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]: [click to continue…]
As the ETF industry has maintained its strong growth, investors have grown increasingly comfortable with establishing exposure to various markets utilizing the exchange-traded structure. Now, with 1,300+ funds in the space, there is an ETF for almost any investment objective, with further innovation still on the way. But as the industry rapidly expands, some funds [...]
As ETFs have burst on to the scene in recent years and worked their way into the investing mainstream, the number of products available and complexity of exposure offered has increased significantly. Advisors and investors have taken steps to educate themselves on the ins and outs of ETFs, but many are still scrambling to play [...]
After generally impressive earnings reports sent markets higher for much of the last week, Friday’s shocking allegations against Goldman Sachs ensured that the week ended on a down note. The SEC filed fraud charges against the Wall Street giant on Friday, alleging that the firm failed to make important disclosures surrounding a subprime mortgage product [...]
Over the past few weeks, there has been a resurgence in acquisition activity, fueling an already strong market rally. This news has spanned all regions of the economy ranging from the transportation sector (Burlington Northern being taken over by Berkshire Hathaway) to pharmaceuticals (Schering Plough being acquired by Merck). Most recently, in the consumer sector, [...]
Many analysts are building up the coming weeks as one of the most important earnings seasons in recent memory, a report card on the strength and sustainability of the economic recovery in the U.S. So far, the grades have been stellar. Intel revenue and profits declined from a year ago, but the chip maker managed [...]
President Barack Obama is expected this week to announce sweeping changes to the way the much-maligned U.S. financial industry is regulated. The changes, which are to be unveiled Wednesday, are expected to include the development of a more centralized regulation system and enhanced consumer-protection capabilities. Speaking on the new developments, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner noted [...]
