Aaron

Aaron Levitt is an independent investment analyst and author living in State College, Pennsylvania. His work appears in several high profile publications in both print and on the web. As an advocate for long-term globally oriented investing, Aaron believes that exchange traded funds have leveled playing field for Main Street. Following global macro-economic trends, investors now have several avenues to create great long term portfolios. Aaron is a graduate of The Pennsylvania State University where he studied Economics and International Business. Aside for helping regular investors develop winning portfolios, his current projects include writing his first book about investing in North America’s changing energy landscape.

Recent Content By Aaron Levitt
News

Dr. Copper Has A Good Prognosis

When comes to the metals these days, those that fall into the “precious” camp are getting all the...

PRO
News

Renewable Energy ETFs Are Off To the Races

The sun may finally be shining for those ETFs that, well, are powered by the sun. Renewable...

PRO
News

Looking at Small-Cap ETFs? The Time For Caution Is Now

If you want to look at how powerful the snap-back has been since the November-December meltdown,...

PRO
News

TIPS ETFs Could Be Cheap Insurance These Days

Insurance is defined in many ways, but the basic idea is that it is “an entity that provides...

PRO
News

Three Big Reasons to Buy Short-Term Corporate Bond ETFs Now

There’s no doubt that there is a lot of risk in the market these days. Geopolitical problems,...

PRO
News

A Preferred Choice in Preferred Stock ETFs

Investors are always facing a quandary for their portfolios: trying to get a decent and high...

PRO
News

The Time for China ETFs Is Now

So far, the Year of the Pig is living up to its namesake. According to legend, the pig is the...

PRO
News

A Mixed Message for Retail ETFs

Some sectors or stocks can only be described as battlegrounds. Here, the bearish and bullish...

PRO
News

The Numbers Are In: If You’re Concerned With Taxes, ETFs Win

We’ve all heard the saying, “There are only two certainties in life, and that’s death and taxes.”...

PRO
News

Amid the Turmoil, Bond ETFs Still Have a Place in Your Portfolio

While you can debate whether or not a bear market is finally here, one thing is for certain,...

PRO
News

PG&E's Bankruptcy Throws Utilities ETFs for a Loop

As the markets have gotten a bit wobbly, investors have broken out their defensive playbooks....

PRO
News

Can Commodities ETFs Be the Answer to Diversification?

They say, the only free lunch in investing is diversification. The idea is that by pairing...

PRO
News

Emerging Market ETFs Are Big Time Buys in 2019

Many parts of the market had a rough 2018, but perhaps none were harder hit than emerging...

PRO
News

Four Big Rules for Your Core ETF Portfolio

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) could be one of the best vehicles out there for investors. Aside...

PRO
News

ETF Investors are Ignoring the Liquidity Factor

Quick. Name the hottest trend in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) these days? There’s a good chance...

PRO
News

Infrastructure ETFs Build on the Midterm Elections

The political climate in the U.S. has been pretty tumultuous over the last few years. There’s no...

PRO
News

ETFs Were Made for Tax Loss Harvesting

With the end of the year approaching, it’s time to start thinking about that dreaded word once...

PRO
News

Low-Volatility ETFs Prove Their Worth

This year could be summed up in one word – seasick. After a smooth 2017, 2018 has been marked by...

PRO
News

Energy ETFs Could Be A Huge Value

There’s no doubt about it, the markets have hit a rough patch. After rising all of last year...

PRO
News

Multifactor ETFs May Be the Smartest Choice

If there’s one trend in the world of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that’s caught on like wildfire,...

PRO
News

Don’t Look Now, Gold ETFs Are Surging

Gold is kind of a funny asset class. It doesn’t function much like anything else. Because of its...

PRO
News

The Bull and Bear Case for Homebuilder ETFs

Perhaps no sector is more of a battle ground than the homebuilder stocks. Since the recession,...

PRO
News

REIT ETFs Are NOT Bond Proxies

In the years after the recession, income seekers were facing a big quandary. As the Federal...

PRO
News

Playing the Fourth Industrial Revolution With ETFs

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve seen how technology has changed our lives....

PRO
News

Bond ETFs Are Still Doing Their Job

With the market starting to dip and swing wildly, investors are once again faced with the need...

PRO
News

Quality ETFs: The Best Hedge Against Uncertainty

There’s no doubt that volatility has once again come back to roost. As stocks have continued...

