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Where The ETF Money Is Flowing (The Answer Might Surprise You)

Daniela Pylypczak — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 12:00:57 +0000

As the calendars prepare to flip forward, it appears as if 2011 will go down as a record-breaking year for the ETF industry on the product development front. More than 300 new ETPs began trading this year, shattering the previous record set in 2010. But despite the record size of the ETF lineup, it appears as if growth has slowed quite a bit; cash inflows into ETFs have dropped off in 2011 compared to previous years according to data from the National Stock Exchange. Through the first 11 months of the year, total inflows into exchange-traded products stood at about $101.4 billion, meaning that massive December inflows would be needed to match the hauls for 2010 ($118.7 billion) and 2009 ($119.4). Barring a big surge in the final month of the year, 2011 could be the worst year for the ETF industry since 2006. Of course, the magnitude of the [...]

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ETFs To Round Out Your International Exposure

Michael Johnston — Wed, 30 Nov 2011 12:00:39 +0000

A growing number of financial advisors are using exchange-traded funds to achieve international equity exposure for their clients, embracing funds that offer access to both developed and international market beyond the U.S. This should hardly be surprising; the exchange-traded structure delivers an efficient way to tap into an asset class that should be at the core of most long-term, buy-and-hold portfolios–especially in an environment that sees the U.S. market struggling mightily to gain traction. Those looking to keep the portfolio construction process simple tend to gravitate towards broad-based ETFs that offer exposure to a number of different economies. Some of the most popular international stock ETFs are those linked to the MSCI Emerging Markets Index and MSCI EAFE Index, two benchmarks that offer deep, balanced exposure to developing and advanced economies outside the U.S., respectively. A combination of the Vanguard MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (VWO) and Europe Pacific ETF (VEA) [...]

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How ETF Investors Can Save $415 Million (Without Breaking A Sweat)

Michael Johnston — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 12:00:44 +0000

Financial advisors and individual investors who have embraced ETFs are generally painted as a cost conscious crowd, passing over expensive active mutual funds in favor of cheap indexing strategies. In general ETFs are considerably cheaper than mutual funds, thanks not only to the indexing strategy but also to the more efficient exchange-traded structure. But not all ETFs and ETNs are equally tax efficient; in many cases, the differential between products offering similar exposure can be meaningful. In fact, there are several examples of products linked to identical indexes with wildly different expense structures. And while there has been a movement towards cheaper products, a number of more expensive ETFs remain tremendously popular. So much so that movements from a handful of funds to lower cost alternatives could result in aggregate annual savings of more than $400 million in management fees–without altering the underlying index [see 25 Things Every Financial Advisor [...]

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ETF Insider: Debuting Our All-ETF Portfolio

Michael Johnston — Wed, 25 May 2011 22:13:09 +0000

The last few days have seen a number of interesting developments in financial markets, as commodities have seemingly resumed their skyward trajectory and Europe once again seems headed for a complete meltdown. Against this backdrop, we introduce the ETF Insider all-ETF portfolio, a hands-on portfolio that seeks to establish a small handful of tactical positions around a core of ETF holdings covering the major asset classes. First, however, we check in on the technical ETF trading ideas from Monday, updating performance through the first few days of the week. Week To Date Investors have been taken on a wild ride in the early part of this week, as disappointing economic data put stocks in an early hole on Monday morning. That early sell-off was triggered by a spike in Europe-related anxiety, as investors fled towards safe havens over worries that election results in Spain would make austerity campaigns more difficult [...]

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Highlighting Some “EAFEC ETF” Options

Michael Johnston — Tue, 17 May 2011 14:00:30 +0000

Most investors constructing an equity portfolio using ETFs would segment the asset class into three distinct sections: U.S. equities, emerging markets, and ex-U.S. developed markets. The least exciting of those three is probably the last one, given the dismal performances turned in by Europe and Japan in recent years, as well as the significant obstacles that remain in those markets going forward. While more active traders may prefer to avoid most developed markets outside of the U.S. in the current environment, those seeking balance and embracing a long-term approach will understand the potential diversification benefits and return enhancement possibilities this asset class can offer. To many investors, the EAFE region has become synonymous with ex-U.S. developed markets. Much like the BRIC bloc, the countries included under the EAFE umbrella have very little in common from a geographic, cultural, or even economic perspective; the European, Australasian, and Far East markets are [...]

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All-ETF Portfolio For Cheapskate Investors: How Low Can We Go?

