The bull run has continued on Wall Street as upbeat economic data makes it hard for investors to take profits surrounded by all of the optimism. The Dow Jones Industrial Average kept its multi-week winning streak going on Wednesday after retail sales blew past analyst estimates; this figure posted growth of 1.1% in February, marking a hefty improvement over last month’s reading of 0.2%. Global X and iPath rolled out new products earlier this week that should gain some traction amid all of the euphoria in the stock market [see 101 ETF Lessons Every Financial Advisor Should Learn].
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With Treasury interest rates expected to stay at near-zero levels for the foreseeable future, many investors have found it challenging to secure meaningful yields from asset classes that were once the core of income strategies. While finding high-yielding investments is a difficult task, it certainly isn’t impossible. There are dozens of dividend ETFs (and ETNs) that offer potential [...]
For investors, the last few months have been dominated by two words: fiscal cliff. The combination of automatic expiring tax breaks and across-the-board government spending cuts scheduled to become effective on January 1, 2013, has sent a shiver down the spine of market participants.
This past year shaped out to be quite the roller coaster ride for many investors; equity markets persevered through tumultuous, and seemingly never-ending, eurozone debt drama, while the economic recovery at home remains slow and steady at best. Heading into 2013, clouds of uncertainty continue to threaten investors’ confidence as the outcome of the much feared “fiscal cliff” has [...]
Euro zone drama is back in the headlines as sour retail sales data in Spain over the weekend spooked many. With Spain’s recessionary environment becoming more pronounced, it’s very likely that the European Central Bank will be forced to cut rates lower, or perhaps introduce a much “beefier” monetary policy initiative to ensure the nation’s financial health. [...]
ETFs have earned the respect of countless investors as viable financial instruments well suited as core building blocs for achieving diversified, cost-efficient exposure to virtually any asset class. Exchange-traded products have also become a favorite of many active traders who value their ease-of-use, liquidity and unparalleled transparency. As such, these vehicles can serve as tools [...]
As billions of dollars have flowed into exchange-traded products over the past several years, some asset classes and strategies have attracted particularly high levels of interest (and cash) from investors. Dividend ETFs in particular have become quite popular as investors have sought to build portfolios around securities that generate consistent and meaningful cash flows. There [...]
With more than 1,400 exchange-traded products now available, financial advisors and retail investors have at their fingertips an unprecedented array of tools for building long-term portfolios, establishing tactical tilts, and exploiting short-term imbalances between various asset classes. With that luxury of choice comes some potential challenges; there are now multiple options for many investment objectives–sometimes [...]
The global economic slowdown has certainly affected how investors choose to allocate their assets, as many sectors of the market have been struggling to stay afloat in this uncertain economic environment. And with interest rates in many developed markets remaining at or near historic lows, interest in alternative sources of current return has spiked in recent [...]
Dividend-paying stocks continue to be a popular investment theme in the low rate, high volatility environment. With expectations for record low yields on traditional sources of income expected to continue for the foreseeable future, more and more investors (both large and small) are seeking out dividend payers as a critical component of their portfolios. While [...]
As we approach the halfway point of 2012, we are on track for yet another period of tremendous growth for the lineup of ETFs. More than a hundred new funds have begun trading already this year, and dozens of issuers continue to plan aggressive expansions of their product lineups. While the blistering pace of expansion [...]