PRO
News

ESG ETFs Are at a Major Turning Point

The two biggest trends in the world of ETFs over the last few years could be smart-beta and...

PRO
News

Leveraged ETFs Might Actually Be Good for You

“Weapons of mass financial destruction.” That’s exactly how many investment pundits describe...

PRO
News

Are Precious Metals ETFs Worth Your Time?

Nothing shines like gold – or silver, or platinum, for that matter – in a portfolio.

Or at least...

PRO
News

Dramamine For Your ETF Portfolio

If there’s one thing that 2018 has taught us, it’s that volatility is a part of life when it...

PRO
News

Fill Your Taxable Account With ETFs

As they say, there are two certainties in life. Those would be death and taxes.

Investors know...

ETF Investing

Bond Funds vs. Bond ETFs

Thanks to constant innovation, there are plenty of ways for investors to craft a portfolio these...

PRO
News

Smart Beta for Fixed Income Is Actually Smart

The biggest trend in indexing and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) could be the race to zero in terms...

PRO
News

Could Turkey Be a Major Headache for Investors?

It’s amazing how fast things can turn in the markets.

Just as we were getting used to a rising...

News

This Week's ETF Launches: Living It up With LIBOR

At this point, the story isn’t just if and when the Fed will raise rates, but by how much and how...

News

This Week's ETF Launches: First Trust Goes All in on Factors

There’s no denying the appeal of using smart-beta strategies when it comes to investing. Investor...

News

This Week's ETF Launches: Pacer Extends Its Cash Cow ETF Family

As they say, success breeds success. And that was certainly true with this week’s round of...

News

This Week's ETF Launches: Intangible Brand Value in an ETF

Everywhere you look – from the car you drive to the cereal you eat – branding is everywhere. And...

News

This Week's ETF Launches: Nuveen Offers the Whole ESG Enchilada

With the year about half-over, ETF launch activity has been pretty swift so far. And within that...

News

This Week's ETF Launches: A “New” Way To Invest in Commodities

If there is one thing that is unique about the exchange-traded fund (ETF) industry, it’s that...

News

This Week's ETF Launches: Multitude of Multi-Factor Funds

If there has been one driving force in exchange-traded funds (ETFs), it’s been the proliferation...

ETF Investing

Five Sustainable Investing Trends in 2017

For investors these days, it’s not just about making a decent return; it’s about...

News

This Week's ETF Launches: Active Income, Value and Growth? Oh My!

Despite being in the summer doldrums for Wall Street, the slogan “sell in May, go away” for ETF...

ETF Investing

Why Is Socially Responsible Investing Generating so Much Interest?

There are plenty of investment styles and fads out there. And plenty of them have gone the way of...

News

This Week's ETF Launches: Direxion Piles on the Leverage

What a difference a year and shift in leadership makes. If we travel back in time, just a few...

ETF Investing

An Introduction to Socially Responsible Investing

These days, many investors are looking for more than just a positive return. They’re looking for...

News

This Week's ETF Launches: Finally! An ETF of ETFs

This week marked two very significant milestones for the world of exchange-traded funds (ETFs)....

News

This Week's ETF Launches: A Major Gold ETF Glitters in a New Way

We all know that exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have grown immensely in popularity over the last...

News

This Week's ETF Launches: Time To Manage Some Risk?

There’s this idea bubbling up to the surface that stocks may be getting a little expensive. After...

News

This Week's ETF Launches: What Bear Market In Bonds?

There’s been plenty of ink spilled over the decline and death of bonds. Thanks to the Fed and its...

News

This Week's ETF Launches: Commodities Rex Returns

ETF investors are getting the weird sense of déjà vu lately, and it’s beginning to feel a bit...

News

This Week's ETF Launches: How about "Giving Quality A Squeeze?"

One of the reasons why exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have surged in popularity has to do with...

News

This Week's ETF Launches: Constructing Portfolio Gains

One of the biggest overarching themes of the recent presidential election cycle was the idea of...

Rising Interest Rates

Duration Hedging and Rising Rates

After what seems like forever, we have finally see the first Federal Reserve rate hike. Since the...

News

This Week's ETF Launches: PowerShares Plays the Allocation Game

As many of the bread-n-butter and broad indexes have already been covered by exchange-traded fund...

News

Vanguard Cuts ETF Expense Ratios in Waves

It’s getting pretty nasty out there. The so-called ‘fee war’ is heating up to a boiling point as...