Michael Johnston — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 14:00:20 +0000

Any investor who hasn’t been living under a rock probably has some idea as to why the ETF industry has been expanding so quickly over the last several years. Intra-day liquidity, enhanced tax efficiencies, and a degree of transparency not available in many other structures are all common causes of the explosive growth in both number of products and ETF assets over the past decade. But the big driver of the ETF expansion relates to expenses–or perhaps more accurately, the lack thereof. ETFs were originally designed (at least in part) to combat what Vanguard founder John Bogle has called the “tyranny of compounded costs.” For investors who believe that security selection fails to consistently add value–and there is a boatload of academic evidence that supports that theory–paying for pricey active management does little more than erode returns over the long run. Most ETFs are passive in nature, meaning that they [...]

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End Of An ETF Era: VWO Surpasses EEM In Total Assets

Eric Dutram — Sun, 23 Jan 2011 16:00:44 +0000

As the ETF world continues to grow, issuers have spread out into a variety of market segments in order to obtain the coveted first-mover advantage and gain large asset bases. Yet with the rapid proliferation of the industry, many are beginning to circle back to some of the most popular market segments such as bonds, broad stock funds, or emerging market equities in order to chip away at market leaders and establish new products in these sought after spaces. While a number of new funds have sought to offer more segmented exposure, a few have focused in on price as a key way to differentiate themselves from their entrenched competitors. This has pushed many ETF issuers into a full blown price war, a development that is obviously beneficial to investors’ bottom lines. The most well-known example of this trend is arguably in the Emerging Markets ETFdb Category where the two [...]

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Ten New Years’ Resolutions For ETF Investors

Michael Johnston — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 12:00:09 +0000

With 2011 just around the corner, tis the season for pledges to better everything from health to wealth to happiness in the coming year. Below, we offer up ten New Years’ Resolutions for ETF investors looking to cut expenses, round out their portfolios, and maximize returns in 2011 [for more ETF insights, sign up for our free ETF newsletter]: 10. Slim Down Your Expense Ratios If you’ve already made the jump away from pricey active mutual funds to more cost-efficient ETFs, our Mutual Fund To ETF Converter might not be of much use. But just because you’ve embraced ETFs in an effort to become a more cost conscious investor doesn’t mean that you’ve done all you can to trim your expense ratio. Some of the gaps between expense ratios of similar or even identical ETFs are wide enough to drive a truck through, meaning that there may be opportunities to [...]

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ETFs For The Forgotten Asset Classes

Michael Johnston — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 15:00:58 +0000

As ETFs have become increasingly popular among more active traders in recent years, it may be easy to forget that the vehicle was originally designed with the long-term buy-and-holder in mind. For those who take stock in the numerous academic studies indicating that active management generally destroys value over the long haul, cost efficient vehicles that own the market have obvious appeal over pricey funds that attempt to beat it. While ETFs are now components of sophisticated and short-term trading strategies, they remain as critical portfolio building blocks of retirement portfolios and other longer-term investment objectives [see also ETF Alternatives To The World’s Largest Mutual Funds]. The immediate diversification and broad scope of many of the ETFs ideal for construction of long-term, buy-and-hold portfolios has greatly simplified the asset allocation process; a portfolio offering exposure to various asset classes and thousands of individual securities can now be constructed with only [...]

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Free ETF Trading: Comparing All The Options

Eric Dutram — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 15:00:25 +0000

As the ETF world continues to grow, the competitive landscape continues to evolve. In recent years, a growing number of firms have attempted to differentiate themselves by offering unique exposure to asset classes and strategies not previously available–such as funds tracking the Philippine stock market or ETNs linked to the price of industrial metals such as zinc or tin. More recently, the ETF industry has witnessed escalating price wars, with multiple issuers lowering management fees in an attempt to lure cost-conscious investors. These price wars have sent expense ratios to as low as six basis points, much to the delight of investors accustomed to forking over upwards of 1.5% annually to active mutual funds. But many ETF issuers have recognized that the total cost of ETF investing goes beyond just expense ratios, and have aggressively marketed programs designed to save investors money when executing ETF trades [see The Total Cost [...]

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ETF Database » VEA

Where The ETF Money Is Flowing (The Answer Might Surprise You)

Related Posts:

ETFs To Round Out Your International Exposure

Related Posts:

How ETF Investors Can Save $415 Million (Without Breaking A Sweat)

Related Posts:

ETF Insider: Debuting Our All-ETF Portfolio

Related Posts:

Highlighting Some “EAFEC ETF” Options

Related Posts:

All-ETF Portfolio For Cheapskate Investors: How Low Can We Go?

Related Posts:

End Of An ETF Era: VWO Surpasses EEM In Total Assets

Related Posts:

Ten New Years’ Resolutions For ETF Investors

Related Posts:

ETFs For The Forgotten Asset Classes

Related Posts:

Free ETF Trading: Comparing All The Options

Related Posts: