ETF Database » VDE

FocusShares Turns One Year Old

Michael Johnston — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 18:40:34 +0000

The FocusShares lineup of ETFs hit its one year milestone this week, marking the anniversary of the launch of 15 products focusing on U.S. equities. When FocusShares made its entrance 12 months ago, it marked the latest development in an ongoing “price war” in the ETF industry; many of the FocusShares ETFs launched as the cheapest options available for the exposure offered, and the availability commission free at one of the largest online brokerages gave investors another option for reducing overall fees. Twelve of the 15 FocusShares ETF posted positive returns in their first year of operations, led by the Morningstar Consumer Defensive Index ETF (FCD) with a gain of almost 17%. The Focus Morningstar Large Cap Index ETF (FLG) outperformed the S&P 500 by about 100 basis points in its first year [see also Under The Hood Of FocusShares: Q&A With Kris Wallace & Erik Liik]. Best Kept ETF [...]

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How Low Can Vanguard Go? Sector ETFs Get Expense Cuts

Michael Johnston — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 14:00:15 +0000

Vanguard, the Pennsylvania-based provider of ETFs and mutual funds known for its low management expenses, has further enhanced the cost efficiency on its lineup of sector-specific ETFs. The company announced that the expense ratios on a handful of its sector funds have been cut to 0.19%, making them slightly cheaper than the popular lineup of Sector SPDRs and on par with several FocusShares ETFs. The Vanguard sector ETFs and their expense ratios are now as follows [sign up for the free ETFdb newsletter]: Ticker Sector ER AUM VCR Consumer Disc. 0.19% $348 VDC Consumer Staples 0.19% $885 VDE Energy 0.19% $1,730 VFH Financials 0.23% $538 VHT Health Care 0.19% $725 VIS Industrials 0.19% $432 VGT Technology 0.19% $1,894 VAW Materials 0.19% $530 VOX Telecom 0.19% $366 VPU Utilities 0.19% $1,041 Each of the funds highlighted above will now be at least tied for the lowest expense ratio in their respective [...]

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In Search Of The Best Energy ETF

Shibo Liang — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 13:00:56 +0000

The ETF industry has grown quickly in recent years; there are now more than 1,300 products. In many cases, investors and advisors find themselves with several choices for exposure to a desired asset class or investment strategy. While the options may be generally similar, there are nuances to each that impact the risk profile and ultimately the returns realized [see For ETF Investors, The Details Matter]. One corner of the domestic economy that is a core holding in many portfolios is the energy sector. Whether as a hedge against higher oil prices or on strong global activity, the U.S. energy market can be an appealing investment for a number of different reasons. A number of events such as the oil spill in the Gulf and the European debt crisis have caused some volatility for the energy sector in recent years, with this market swinging between big gains and steep losses. Perhaps not surprisingly, ETFs [...]

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Thursday’s ETF To Watch: Vanguard Energy ETF (VDE)

Eric Dutram — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 08:00:40 +0000

With oil prices once again surging, investors are looking to some of the world’s largest oil companies to help power portfolios gains. Now that earnings season is upon us, many are looking for clues from some of these big names to see if the price of crude has helped to spur these firms to record earnings once again. By some estimates, prices of crude oil are about 20% higher this year in the first quarter than it was in 2010, putting the onus on integrated oil firms to deliver hefty profit increases in their first quarter results. Arguably the most important firm in the sector is ExxonMobil (XOM), the world’s largest integrated oil firm and investors should be able to gain further insight on the impact of higher oil on the sector when the energy giant gives its first quarter report later today. The company looks to give its earnings report [...]

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Where Insider Trading & ETFs Meet

Michael Johnston — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 15:00:21 +0000

As the growth of the ETF industry has accelerated in recent years, the chorus of praises for the exchange-traded structure has become deafening in some corners of the investing world. Credited with reducing expenses, improving tax efficiency, and offering increased transparency, ETFs have received an overwhelmingly positive reception from investors both big and small. There have, of course, been some detractors along the way, and some of the ETF critics have attracted a fair amount of attention for allegations that are often more outrageous than factual. BusinessWeek issued a blanked warning against the use of commodity ETFs last year, mistaking the nuances of a futures-based strategy for a flaw in the ETF structure (the advice is even more laughable in hindsight considering the incredible performance figures turned in by almost all commodity ETPs in 2010). A report from a Boston firm claiming that countless ETFs were in danger of “collapsing” [...]