News

This Week's ETF Launches: Tortoise Tries To Make A Big Splash

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) continue to rack up assets as investors have come to realize their...

News

This Week's ETF Launches: Undercover Bosses and High-Yield Hedging

While new exchange-traded fund (ETF) launch activity has slowed to a crawl so far in 2017, it...

News

This Week's ETF Launches: Hedging Our Troubles Away

Risk. It’s what makes the investment world go ‘round. And increasingly, exchange-traded fund...

News

This Week’s ETF Launches: Traditional Managers Get Into the Game

It’s no secret that traditional active managers of mutual funds are pretty scared these days.

News

This Week’s ETF Launches: Nuveen Makes A Big Splash

Neither TIAA Global Asset Management (TGAM) nor Nuveen are exactly household names for many...

News

This Week’s ETF Launches: Elkhorn Gets Big in a Hurry

With the new year now underway, ETF issuers have wasted no time launching a bevy of new products...

News

This Week's ETF Launches: A Focus on Income

Despite the Fed’s plans to raise interest rates, investors are still clamoring for new ways to...

News

This Week's ETF Launches: A Kick To The Core, A Reboot and An Emerging Dividend Play

With the final month of 2016 quickly approaching, the number of new exchange-traded funds (ETFs)...

News

This Week’s ETF Launches: Out With the Old and in With the New

This week was a little weird for the exchange-traded fund (ETF) industry. On one hand, you had...

News

This Week’s ETF Launches: Following Smart Money, Going Global & Taking a Bite

After a relatively quiet period, launch activity in the exchange-traded fund (ETF) space has...

News

This Week's ETF Launches: A Hefty Dose Of Responsible Investing

After a short hiatus, exchange-traded fund (ETF-s) issuers were back at it this week. Several...

News

This Week’s ETF Launches: Booze, Real Estate & A “Raconteur” Get New Funds

With the fourth quarter commencing, exchange-traded fund (ETF) sponsors have been hard at work...

News

BlackRock Lowers Expenses for 15 ETFs

Free exchange-traded funds (ETFs) could be coming to your portfolio in the near future. That is,...

News

This Week’s ETF Launches: Sponsors Get Active

Indexing. It’s what makes exchange-traded funds (ETFs) great. The ability to passively track...

News

This Week’s ETF Launches: First Trust Tries Its Hands at Sectors

When investors think of the largest exchange-traded fund (ETF) issuers, Vanguard, Blackrock and...

If Hillary Clinton Wins

How Will Financial ETFs Be Affected If Hillary Clinton Wins

One of the major issues facing the presidential candidates this election happens to be finance...

Trump's Victory

How Will Energy ETFs Be Affected by Donald Trump's Win?

There’s no denying that President Donald Trump is the total polar opposite of his Democratic...

If Hillary Clinton Wins

The Effect on Healthcare ETFs If Hillary Wins

Giving our growing and aging population, investing in the healthcare sector remains a popular...

Trump's Victory

The Big Play in Aerospace & Defense ETFs Under Trump's Win

For President Donaly Trump, one hot button issue – especially in the wake of rising terrorism –...

Trump's Victory

Infrastructure ETFs Are Likely to Flourish Under Trump

President Donald Trump is actually doing something very un-Republican. He’s planning on spending...

If Hillary Clinton Wins

Why Hillary Is Big on Alternative Energy?

For Americans, the two major candidates this election season couldn’t have more polarizing views...

News

This Week’s ETF Launches: Two Heavyweights Get “Smart”

With the sheer explosion in the popularity of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) these days, many...

News

This Week’s ETF Launches: Shiny Silver, Small Stocks & Shorter Bonds

Coming off the Labor Day holiday, exchange-traded funds’ (ETFs) issuers were quite busy. This...

News

Understanding SRI Indexes & the ETFs That Play Them

In this day and age, morals and values are taking precedence in how some investors construct...

News

This Week’s ETF Launches: PureFunds Embraces ‘Alternative’ Tech

Upstart exchange-traded fund (ETF) sponsor/manager PureFunds has made a name for itself by...

News

This Week’s ETF Launches: Thematic ‘Me-Too’ Funds & Dialing Back Volatility

Despite it being the summer doldrums, exchange-traded funds’ (ETFs) sponsors were busy this past...

ETF Investing

Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) - Better Returns for Being “Good”

Fads in the investing world tend to come and go. Most of the time, these fads have a few years in...

