Market commentary (excerpt of July 25 desk notes distributed to institutional fund managers) courtesy of  Ron Quigley, Managing Director/Head of Fixed Income Syndicate for Mischler Financial Group. While not ETF-centric per se, its a good read! [caption id="attachment_922" align="alignleft" width="125"] Ron Quigley[/caption] Tonight we’re taking a bit of a reprieve…Read More

According to today's NY Times, one of the world's savviest investors is once again taking a contrarian view, and this time its Europe. While Wall Street is continuing to wave a yellow flag whenever investing in European markets is discussed (after all, the widely-advertised risk of  "Greece contagion" remains at…Read More

Courtesy of Cinthia Murphy In connection with all that news re futures broker Peregrine Financial's fraud-induced collapse, Sal Gilbertie, head of Teucrium Funds—an ETF provider offering futures-based commodities ETFs—told IndexUniverse’s Correspondent Cinthia Murphy that futures-based ETFs might be the answer to retail investors’ futures-related concerns . Gilbertie, whose firm sponsors…Read More

Editor note: For those who didn't get the"Best Ex Meets Worst Ex" memo,  Ugo Egbunike from IndexUniverse spotlighted a block trade in QAI this past Monday that was apparently mangled by the executing broker, illustrating once again that ETFs are NOT stocks, and real best execution requires guidance from a…Read More

[caption id="attachment_862" align="alignleft" width="114"] Chris Hempstead, WallachBeth Capital[/caption] It took only 18 months for assets in MLP exchange traded products to grow from almost nothing to nearly $7.5bb. What’s more amazing is that while the number of ETPs available in the market has grown significantly, nearly all of the inflow…Read More

Courtesy of Peter Chapman TRADERS Magazine interview with Nasdaq OMX EVP Eric Noll unveils a new tact in the ever-changing world of major exchange strategies to attract order flow. In this case, NasdaqBx is up-ending the current industry "make-take" fee model whereby exchanges pay rebates to market-makers who improve prevailing…Read More

By LIAM PLEVEN Exchange-traded funds have lured many investors away from mutual funds by offering lower fees. But increasingly, some ETFs are also using fees to compete with other ETFs. In a handful of high-profile cases, particularly in commodities and stocks, investors can choose between two ETFs that are virtually…Read More

By Christopher Condon on May 31, 2012   If you are convinced, really convinced, the price of crude oil will rise today and U.S. stocks will fall, Factor Advisors LLC has an exchange-traded fund for you. The FactorShares 2X: Oil Bull/S&P500 Bear (FOL) (FOL) offered by the New York-based firm…Read More

    iShares, the exchange-traded fund provider, and data vendor Bloomberg have joined forces to offer a consolidated tape for ETFs in a bid to increase post-trade transparency and limit the effects of market fragmentation in Europe. As part of the joint venture, the first of its kind in the…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

Breaking News: Bloomberg LP reports Facebook will be raising its IPO price range by 15% (from $28-$34 to $34-$38) and AAPL co-founder Steve Wozniak said he will buy shares in Facebook at the get go, regardless of price. [caption id="attachment_684" align="alignleft" width="104"] AAPL co-founder Steve Wozniak[/caption] In the same story,…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

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

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

  An exchange-traded fund platform service has been launched into the UK and European market to help IFAs and wealth managers ensure best execution when recommending clients invest in ETFs. Laurie Pinto, chief executive of London-based securities research firm NSBO, said the service is being offered through a joint venture…Read More

ETF Trends' Tom Lydon makes a poignant observation when pointing out that MUB , iShares S&P National Municipal Bond Fund ETF is continuing to trade at a discount to its NAV, which for some, is a disturbing bearish signal. While ETF "discount trading" is not necessarily unusual in and of…Read More