iShares, the global leader in ETF assets and total number of funds, appears to be continuing its bond ETF push with its latest SEC filing. In the release, the company revealed plans for a new emerging market bond fund, targeting the quickly growing region of Latin America. If approved, the…Read More

By The ETF Professor Benzinga Staff Writer The proliferation of new junk bond ETFs in 2012 has been nothing short of impressive and two industry stalwarts, BlackRock's (NYSE: BLK) iShares and Van Eck Global's Market Vectors unit, have been leading the charge. But it is some of the more seasoned…Read More

By Murray Coleman Heading into this month, just 25 funds held 61% of all the assets in U.S.-listed ETFs–and there are more than 1,458 on the market right now, according to investment researcher XTF Global. That herd-like mentality is credited by analysts to an emphasis–some say an overemphasis–on size and…Read More

For those not aware, the bloom is off the rose right now as equity markets are on track to record the biggest string of down days in a long time.  With the media distracting every investor re: FB's IPO, the fact is, equities markets in general are confounding long-only fund…Read More

At first used by Institutional Investors for manager transitions, rebalancing and other tactics, fund managers strategic use of ETFs are on the rise, in particular to gain long-term exposure to desired asset classes, according to a freshly-published study by Greenwich Associates. In the hot-off-the press study, "57% of institutional ETF…Read More

Article courtesy of Rachel Koning Beals.. Actively managed exchange-traded funds may have gotten the headliner needed to push this sleepy category into the investing mainstream. Bill Gross and his bond-fund-giant Pimco in early May added a third actively managed ETF to their roster. This offering follows their actively managed Pimco…Read More

An investor used State Street Corp. (STT)’s exchange-traded fund to anonymously obtain almost $780 million of speculative-grade bonds without moving prices in the secondary market. The investor on May 10 exchanged as much as 19.7 million shares in the SPDR Barclays Capital High Yield Bond ETF (JNK) for the equivalent…Read More

Courtesy of  Barron's Brendan Conway: By Brendan Conway Actively managed exchange-traded funds attempt to pick winners much like, say, Bill Miller does in mutual funds. The number of such funds has taken off, and while they’ve tended to underperform versus passive index-tracking ETFs, they’ve also been less volatile. Those are…Read More

  Reporting courtesy of James Armstrong/Traders Mag. Following a similar proposal by Nasdaq OMX, NYSE Euronext has unveiled a plan to allow market makers to get paid for providing liquidity for exchange-traded funds. If approved, the plan could reduce the number of funds listed without lead market makers. On April…Read More

As reported by Pension&Investments Magazine, a newly-published research report from the University of Massachussetts has found options-based collar strategies would have outperformed the market in most asset classes, while providing drastically reduced risk leading up to the 2008 financial crisis, AND as well, throughout the subsequent recovery. “The contagion across…Read More

Excerpts Courtesy of James Armstrong/Traders Magazine For some illiquid exchange-traded funds, the price isn’t always right. Spreads can be unreasonably wide, luring the less informed to take the bait and accept a price that is far from reasonable. Fortunately, those spreads are slowly narrowing due to competition. With illiquid funds,…Read More

Citigroup Inc. (C), Morgan Stanley, UBS AG (UBSN) and Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) agreed to pay a combined $9.1 million to settle regulatory claims they failed to adequately supervise the sale of leveraged and inverse exchange-traded funds in 2008 and 2009. The firms also didn’t have a reasonable basis…Read More

Here's a morale booster for BNY Mellon staff: NEW YORK, May 1, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- BNY Mellon, the global leader in investment management and investment services, has been named as the 2011 "Best Service Provider - The Americas" at the eighth annual Global ETF Awards, which is sponsored…Read More

(Reuters) - Abydos Capital, a new hedge fund run by a former partner at one of London's most high-profile oil investors, is worried about a potential military strike against Iran and plans to use options to protect his portfolio. Jean-Louis Le Mee, Chief Investment Officer of Abydos, told Reuters he…Read More

  State Street Corp. (STT), the second- largest manager of exchange-traded funds, opened three products that can spread money across a range of asset classes in a push into actively managed ETFs. The funds will use tactical asset-allocation strategies and invest in ETFs including those run by State Street, James…Read More

  Trading in Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s gold ETF in India surged almost 11 fold, leading an advance in gold securities, as investors bought gold to mark the auspicious Hindu festival of Akshaya Tritiya. Volumes in GS Gold BeEs, India’s biggest exchange-traded fund backed by gold, was 937,816 units on…Read More

According to Benzinga.com's ETF Professor, its not necessarily the size of the ETF, but the motion when it comes to investor returns. From Benzinga's April 23 edition: "..There are plenty of instances in life when bigger is better. When it comes to exchange-traded products, bigger isn't always associated with better…Read More

Courtesy of the ETF Professor at Benzinga.com Following the March 22 debacle concerning the VelocityShares Daily 2x VIX Short-Term ETN (NYSE: TVIX  that saw the now infamous ETN tumble 30% in that one trading day, traders and investors predictably wondered what exchange-traded product could be next to fall victim to…Read More