ETF Database » SCJ

First Small Cap Singapore ETF Debuts

Michael Johnston — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:00:19 +0000

iShares has made another round of additions to its ETF lineup of well more than 200 products, debuting funds that target small cap stocks in Hong Kong and Singapore. The company also debuted an ETF linked to the MSCI World Index, a broad benchmark of stocks in developed markets: MSCI Hong Kong Small Cap Index Fund (EWHS) This ETF offers exposure to small cap stocks listed in Hong Kong, giving investors an opportunity to tap into a set of smaller companies that often derive significant revenues from mainland China [see Special Report: China ETFs In Focus]. EWHS has about 44 stocks in total, with no one name accounting for more than about 5% of the total portfolio. The sector breakdown of EWHS is somewhat unique for an international ETF; the consumer discretionary sector accounts for close to 45% of the underlying index, with financials (18%) and industrials (12%) also making [...]

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Six Noteworthy ETF Innovations

Michael Johnston — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 14:30:21 +0000

Since the ETF industry was conceived close to two decades ago, innovation has been a hallmark of this rapidly-expanding corner of the investing landscape. Thanks to a unique structure that allows for liquidity, transparency, and tax efficiency, ETFs have quickly and consistently taken market share from other types of securities, bringing newfound flexibility to all types of portfolios. If anything, the pace of innovation has accelerated dramatically in recent years; an aggressive product pipeline has produced hundreds of new products in the last several years, many of which are first-to-market ideas that tap in to new asset classes and investment strategies. Some of these innovations have benefited investors broadly, while others have been noteworthy primarily to more targeted groups [see 25 Things Every Financial Advisor Should Know About ETFs]. In case you haven’t been keeping up with all the latest developments in the ETF industry, here’s a quick recap of [...]

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ETF Misnomers: Why You Never Judge A Fund By Its Cover

Michael Johnston — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 14:00:10 +0000

The saying “never judge a book by its cover” is certainly applicable to a wide range of situations. That includes the business of investing; for advisors and individuals who use ETFs, the old adage can be very relevant, valuable advice. There are now more than 1,300 exchange-traded products now available to U.S. investors, and that number will only climb higher in coming months and years. For the vast majority of those funds, the product name provides a pretty good description of the underlying assets and investment objectives. The S&P 500 SPDR (SPY) invests in the stocks of the S&P 500 Index. The Gold SPDR (GLD) invests in gold bars [see also 25 Things Every Financial Advisor Should Know About ETFs]. But in some cases the name of an ETF only tells a part of the story, and a look under the hood can reveal that the actual exposure achieved can [...]

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Nikkei ETF Debuts: Newcomer Precidian Launches NKY

Michael Johnston — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 14:13:39 +0000

Precidian Funds, a New Jersey-based ETF newcomer, announced on Thursday the launch of the first U.S.-listed ETF offering exposure to the Nikkei 225 Index. The new MAXIS Nikkei 225 Index ETF (NKY) will seek to replicate the widely followed benchmark of Japanese stocks, often referred to simply as the Nikkei or the Nikkei Index. That benchmark is a price-weighted index consisting of 225 stocks listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The Nikkei has been calculated by the Nihon Keizai Shimbun newspaper since 1950. There are several investment products linked to the Nikkei in existence around the world, but NKY is the first U.S.-listed ETF to offer exposure to the well known index. Under The Hood Like the Dow Jones Industrial Average in the U.S., the Nikkei is a price-weighted index. That means that the index will make the largest allocations to the companies with the highest stock prices, a methodology [...]

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May ETFdb Category Kings: Best Performing ETFs

Michael Johnston — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 13:00:43 +0000

The month of May was a generally disappointing stretch for investors, as both international and domestic equity markets struggled to overcome obstacles new and old. Commodities, which had been a nice source of absolute returns for much of the last year, fell on hard times as well; precious metals went into a brief freefall, and most other natural resources saw price declines as well. May demonstrated the importance of a meaningful allocation to fixed income within any long-term portfolio, as most bond ETFs turned in nice gains during the month. The following tables highlight the best performers from each ETFdb Category during the month of May [ETFdb Pro members can download spreadsheets showing performance and expense data for the entire ETF universe]. Equity ETFs Though most equity ETFs finished May in negative territory, there were a handful of bright spots among the hundreds of ETFs that slice and dice the [...]

