Courtesy of InvestmentNews reporter Jason Kephart. Vanguard Group, one of the world’s biggest issuers of ETFs, has announced they’re cutting the fees on 6 funds, including the world’s 3rd largest ETF by asset size, the $54 billion, EMG flagship “Vanguard MSCI Emerging Markets ETF” (VWO), to 0.2%, a 9% reduction. Not to let a […] Read More
Expect more than lots of brotherly love networking at the Philadelphia Ritz-Carlton March 19-20, when ETF market mavens gather to attend the InsideIndexing forum “Risk, Return & Indexing Strategies.” An early look at the menu indicates a few tasty treats will be served up by a formidable group of moderators and industry panelists who will […] Read More
For those gray-bearded former floor brokers who would gallop into an exchange specialist’s trading pit and shout, “I’ll buy what’s offered on the screen!”, and were often dismayed when the specialist yelled back, “Go ahead, trade with the screen..but I don’t have that offer anymore!”– you won’t be surprised to know that today’s “screen-based markets”, […] Read More
In a Nov 15 story from CNN: the prospects for social media ETF “SOCL” were pretty much slammed. “NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — A social media exchange-traded fund has made its debut, but experts say to hold off before you “like” and “+1″ it to share it with all of your friends. While the Global X […] Read More
Unbeknownst to too many who traffic in ETFs, the phrases “thinly-traded” and “illiquid” are far from synonymous. Yes, of the now 1300+ exchange-traded funds, 2/3 of the total ETF trading volume is attributed to the top 25 “go-go names.” But, whether you’re an RIA, a corporate treasurer, a hedge fund manager, or a pension fund […] Read More
ETF Securities (ETFS) has expanded its Brent Crude exchange traded products offering against a background of rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. The issuer unveiled four ETPs on the London Stock Exchange, as Brent Crude’s importance as the new global benchmark for oil rises. West Texas Intermediate has been beset with local logistical issues that have seen […] Read More
We just scored the most recent trading desk comments courtesy of WallachBeth Capital’s Chris Hempstead. ” Last week I took a look at YTD performance of the US Equity based ETF’s with exposure to the S&P sectors. Today I would like to broaden that view and simply rank and look at the YTD top […] Read More
Aside from all of the Squawk Box and Fast Money “professional traders” and “market experts” who have been on “high alert” [waiting for a correction] for the past several weeks, even the most blindsided bulls have to acknowledge that every nice move is followed by a pull back. When considering the past 3 months gains’ […] Read More
Courtesy of IndexUniverse, reporting from Oliver Ludwig: ProShares, the fund company known for its large family of inverse and leveraged ETFs, set a 1-for-6 reverse split on its now-super-popular VIX-related ETF “UVXY” to ensure that bid/ask spreads on the security don’t grow too large as a percentage of its declining share price. The fund, […] Read More
Everything went higher today (despite the data during the last minutes into the close); stocks, bonds and fear; a somewhat unique combination of ups. When noticing today’s relatively rare direct correlation between equity market volatility (aka VIX), equity indices and “safe haven” US government bonds, option market veteran David Robbins of WallachBeth Capital says, “The […] Read More
We all know that equity markets have been climbing the wall of worry for the past number of months. With both the Dow and S&P recovering to the sanguine levels not seen since the spring of 2008, covered call (buy-write) strategies within the mutual fund complex has until recently remained a relatively untapped strategy, despite […] Read More
The SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Equipment & Services ETF (XES) outperformed other ETFs this week, up about 4.4%. Components of that ETF showing particular strength this week include shares of Exterran Holdings (EXH), up about 19% and shares of Nabors Industries Limited (NBR), up about 10.8% on the week. And underperforming other ETFs this […] Read More
Other than the ETF market “go-go names”, one of the more commonly-voiced, and according to many, often-misguided observations regarding most ETFs is “won’t trade it, there’s no liquidity in that name,” or “the screens are only showing 1000 shares offered and I have to pay up 50 cents to buy a lousy 25,000 shares?!” As […] Read More
Whether you’re sitting inside a buy-side or a sell-side firm, someone in your shop is talking about using social media. But, you’re compliance officer is saying “Let’s let another shop experiment..we don’t need to be the SEC test case.” Well, Wedbush Securities isn’t standing on ceremony. Just a few years shy of their 60th birthday, […] Read More
Here’s a wake-up call to critics of the ETF world: two more unrelated and just-published research studies have acquitted the ETF industry of charges leveled by critics who have claimed ETFs are at the root of heightened market volatility. In a newly-released report from the Investment Company Institute, which interrogated market volatility over the past […] Read More
In a column filed through SFGate, Bloomberg LP’s Joe Ciolli reports, “Junk Bond ETFs are drawing the biggest inflows on record from investors seeking easier access to higher-yielding assets. According to Lipper Analytics, ETFs that track junk-bond indexes have tapped $5.5 billion of investments since the beginning of this year, almost quadruple the $1.4billion during […] Read More
Debbie Fuhr, the undisputed “Dame” of the exchange-traded-funds industry, and most recently BlackRock’s Managing Director and global head of ETF research and implementation will open the doors of a new independent research firm, “ETF Global Insight” next Monday. Prior to Debbie’s 3-year stint at BlackRock/BGI, she was billeted for 11 years at Morgan Stanley’s London […] Read More
Its countdown time for all of those following PIMCO’s entry into the ETF space; on March 1, the House that Bill Gross Built is scheduled to debut The PIMCO Total Return Exchange-Traded Fund under the ticker TRXT. Those that click on the link to the fund will be able to review the entire prospectus. According […] Read More
