performed better than others, and as the year draws to a close we take a look at some of the best-performing ETFs. The year’s top gainers include a few of the [...]
Research In Motion, the Canadian Maker of the popular BlackBerry smartphone, reported strong third quarter results on Thursday, beating Street expectations by 6 cents a share and sending shares soaring up by more than 7% in early Friday trading. Many analysts had anticipated that increased competition from other device makers would drag down sales, but [...]
Leveraged ETFs were in the headlines a great deal in 2009, but most of the coverage was less than favorable. Misinformation on these products was widespread throughout the year, leading to confusion on many aspects of these products and some unfair generalizations.
One of the primary points of discussion was the performance of leveraged ETFs when [...]
Boasting competitive cost structures, enhanced tax efficiencies, and improved liquidity features, ETFs have quickly become one of the most popular tools for all types of investors. But despite the rapid rise of the industry over the last five years, there are still countless investors, including many financial advisors, who are completely unaware of exchange-traded funds. [...]
For investors looking to make a play on the technology sector through ETFs, there are a number of options offering varying degrees of exposure. The PowerShares QQQ Trust (QQQQ) tracks the Nasdaq 100 Index, meaning it is tilted heavily towards the technology sector (about 65% of its holdings), but maintains moderate exposure to health care [...]
Just as there are various “celebrity stock tickers” that every investor recognizes instantly (GOOG, MSFT, F, JNJ), there are some ETFs that everyone knows. Generally, these ETFs, such as SPY, GLD, and QQQQ, reflect the most widely-known investment strategies and asset classes. And while the 25 largest funds that account for more than half of [...]
Earlier today, ETF Database Senior Analyst Michael Johnston appeared on Business News Network’s The Close program to discuss ETF plays on Apple’s news regarding Steve Jobs, the new iPhone OS, the new iTunes, and more. Johnston analyzes IYW, QQQQ, and XLK in the live TV interview from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.
Watch the full interview on [...]
Later today, Apple has an invitation only event scheduled at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater in San Francisco (10 am Pacific time). Apple has confirmed that the meeting will have a music theme, but beyond that it’s anyone’s guess as to what will transpire at the much anticipated event (some believe the [...]
