ETF Trends » EXI

Can Bill Gates Help You With Your ETF Portfolio?

Kevin Grewal — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 09:00:11 +0000

Exchange traded fund (ETF) blind item: which bigwig has started sinking his copious money into his favorite blue chips and international stocks?

That would be, of course, Microsoft founder Bill Gates. While he’s not Warren Buffett, he is watched because of his foundation’s focus on value and his association with the famed investor, says the Tickerspy staff.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is the largest transparently operated charitable trust in the world, and it counts Buffett as one of its trustees. An annual letter released by the foundation has some interesting things to note:

The foundation has a massive Berkshire Hathaway stake at $30 billion, which it trimmed slightly in the fourth quarter.
Growth in 2009 is being cut back to 10%, after 30% growth in 2008.
Holdings toward the end of the year include increased stakes in blue chips such as McDonald’s (MCD), Caterpillar (CAT), Costco (COST) and Waste Management (WMI).

As for performance, the top holdings in the foundation are lagging the stock market slightly. But if you want exposure to what Bill Gates is holding onto, some ETFs that hold these companies include:

Market Vectors Environmental Services (EVX): Waste Management is 12.6%

Retail HOLDRs (RTH): Costco is 5.6%

iShares S&P Global Industrials (EXI): Caterpillar is 1.6%

Housing Market Infects Industrials ETFs

Tom Lydon — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 22:00:37 +0000

Heavy equipment holders are selling their products at auction for less than expected, and items such as excavators, backhoes, or heavy construction machinery are being sold due to too much idle time.

Sellers said they were lightening their inventories to pull in operating capital; Buyers said they were lured by cheap prices, although several expressed trepidation to spend money on equipment that could remain idle for months, reports Tiffany Hsu for the LA Times.

Bargains are everywhere, such as a Volvo wheel loader that sells brand new for $1.4 million, and went for $150,000 at auction; an excavator that sold for $112,000 new went for $60,000 at auction. The bidders have had little reason to spend, as building permits and new home construction has been frozen for months. In fact, new housing permits have fallen 38.4% in September compared to one year ago, according to Department of Housing and Urban Development statistics.

Nevertheless, there are equipment upgrades to be had, as well as bargains for those who are looking. