ETF Database » WPS

Time For A Real Estate ETF?

Michael Johnston — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 17:41:32 +0000

Historically, no portfolio was complete without a material allocation to real estate. Consistently high real returns and low correlations to stocks and bonds made it easy to overlook the out-of-whack fundamentals that ultimately led to an unprecedented collapse. But when real estate markets got a reality check in late 2008, many investors swore off the asset class for good. Or so they thought. After losing their shirts in real estate investments during the financial crisis, many investors washed their hands (and their portfolios) of REITs, unable to tolerate such extreme volatility and unwilling to accept the downside ramifications of risky assets. But investors who were able to spot the bottom of the real estate market in the U.S. have been handsomely rewarded, and now many are beginning to consider a more significant allocation to this asset class. The ETF boom has presented dozens of options for investors looking to add [...]

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Low Cost ETFs: Complete List Of The Cheapest Exchange-Traded Funds

Michael Johnston — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:15:04 +0000

The reasons for the rise of the ETF industry are numerous: intraday liquidity, (potentially) superior tax efficiency, and enhanced transparency relative to traditional actively-managed mutual funds have all contributed to the billions of dollars of inflows that these funds have seen in recent years. But the real attraction for most ETF investors is the reduced expenses these products offer, often only a fraction of the fees charged by mutual funds. But between ETFs, expense ratios can vary significantly, ranging from 0.08% (for several Schwab ETFs) to a whopping 1.50% (for the DENT actively-managed ETF). For investors looking to minimize expenses and pursue an indexing strategy in favor of active management, investing in ETFs is only the first step. In order to assist cost-conscious investors, we’ve assembled the cheapest ETF options for almost every asset class and sub-asset class. Each of the 900-plus ETFs currently included in the ETF Screener were [...]

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Apartment Glut Keeps Residential Real Estate ETF In Check

Michael Johnston — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:43:50 +0000

In recent months, the U.S. housing market has shown signs of life, with several major metropolitan areas eking out small month-over-month gains. While home prices remain well below year-ago levels, there are at least signs that the worst has passed, and a modest recovery is now underway. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about the rest of the U.S. real estate market. Apartment vacancies recently surged to 7.8%, the highest level since 1986. And the rate is only expected to rise as demand drops further in the traditionally weak fall and winter months. The decline in the rental apartment market is directly related to the unemployment rate, which recently climbed to 9.8%. As layoffs mount, the unemployed become more likely to move in with friends or family. The current environment has been particularly hard on landlords because a disproportionately high percentage of the unemployed are under the age of 35, [...]

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Who Else Wants Ex-U.S. ETFs?

Michael Johnston — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 06:05:51 +0000

After decades of flying high and shrugging off crises around the world, U.S. equity markets have fallen on some tough times. The epicenter of the mortgage crisis that evolved into a global recession has scared away many investors away from the U.S. markets, afraid that the worst is yet to come and that the “glory days” of America have passed. Investor reluctance to jump back into the U.S. markets is perhaps best evidenced by the increase in popularity of “ex-U.S.” ETFs, funds that offer exposure to a well-diversified basket of global securities but avoid any investments in the States. Over the last year, many of these funds have experienced strong fund inflows, and have significantly outperformed major U.S. benchmarks. As unemployment remains high, banks continue to close, credit markets are yet to thaw, and the future of the dollar as the world’s reserve currency sits in serious jeopardy, many investors, both [...]

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ETF Database » WPS

Time For A Real Estate ETF?

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