One of the most exclusive clubs on Wall Street now has a few more members, with the new additions resulting in some minor changes to a popular dividend-focused ETF. S&P recently added a total of ten companies to its S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrat Index, headlined by telecom giant AT&T and also including companies such a T. Rowe Price, Colgate-Palmolive, and Sysco Corp. Inclusion in the Aristocrats index requires a long history of steady dividend hikes; the benchmark is comprised of companies that have increased their cash distribution for at least 25 consecutive years. That means that companies must have both a long operating history and the record of consistently increasing payouts to shareholders–which can be challenging throughout a full market cycle [see Special Report: Dividend ETFs In Focus]. [click to continue…]
In recent years ETFs have become increasingly popular as means of establishing cost efficient, low maintenance exposure to time-tested investment strategies. Russell recently rolled out a line of “investment discipline ETFs” that essentially automate the construction of portfolios consistent with various portfolio management techniques, including Growth at a Reasonable Price (GRPC), Contrarian (CNTR), and Low [...]
iShares, the largest issuer of U.S. ETFs by total assets, continues to make plans to expand its product lineup with the filing of three new ETFs. While the company has been expanding heavily in country-specific funds as of late, it seems to have taken a step towards broader funds once again with this latest release. [...]
U.S. ETF assets topped $1 trillion for the first time in December, as a year-end rally in global equity markets and another strong month of inflows pushed the industry past the milestone. ETF assets also finished the year above this key mark, according to the latest data from the National Stock Exchange, representing an increase [...]
After a small step backwards in August, the U.S. ETF industry got back on track in September as an unexpected equity market rally and impressive cash inflows combined to deliver an impressive single month jump in assets. ETF assets finished the third quarter at nearly $901 billion according to the National Stock Exchange, an increase [...]
The ETF industry is off to a good start for 2010 with several new funds launching this week. In other news, Barack Obama proposed a new tax on banks in order to shore up the $100 billion deficit from TARP. Markets finished the week on a sour note after JP Morgan posted weaker than expected [...]
