ETF Database » RSX

Van Eck Debuts Proprietary Indexes, Barclays Drops “Capital”

Stoyan Bojinov — Fri, 18 May 2012 11:00:39 +0000

Volatility has returned to Wall Street as the political gridlock in Greece has re-focused investors’ attention on the looming debt crisis overseas. With economic uncertainties spilling over on the home front, investors have also been prompted to reevaluate the health of the domestic recovery, which according to the latest Fed minutes is still sluggish at best. Amidst the flurry of trading on Wall Street, activity on the product development front has been quiet as no new ETFs launched this week [see also 12 High-Yielding Monthly Distribution Bond ETFs]. With no new ETF filings as well, below we take a look at some noteworthy headlines from around the industry [see also 3 ETF Trading Tips You Are Missing]: Van Eck Launches New Indexes New York-based industry veteran Van Eck continues to expand its lineup of indexes with its most recent launch of four proprietary benchmarks. This release showcases Van Eck’s self-indexing approach, [...]

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ETF Investors: What’s In Your Index?

Michael Johnston — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 13:00:56 +0000

It wasn’t that long ago that indexes were used almost exclusively as performance benchmarks and barometers for stock market performance, most visible as a summary of recent activity on the evening news on in the business section of the morning paper. But over the past several years, the rise of indexing strategies and ETFs has transformed indexes into investable assets with hundreds of billions of dollars seeking to replicate these strategies. As indexes have become more widely replicated, the indexing industry has evolved rapidly. Gone are the days when there were only a handful of benchmarks; there are now hundreds of thousands of indexes that slice and dice global stock markets in almost every conceivable way. Indexes that employ unique weighting methodologies as alternatives to market cap weighting have garnered significant attention in recent years, emerging as new tools for tapping into traditional asset classes. Meanwhile, index providers have also [...]

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BRIC ETFs And Missed Opportunity

Michael Johnston — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 13:00:07 +0000

Most risky asset classes have generally posted impressive three year performance figures at this point, delivering huge gains in the 36 months or so since equity markets bottomed out during the last financial crisis. Just about every equity index is well in positive territory for the latest three year stretch, thanks to improving economic fundamentals and a general return of risk appetite among investors–even if some jitters remain. Generally speaking, emerging markets have lead the way higher over this period; these securities were among the biggest losers during the sell-offs of late 2008 and early 2009, so they had the most ground to reclaim once markets finally bottomed out and began to head higher. So it’s no surprise that BRIC ETFs have some eye-popping performance figures; the MSCI BRIC Index Fund (BKF) is up about 105% over the past three years, while EEB and BIK have generally similar results. Investors [...]

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UBS Launches Risk On / Risk Off ETNs

Michael Johnston — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 14:00:49 +0000

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 term that has become popular in recent months as risky assets have exhibited strong correlations with one another and so-called “safe havens” have thrived whenever uncertainty pops up. The new ETRACS Fisher Gartman Risk On On ETN (ONN) will seek to replicate the Fisher-Gartman Risk Index, a benchmark that includes long positions in various risky asset classes such as stocks and commodities and short positions in traditional safe haven investments such as sovereign bonds. The index consists of 150% long positions combined with 50% short exposure, resulting in a net 100% long portfolio: Sector Long [...]

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Are Russia ETFs A Buy?

Eric Dutram — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 11:00:19 +0000

Although many emerging markets still have excellent growth prospects, they have been hammered in recent weeks thanks to a ‘risk off’ trade in equities. Broad funds targeting this space, such as VWO or EEM, have fallen sharply in this time period, declining by nearly 16.8% in the past quarter alone. While this may sound bad, it is nothing compared to the steep losses that some specific markets have been facing, especially those tied to natural resources. Russia in particular has been cast aside by many investors in this time frame, pushing shares of the economic juggernaut down by close to 25% in the past three month period. While these losses are obviously significant, one has to question whether it is worth abandoning the nation entirely due to this significant bump in the road. After all, investors must also consider Russia’s lousy demographic situation and the fact that the nation is still a one-trick [...]

