Investors have historically embraced international diversification in their portfolios as a way to smooth out volatility and reduce overall risk. But the last two years have shown that the benefits of such diversification aren’t what they once were. A meltdown that began in the U.S. mortgage market quickly spread throughout the world, sparking countless complaints about how Wall Street’s greed and excessive risk taking set off a chain of events that sent stock markets plummeting and unemployment rates soaring around the globe. [click to continue…]
In the business of asset management, bond investing may not get much love, but it can be as vital a component of an investor’s portfolio as equities. Fixed income investing isn’t nearly as sexy as stock picking, but as many investors have learned in recent years, a well-rounded bond allocation can significantly reduce the overall volatility of a portfolio.
As global equity markets crumbled in 2008, many low-risk fixed income funds surged, as investors flocked in droves to the safe haven of Treasuries. Equity markets have, for the most part, rebounded sharply in 2009, and demand for Treasury ETFs has plummeted. But not all bond ETFs had a disappointing 2009. In fact, many have posted big gains, outperforming even broad-based equity funds. Below is a look at ten of the best-performing bond ETFs in 2009: [click to continue…]
Following a year that saw some of the worst performances in recent memory, many asset classes have bounced back in 2009. But some have performed better than others, and as the year draws to a close we take a look at some of the best-performing ETFs. The year’s top gainers include a few of the [...]
Despite a third quarter return to growth in the 16-country euro zone, Spain’s economy has continued to contract as fallout from the collapse of the nation’s construction industry continues to wreak havoc on unemployment rates and equity prices. The road to recovery got a bit rockier on Wednesday, as Standard & Poor’s lowered its ratings [...]
WisdomTree, a leader in the fundamental ETF and currency fund spaces, has registered the Real Return Fund (RRF) with the SEC, the next step in bringing to market an ETF that is designed to protect investor capital against the ravages of inflation. According to the filing, the proposed fund would seek to “provide investors with [...]
IndexIQ, a pioneer in the hedge fund ETF industry, has expanded its product line to include two new ETFs designed to provide protection against inflation: the IQ CPI Inflation Hedged ETF (CPI) and IQ ARB Global Resources ETF (GRES). These ETFs hit the market at a time when investors are becoming increasingly concerned about the [...]
It’s been an interesting week the world of ETFs: Gold finished the week around $1045/oz and President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. Here are the ETF Database staff picks of the week’s most important and interesting stories from around the Web:
As the ETF industry has expanded in recent years, a significant percentage of the expansion has come from equity ETFs embracing new regions and investment styles and from commodity funds offering small investors exposure to resources that were previously available only to the ultra-rich (although position limits are threatening to restrict access to numerous commodity [...]
It looks like iShares can add another “first” to its long list of industry accomplishments: the fund family will reportedly offer the first exchange-traded funds that track Mexican government debt indexes. According to a prospectus filed with the Mexican stock exchange, iShares will offer five ETFs, including funds tracking five- and ten-year peso bonds and local [...]
As Uncle Sam’s debt has climbed to record levels, the printing presses at the Treasury Department have been working overtime, leaving many investors concerned that when the time comes to pay the piper, the inflationary price tag will be astounding. The experts are divided on the severity and timing of an uptick in inflation – [...]
It’s been another exciting week in the world of ETFs. Here are the ETF Database staff picks of the week’s most important and interesting stories from around the Web.