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IndexIQ Debuts Japan Mid Cap ETF (RSUN)

Michael Johnston — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 14:06:18 +0000

IndexIQ, the firm behind a suite of hedge fund replication ETFs and small cap country-specific funds, notched another first for the ETF industry on Thursday. The IQ Japan Mid Cap ETF (RSUN) will seek to replicate an index that consists of about 100 mid cap Japanese stocks. The weighted average market capitalization of the companies that make up the index will be approximately $3 billion. RSUN is the ninth ETF in the Japan Equities ETFdb Category, and the first to focus exclusively on mid cap stocks; RSUN will offer a tool for establishing complementary exposure to large cap Japan ETFs (such as EWJ) and small cap funds (including SCJ, JSC, and DFJ). In recent years, investors have embraced small-cap and mid-cap equities as a means of establishing more “pure play” exposure to international markets. Whereas funds dominated by large caps tend to include multi-national firms that generate revenue around the [...]

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Friday’s ETF To Watch: iShares MSCI Japan Small Cap Fund (SCJ)

Jared Cummans — Fri, 20 May 2011 08:00:30 +0000

Earlier this year, tragedy struck Japan in the form of a 9.0 earthquake, one of the largest ever recorded. The rupture set off tsunamis that wreaked havoc all across the nation and displaced hundreds of thousands from their communities and homes. Once the initial damage had been done, the news only became progressively worse as fears of major radiation leaks hit the nation thanks to flooding at one of the country’s many nuclear plants. Now, Japan is in a stage of rebuilding and attempting to nurture its shattered economy.With numerous major business pulling their resources out of a country now deemed to be too unsafe, the Japanese markets will be heavily affected by government regulations and policies that come in these months ahead [see Japan ETFs In Focus After Devastating Quake]. Today, the Bank of Japan will be releasing its interest rate decision, which could have a significant impact on [...]

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Van Eck Launches Small Cap Germany ETF (GERJ)

Michael Johnston — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 14:02:45 +0000

Van Eck announced the latest addition to its fast-growing ETF lineup today, rolling out a fund that offers exposure to small cap German companies. The Market Vectors Germany Small-Cap ETF (GERJ) will seek to replicate the Market Vectors Germany Small-Cap Index, a benchmark that includes small cap companies listed in Germany or that generate at least 50% of their revenues in Germany. Prior to the launch of GERJ, the only “pure play” Germany ETF available to U.S. investors was the iShares MSCI Germany Index Fund (EWG). That product, which has close to $3 billion in assets, consists of about 50 large cap German companies; the largest allocations go to Siemens, BASF, Allianz, Bayer, and Daimler. The median market cap of the underlying index was more than $11 billion at the end of 2010, and the smallest company in the MSCI Germany Index has a market cap of $2.5 billion. The launch [...]

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Japan ETFs In Focus After Devastating Quake

Michael Johnston — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 11:00:53 +0000

The attention of investors shifted from the Middle East to Japan late last week, as the natural devastation caused by a massive earthquake trumped the manmade chaos that has been playing out in Libya, Saudi Arabia, and elsewhere in the oil-rich region. With rescue efforts intensifying in the north of Japan after a magnitude 8.9 quake and resulting tsunami, a potential nuclear crisis has emerged as another threat that could impact the entire country. The death toll had climbed to nearly 1,600 on Sunday, but by some estimates that figure will reach as high as 10,000 as rescue efforts continue. Assessing the economic impact remains challenging as details continue to emerge, though investors have been selling off Japanese stocks since the quake hit and are expected to continue to do so when trading resumes on Monday. The area closest to the epicenter of the quake accounts directly for only a [...]

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Best ETF Performers Of 2010: Winners For Every ETFdb Category

Michael Johnston — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 12:00:23 +0000

Last year was a good year for most asset classes, as investor portfolios continued to recover from the recent recession. The difference in performance between many comparable funds was significant, and many of the best performers of 2010 are relatively small funds that maintain considerably smaller asset bases than their more popular competitors. Below, we profiled the top performing ETFs in more than 60 ETFdb Categories covering all major asset classes. ETFs that launched in 2010 were excluded, as were those that stopped trading during the year [for more ETF insights, sign up for our free ETF newsletter]: Equity ETFs Many equity ETFs turned impressive performances in 2010; below, we profile the best of the best: All Cap Equities: The First Trust Multi CG AlphaDex (FAD) added 25.2% last year, besting the more popular VTI (up 17.4%) and IWV (up 16.8%) by a wide margin. Large Cap Blend Equities: The [...]

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ETF Database » SCJ

First Small Cap Singapore ETF Debuts

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ETF Misnomers: Why You Never Judge A Fund By Its Cover

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Nikkei ETF Debuts: Newcomer Precidian Launches NKY

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IndexIQ Debuts Japan Mid Cap ETF (RSUN)

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Friday’s ETF To Watch: iShares MSCI Japan Small Cap Fund (SCJ)

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Van Eck Launches Small Cap Germany ETF (GERJ)

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