W.P. Thatcher for Stocks For All Seasons has 10 exchange traded funds (ETFs) in mind that he’d like to see come to market.

Long gone are the days of only the plain vanilla fund, so let’s see what he has to add. Among his picks are:

• More commodity ETFs. Where
  are ETFs for pork bellies, cocoa and lumber? Most people aren’t
  sophisticated enough to handle futures trading, but they still need
  exposure to this asset class. There is the Claymore/Clear Global Timber Index (CUT), but it doesn’t track futures.

• Momentum stocks ETF.
  I don’t know how this could be done cheaply due to the constant shifts
  in buying and selling, but there would be HUGE demand for it.

• An ETF for distressed debt. Let retail investors be vulture investors for a day.

• Real estate ETFs for specific housing markets.  People forget that we have many housing markets.  Not everywhere is tanking.

• A collectibles ETF. This would be very hard to value, so it might have to be in something really liquid like Bordeaux futures or Old Masters.

Late last year, we drew up our own wish list of ETFs. How are things coming along so far?

• State ETFs: Yep! The first state ETF is projected to be Oklahoma’s, and it’s scheduled to launch in late April. The fund will be made up entirely of stocks issued by the state’s publicly traded companies.
• Ireland ETF: Wouldn’t it be nice to have one in time for St. Patrick’s Day? That would be something worth hoisting a Guinness for. Alas, there’s always next year.
• Global Wireless ETF: Nothing doing yet, and there isn’t anything in registration.
• Mortgage ETF: The market will turn around someday, but this kind of fund isn’t a high priority right now.
• An ETF of ETFs: We’ve predicted that there will be one to launch this year, but so far, there hasn’t been one. Luckily, there are nine months left.
• Dry Shipping ETF: A fund like this could capitalize on increasing globalization, but it has yet to materialize.

Tags | Agriculture, Financial, Ireland, Real Estate, Technology, Telecommunications