Stocks drifted lower to start the week as resurfacing Euro zone debt woes brought back the bears. Domestic equity indexes retreated into red territory after European leaders put pressure on Greek lawmakers to meet and accept the conditions of the proposed $171 billion bailout. Investors were spooked as worries intensified after Greek leaders failed to reach a unified agreement, further delaying the ongoing debt drama. Uncertainty in equity markets overseas paved the way higher for the U.S. dollar in the currency markets; likewise, gold prices encountered selling pressures and settled near $1,720 an ounce for the day [see ETF Insider: Will Euro Woes Rain On The Bull's Parade?].
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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 [...]
ETF investing has surged in recent years as the industry has experienced exponential growth in nearly all aspects of the universe. Now, there are over 1,400 products with more than $1 trillion in combined assets to offer exposure to just about every corner of the market an investor could ever want. But while these products [...]
It is no secret that the ETF industry is dominated by just a handful of products. The majority of the $1 trillion plus assets are confined to roughly 100 funds, leaving the other 1,300 ETFs in the dust. But as growth in the industry continues to pick up, more and more funds are entering elite [...]
The ETF industry finished 2011 with assets of about $1.06 trillion according to data recently released by the ETF Industry Association. Total assets grew by about 5% over the previous year, when the industry stood at $1.01 trillion. Net cash inflows for the year totaled about $117.6 billion, a slight decrease from 2010 when the [...]
For most investors, 2011 was a frustrating year; after some strong early gains seemingly pointed to a continuation of the recovery that took root in 2010, the appearance of some major obstacles sent many major indexes back towards negative territory. The impressive late December rally closed the year on a high note, but there is [...]
Traders sprang into risk-aversion mode as the Italian bond auction overseas rekindled worries and sparked a sell-off on Wall Street, ending the five day bull-run for domestic equity indexes. “A good test of the appetite for Italian debt will be tomorrow’s bond sales that have maturities past three years,” said Peter Boockvar, equity strategist at [...]
This time last year, investors were generally thrilled with the performances of their portfolios, which had continued to bounce back nicely from the devastating recession that hit in 2008. Unfortunately, few are feeling the same sense of accomplishment as 2011 draws to a close; this year has been frustrating in that a few large, swift [...]
One of the founding principles of the ETF industry was cost competitiveness; after being charged upwards of 150 basis points for their favorite mutual funds, investors had grown tired of surrendering a substantial portion of their gains to the managers of big name funds. Now, there are ETFs that charge as low as 5 basis [...]
Euphoria was quick to evaporate from the markets last week as investors fretted over ongoing uncertainty in the Euro zone. Selling pressures prevailed across equity markets as lawmakers have yet to outline a comprehensive plan of action for restoring stability to the debt burdened currency bloc. Gold futures tanked as investors took profits in the [...]
Equity markets extended losses yet again as Euro zone fears dictated selling pressures on Wednesday. The Nasdaq led the way lower, sinking 1.55% on the day, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average was a bit more resilient, giving up 1.10%. Investors gave into fear as Italy’s borrowing costs surged to a recent all-time high, while [...]