News

This Week’s ETF Launches: Portfolios Get Modern

Despite it being the dog days of summer, new exchange traded funds (ETFs) continue to hit the...

ETF Investing

The Grey Area Between Mutual Funds and ETFs Is Blurring

There has always been a so-called battle between mutual funds and exchange traded funds (ETFs)....

News

This Week’s ETF Launch: Summit Makes A Splash

One of the more interesting things about exchange traded funds (ETFs) is that they allow...

News

This Week’s ETF Launches: Direxion Dials It up and Down

This week’s round of new exchange traded funds (ETFs) came courtesy of one issuer: Direxion....

News

This Week’s ETF Launches: Two Heavyweights Go Global

With the popularity and success of exchange traded funds (ETFs), there are plenty of big names in...

News

This Week's ETF Launches: A Major Indexer Goes Responsible

Most investors equate “mutual fund” and “ETF powerhouse” with indexing. After all, the investment...

News

This Week’s ETF Launches: Dicing up the VIX

For investors and fund wonks, this was a busy week for new exchange traded fund (ETF) launches....

News

This Week’s ETF Launches: iShares Goes Global With ESG

This week’s round of new exchange traded funds (ETFs) once again focuses on old themes applied to...

News

This Week’s ETF Launches: State Street Gets Techy

This week’s round of ETF launches has issuers hitting some familiar territory. Previous weeks...

News

This Week’s ETF Launches: AccuShares Builds a Better Oil ETF

Contango and backwardation. For professional commodity investors, the two terms are common...

News

This Week’s ETF Launches: RiverFront Gets Busy

Sometimes when it comes to new exchange traded fund (ETF) launches, product developers are all...

News

This Week's ETF Launches: Janus Rides the Trends & Columbia Gets the ESG Bug

This week’s round of new exchange-traded funds (ETFs) hitting the tape continued the trend of...

News

This Week's ETF Launches: A Big Name’s Big Launch

With exchange traded funds (ETFs) continuing to rack up the lion’s share of investors’ money, the...

Technology ETFs

The 10 Technology ETFs You Should Consider

Since the crash of the dotcom bubble in the late 1990s, many investors are still wary about...

News

This Week's ETF Launches: A Dose of Dividends and Getting Absolute

This week, exchange traded fund (ETF) issuers went old school when it came to their launches. The...

News

This Week's ETF Launches: iShares Breaks It Down

The smart-beta train keeps on rolling when it comes to new exchange traded fund (ETF) launches....

News

This Week’s New ETF Launches: Bonds Follow The Trends And The VIX Gets A New Wrapper

Exchange traded fund (ETF) issuers continue to push the boundaries when it comes to launching new...

ETF Investing

Top 7 Most Niche ETFs

With many of the broad and basic indexes pretty much covered, exchange-traded fund (ETFs) issuers...

News

This Week's ETF Launches: A Sustainable World & Smart-Beta Bonds

As we continue to press on into the second quarter of the year, issuer activity in the...

News

Two Direxion Currency Hedged Leveraged ETFs to Close

While the exchange-traded fund (ETF) boom has been great in expanding the number of tools that...

News

This Week's ETF Launches: Getting Religious and Rising Cyber-Sales

The number of new ETFs launched this week was light. However, what was launched could prove...

News

This Week's ETF Launches: Social Media Bets and the New Bond King Roars

ETF issuers continue to expand investors’ toolboxes with new funds at a rapid clip. This...

News

This Week’s ETF Launches: International Dividends & Gettin’ Less Short

Old is new when it comes to exchange-traded fund (ETFs) launches. This week’s latest round of new...

News

This Week's ETF Launches: All About Hedging

One of cool things about ETFs is how they have evolved over the years. At first they were all...

ETF Investing

The 10 Hedge Fund Strategy ETFs You Should Consider

For most investors, the term hedge fund conjures images of insane 50% annual returns, but that...

News

New ETF Launches: John Hancock Gets Smart With Sectors

So far, the vast bulk of smart-beta and fundamental index ETFs have focused on broad products,...

Portfolio Management

High- vs. Low-Beta ETFs to Help Your Diversification

The world of investing and portfolio management seems to have a language all its own. It’s full...

ETF Investing

The 10 Smart-Beta ETFs You Should Consider

As investors look to outperform the markets, more and more are turning to smart-beta or...

News

Getting Sector-Specific With These New ETF Launches

One of the cool things about ETFs is that they allow both institutional and retail investors to...