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Three Equity ETFs Crushed By Monday’s Massacre

Eric Dutram — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 11:00:22 +0000

American equity markets had a day to remember during Monday’s trading session as major benchmarks plunged across the board thanks to Standard & Poor’s downgrade of U.S. sovereign debt. The ratings agency dethroned the world’s largest economy from its AAA rating one notch to AA+, causing a ripple effect throughout the market as investors reassessed risk and the likelihood of another slowdown or more downgrades in the future. Thanks to these worries, the Dow plummeted by nearly 600 points in the session, pared losses to ‘just’ 400 points, only to finish lower by close to 634 point, a nearly 5.6% loss for the day. While these losses were pretty bad, it was nothing compared to the broader indexes as both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq experienced declines exceeding 6.6% to open up the week. Yet, sectors of the financial market were hit even harder by the news, especially firms [...]

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ETF Insider: Run For The Hills!

Stoyan Bojinov — Sat, 06 Aug 2011 14:00:38 +0000

This past week was one of the worst the markets have seen since the crash in 2008. Lawmakers in Washington came to a consensus regarding the debt-ceiling, voting to raise the limit on our nation’s already towering deficit. Investor sentiment was pessimistic nonetheless and equity markets sold off even after the debt-drama appeared to be over on Tuesday. Global indexes plunged on Thursday as investors violently sold-off securities from every corner of the market, with domestic equity benchmarks dropping over 4% in the session. Uncertainty remains the name of the game as investors are outright worried about the financial health of the euro zone and the United States. Against this apocalyptic backdrop, nearly all model ETF portfolios were deep in the red this week, while our actionable ideas held up surprisingly well. Actionable ETF Trade Ideas Our picks from Monday’s Insider were a mixed bag largely due to the fact [...]

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ETF Insider: Roller Coaster Ride Continues

Stoyan Bojinov — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 23:00:47 +0000

Monday was yet another down day for Wall Street as stocks started the week in red territory given the anticipation surrounding the debt-ceiling negotiations. Even after lawmakers in Washington passed the debt-deal on Tuesday, equities still tanked in afternoon trading as investors went into a selling-frenzy. Persistent uncertainty and broad-based weakness continue to pave the way higher for gold as the precious metal once again surged to new all-time highs this week, hitting $1,675 an ounce on Wednesday morning. Crude oil on the other hand has been very weak these past few weeks, managing to sell off Monday afternoon and close just above $92 a barrel on Wednesday. These losses in crude were largely thanks to ongoing weakness in economic data reports as worries over demand continue to build in the global economy. This week’s recommendations have posted mixed performance results so far given the persistent weakness in equity markets [...]

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ETF Insider: Equities Poised To Pop

Stoyan Bojinov — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 13:42:51 +0000

Investors went along for a downhill ride last week as debt woes plagued Wall Street, sending the S&P 500 lower by nearly 4% for the week. Corporate earnings were mostly surprises to the upside, but equities failed to stage a meaningful comeback since investors were more concerned with the debt ceiling drama at home. As expected, gold continued its march higher, with futures prices hitting an all-time high of $1,637 an ounce on Friday morning. Our trade recommendations for this week include a defensive position in a domestic sector fund as well as an international fixed-income ETF, while our bullish pick stands to benefit from a rebound in foreign equities. Weekly Outlook The coming week is stacked with central bank meetings around the globe, including a key interest rate decision by the European Central Bank which will be watched by many given the deteriorating financial health of the Euro zone. [...]

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ETF Insider: A Most Unexpected Rally

Michael Johnston — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 10:00:35 +0000

The past week saw a furious rally in equity markets across the globe, with the big run-up occurring at a time when many least suspected a bump. All eyes were on Greece to start the week, and concerns had been intensifying over undesirable developments in one of the most cash-strapped developed economies in the world. But the can was kicked a bit further down the road this week as lawmakers there approved austerity measures that will allow for another wave of bailout payments to keep the country afloat for at least a few more months. Greece’s outsized impact on the global economy continues to amaze; the positive developments there quickly rippled throughout the global markets, sending stocks around the world sharply higher in the second half of the week. That rally gave a big boost to many of the ETFdb Portfolios, reversing a string of consecutive losses in our all-ETF [...]

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ETF Database » RSX

Van Eck Debuts Proprietary Indexes, Barclays Drops “Capital”

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ETF Investors: What’s In Your Index?

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BRIC ETFs And Missed Opportunity

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UBS Launches Risk On / Risk Off ETNs

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Are Russia ETFs A Buy?

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Three Equity ETFs Crushed By Monday’s Massacre

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ETF Insider: Run For The Hills!

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ETF Insider: Roller Coaster Ride Continues

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ETF Insider: Equities Poised To Pop

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ETF Insider: A Most Unexpected Rally

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