Equity markets took a nosedive last week as resurfacing Euro zone debt woes welcomed back the bears on Wall Street. Political turbulence in Greece has sparked a wave of worry, with many fearing that the nation will have to face default unless the opposing parties agree to implement the proposed austerity measures. On the home front, economic data releases remain mixed; the latest consumer sentiment index came in better-than-expected, however, the labor market remains fragile [see also 5 Simple ETF Trading Tips].
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Mixed economic releases coupled with concerning nonfarm payrolls data left many scrambling to take profits, sending major indexes into red territory for the week. With earnings season in the books, investors will once again focus their attention on fundamental data releases along with headlines from the Euro zone. The week ahead looks to be clouded with uncertainty as parliamentary elections across the [...]
Apple (AAPL) has been one of the best performing stocks of the last several years, and has also become one of the most widely followed companies ever. The stock has been climbing sharply higher, recently piercing through the $600 level–a feat that just a few years ago would have seemed impossible. Given the red hot [...]
As indexes have been essentially transformed into investable assets in part because of surging interest in ETFs, many advisors and investors have begun to take a closer look at the details of the methodologies behind the construction and maintenance of these benchmarks. Cap weighting, where the largest weights are afforded to the largest companies, has [...]
SPY has long been the king of exchange traded products. Hitting the market in 1993, this fund has amassed nearly $100 billion in assets making it not only the largest ETF in the world, but also one of the largest funds available to investors. Its ultra low expenses and massive daily volume have allowed it [...]
In the universe of equity ETFs, market capitalization weighting strategies are incredibly dominant. The majority of the hundreds of domestic and international stock ETFs available to U.S. investors are linked to cap-weighted benchmarks, and the lion’s share of assets is in products that utilize this well known methodology. But in recent years, thanks in part [...]
With the finish line in sight, it’s fairly safe to say that 2011 will be remembered by most investors as a wild, back-and-forth year that brought plenty of both hope and despair. A hot start raised optimism of a continued recovery after a generally impressive 2011, but the summer months were anything but relaxing; major [...]
UBS, the issuer behind one of the broadest lineups of ETNs available to U.S. investors, continued the aggressive expansion of its product lineup this week with the introduction of two unique offerings. The company rolled out a pair of blunt instruments designed to be used in high level “risk on / risk off” trades, a [...]
The rapid expansion of the ETF industry has been one of the most important developments of the last several decades to financial professionals; as the lineup of exchange-traded products has surged past 1,300, financial advisors now have more tools in their toolkits than ever before to help construct client portfolios. With these new financial products [...]
This year started off strong, as it looked like the economic recovery was finally gaining some steam. Major indexes trended upwards for the first seven months of the year, with the S&P 500 hitting 1,370 at its peak. It marked good progress as we exited the “Lost Decade” where most indexes finished where they were [...]
Rydex, the ETF issuer known for its lineup of equal-weighted equity ETFs, will reportedly be rebranded under parent company Guggenheim. According to a Reuters report, the company is being renamed Guggenheim Investments, and will rebrand the Rydex lineup of ETFs under that name. Guggenheim led a group of investors that acquired Security Benefit Corp., the [...]