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Three ETFs To Watch This Week: VDE, PPH, FXE

Stoyan Bojinov — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 09:00:07 +0000

Most markets inched higher last week, but hit a bit of road bump on Friday after investors digested news of declining consumer sentiment for January and a worse-than-expected GDP report. Gold and oil both traded lower during the week, but both commodities were able to stage a small rallies on Friday amidst all the uncertainty that weighted down equities. International markets didn’t fare too well last week either, with civil unrest continuing to develop in Egypt, Standard and Poor’s downgrading Japan, and a suicide bomber attack in Moscow’s Domodedovo airport which killed at least 35 people and injured more than 100. This week is stacked with earnings reports from major industry leaders as well a handful of economic reports including ISM Manufacturing Index, personal income, and construction spending. Below we profile three ETFs that will be in for an active week: Vanguard Energy ETF (VDE) Why VDE Will Be In [...]

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Understanding The Quirks Of QQQQ

Michael Johnston — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 15:00:13 +0000

As the ETF industry has continued to gain traction in recent years, indexes have been transformed from hypothetical performance benchmarks into essentially investable assets. As such, investors have become increasingly familiar with many of the indexes that are linked to the most popular exchange-traded products and the methodologies used in the construction and ongoing maintenance. In most cases, the strategies used to determine index components and assign weightings is straightforward and easy to understand. Many of the most popular equity ETFs are linked to cap-weighted indexes, meaning that the companies with the largest market capitalization–in some cases float-adjusted–are given the largest weighting. Equal weighted indexes have become increasingly popular in recent years; these products also feature a relatively simple methodology for determining components and weightings. Other index weighting and construction methodologies, including those that use various fundamental factors such as revenue, earnings, and dividends, are relatively easy to grasp [see [...]

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BP Strikes Black Gold: Energy ETFs Set To Rise?

Michael Johnston — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 11:04:49 +0000

Last week, BP PLC announced the discovery of a “giant” new oil field about 200 miles off the coast of Louisiana. The oil field is an an area that was once known as the “Dead Sea” in the oil industry, but has since witnessed several discoveries of massive reserves and become one of the most exciting oil exploration regions. Of the Tiber well, a BP spokesman noted, “we believe it’s the deepest well ever drilled by the oil and gas industry.” The amount of oil that will ultimately be pulled from the Tiber well and other recent discoveries is extremely difficult to predict with any degree of accuracy, given the significant infrastructure requirements that must first be put in place. Each well requires miles of pipeline, floating facilities, and other expensive materials. And the drilling process in incredibly complex given the depths at which the oil is located. But the [...]

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Exxon Profits Slide: Energy ETFs In Focus

Michael Johnston — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 13:24:49 +0000

Exxon Mobil, the Texas-based oil giant, reported early Thursday that its second quarter profit fell a larger-than-expected 66% as a result of weak demand, shrinking margins, and lower fuel prices. Excluding one-time items (such as a $140 million charge related to punitive damages in the Exxon Valdez case), earnings fell from $2.27 per share last year to 84 cents according to the Wall Street Journal. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting earnings of $1.02 per share. The energy sector as a whole has been under pressure in the wake of lower demand following lat year’s commodity price surge. Exxon has a strong balance sheet, and is widely believed to be in excellent position to weather any storm. Perhaps the largest worry relates to the ability of Exxon’s partners to complete major projects on time in the face of the economic crisis. While XON shares will no doubt be in [...]

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ETF Database » VDE

FocusShares Turns One Year Old

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How Low Can Vanguard Go? Sector ETFs Get Expense Cuts

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In Search Of The Best Energy ETF

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Thursday’s ETF To Watch: Vanguard Energy ETF (VDE)

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Where Insider Trading & ETFs Meet

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Understanding The Quirks Of QQQQ

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