News

Dividends, Smart-Beta & Socially Responsible Investing Round out This Week’s Latest ETF Launches

ETF issuers continue to add new twists to old themes with respect to their fresh product...

News

Small Cap Stocks and Alternatives Lead This Week’s New ETFs

ETF issuers continue to revamp old themes and step into new territory with their latest fund...

News

A Wide Range of New ETFs This Week

Issuers were busy covering a variety of asset classes this week with their new exchange-traded...

Inverse ETFs

Inverse Bond ETFs & Their Opportunity

Perhaps the biggest investing “story” of the year is whether or not the Federal Reserve is going...

News

The SEC’s Potential New ETF Liquidity Rules

August 24, 2015 will certainly go down in the annals of market history. Extremely poor data and...

Currency Hedged ETFs

The Pros & Cons of Currency-Hedged ETFs

One of the main attractions of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) is that in addition to offering...

ETF Investing

5 Core Smart Beta ETFs You Need in Your Portfolio

As more investors realize the power of indexing and its effects on long-term returns, more are...

News

John Hancock Launches ETFs

As ETFs have grown in popularity, more traditional mutual fund sponsors and asset managers have...

Rising Interest Rates

Interest Rates and Financial ETFs: What Investors Need to Know

It is now official. The Federal Reserve has raised its key benchmark interest rate. In December...

Financial ETFs

Banking ETF Plays That Avoid the “Megabanks”

There are banks and then there are BANKS. In this case we are talking about the largest “too big...

Currency Hedged ETFs

The Case for 50% Currency-Hedged ETFs

With ETFs making it easy to go global, more investors are adding international stocks and bonds...

News

ETFs to Watch & The Fed

After weeks of speculating and all the volatility that comes along with that, the Federal Reserve...

Equity ETFs

Lower Risk with These 3 Smart Beta ETFs

The global stock market can be a bumpy place and it seems these days that bumpiness is coming...

International ETFs

ETF Spotlight: O'Shares FTSE Quality Dividend ETF (OEUR)

Historically, dividends have been a major source of the stock market’s overall total returns, and...

Dividend ETFs

Smart-Beta Dividend ETFs Head-to-Head: OUSA, QUAL and QDEF

Despite any pending actions by the Federal Reserve with regards to interest rates, dividends...

Energy ETFs

Global X YieldCo Index ETF (YLCO)

YieldCos are the latest way for investors to cash in on rising renewable energy demand and...

Retirement Advice

5 ETFs Made for Millennial Investors

If there’s one thing that makes all the difference in the world when it comes investing, it has...

Dividend ETFs

More Bang for Your Buck: 8 Unique Smart-Beta Dividend ETFs

Despite whatever interest rates are doing, there’s still plenty of appeal when it comes to...

Disruptive Technology Channel

ETF Spotlight: Genomic Revolution Multi-Sector ETF (ARKG)

Health and biotech equities are some of the most exciting and potentially rewarding corners of...

Equity ETFs

Thinking Out of the Box: 5 Unique Plays on Health Care

One of the best things about exchange-traded funds (ETFs) is that they allow investors to take...

International ETFs

ETF Spotlight: Europe SmallCap Dividend Fund (DFE)

Dividend focused strategies have become increasingly popular over the years. One fund in...

International ETFs

Beyond VGK: Europe ETFs with Style

When it comes to picking an ETF, many investors stick with the big dogs. The largest market-cap...

Portfolio Management

Why An ETF Can't Collapse Part II

It’s getting a tad bit testy in the ETF world. In one corner, you have arguably the greatest...

ETF Investing

How to Read an ETF Prospectus…and Not Go Cross-Eyed

“Always consult the fund’s prospectus before investing.” So goes the generic tag-line...

ETF Investing

Portfolio Turnover 101: An ETF Database Guide

At first blush, exchange traded funds (ETFs)—and mutual funds for that matter—are pretty simple...

MLP ETFs

How to Evaluate MLP ETPs

As we’ve said time and time again, one of the best things about exchange traded funds is their...

Actively Managed ETFs

Active ETF Investing: 3 Things To Consider

While the bread-and-butter of the ETF industry has been index-tracking products, active ETFs are...

ETF Investing

Smart Beta ETFs: The Complete Guide

Since the dawn of indexing and funds like SPDR S&P 500 Index ETF (SPY), investment focus has...