The proliferation of commodity ETFs has brought this “fourth asset class” within reach of more investors than ever before. But as many have learned the hard way, resource fundamentals are only one of the factors that impact many exchange-traded commodities, and the nuances of the futures market often have a more significant impact than changes in spot prices. Most ETF investors looking for commodity exposure do so in one of two ways: 1) physically-backed or futures-based commodity products (such as GLD or DBC) or 2) equities of commodity producing companies. But some have embraced international funds as a way to achieve indirect commodity exposure while maintaining some degree of diversification in emerging economies. Below, we profile some alternative ETF options for investing in commodities (for more actionable ETF ideas, sign up for our free ETF newsletter). [click to continue…]
Commodities are the new black in the world of investing, thanks in no small part to the rise of ETFs as the tool of choice in more and more portfolios. Commodity ETFs saw cash inflows of more than $30 billion in 2009, as total assets more than doubled on the year. According to the ETF screener, there are currently 91 exchange-traded commodity products, including inverse and leveraged funds. At the end of 2009, there was $73.7 billion in these funds, but most of these assets were concentrated in a handful of tickers. GLD alone accounted for more than half of commodity assets, and the top seven commodity funds (SLV, DBC, UNG, IAU, DBA, and DJP) made up almost 85% of the total amount. [click to continue…]
As the ETF industry has expanded in recent years, a significant portion of growth has come from the tremendous rise in popularity of exchange-traded commodity products. In addition to broad-based funds such as DBC or DJCI, several commodity-specific products have accumulated billions of dollars in assets, and several were even among the very largest of [...]
The National Stock Exchange has released the latest facts and figures on the ETF industry for the month of November, and the results continue to impress. Total ETF assets increased to $752 million, an increase of more than 6% over October results. Strong performances from equity markets played a major rise in the asset uptick, [...]
Continued declines in the confidence of the U.S. dollar have led many national banks to seek out ways to reduce their exposure to the greenback. Many have opted to shift reserve holdings into hard currency, sending precious metals prices skyrocketing in recent sessions. Gold has gotten the lion’s share of the attention, as its penetration [...]
While the differences between traditional actively-managed mutual funds and exchange-traded products include several somewhat complex distinguishing characteristics, most investors focus on the relatively simple issue of expenses when making comparisons. Due to their passive nature, ETFs generally offer much lower expenses than mutual funds that can employ teams of analysts and conduct thorough research in [...]
While most investors are well aware of gold’s unprecedented march to $1,100/oz., far fewer are familiar with the yellow metal’s often overlooked cousin, silver. While gold has received a great deal of attention as a hedge against the U.S. dollar, the leading silver ETF, SLV, has outperformed its gold counterpart, GLD, by a factor of [...]
As U.S. equity markets have soared in recent months, the dollar has steadily declined against most of its major rivals, recently falling below the key $1.50 level against the euro for the first time since August of last year. This extended fall has investors wondering if the dollar’s decline reflects temporary volatility, or a long-term [...]
London-based ETF Securities, the European ETF giant that has made a splash in the U.S. industry, announced on Wednesday that it has topped $350 million in assets, a remarkable accomplishment considering ETFS launched its first U.S. listed ETF in July of this year. That inaugural fund, the ETFS Silver Trust (SIVR) now has about $150 [...]
London-based ETF Securities, one of the largest European ETF issuers, has filed the prospectus for what would be its third U.S.-listed ETF and the first physically-backed platinum ETF on the NYSE Arca Exchange. The ETFS Platinum Trust (PALL) will seek to reflect the performance of the price of physical palladium, offering a cost-effective and convenient [...]
ETF Securities, already a household name in the European ETF industry, is quickly becoming a major player in the ETF space here in the U.S. The London-based ETF sponsor announced today the launch of the ETFS Physical Swiss Gold Shares (SGOL), its second U.S.-listed ETF. The new offering is physically-backed by gold bullion held in [...]
When the financial bomb went off in the fall of 2008, it damaged or destroyed nearly everything in its path. Banking stocks (and banking ETFs) were near the epicenter of the blast, and therefore suffered significant damage. But even within the banking sector, there is a huge discrepancy in the returns generated by various types [...]
