Despite the haze that has settled over markets and the economy, the exchange traded fund (ETF) industry has continued to create, expand and innovate.

The ETF space has about 250 funds awaiting approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). When the regulators get around to approval, some types of investment available will be in hard-to-reach markets, commodities, currencies and real estate, reports Jonathon Hoenig for SmartMoney.

Here are three of the most interesting ETF areas:

• ETFs Palladium Trust: Palladium is a sister to platinum, and is used in auto catalysts, which accounts for roughly 55% of the total demand. It’s also used in dentistry, electronics and jewelry, giving it flexibility. It is also correlated closely with gold and silver.
• WisdomTree Currency Funds: The provider has the glory of creating innovation with their ETFs that weight upon dividends and earnings rather than market capitalization. Waiting in the wings are a host of proposed currency funds that will permit U.S. investors to allocate into foreign currencies ranging from the Israeli shekel to the Thai baht. As emerging markets grow and change, investors will want new ways to access them.
• MacroMarket Metro Housing Funds: These funds actually have already launched, but it’s no less exciting. No longer resigned to use real estate investment trusts (REITs) as a surrogate for real estate exposure. Stock investors will now be able to speculate on residential housing itself. The provider will IPO the securities that will take the asset allocation game to another level. These ETFs are trading as of April 28.

Tags: Commodity ETFs, Currency ETFs, Industrial Metals, New ETFs, Palladium, Real Estate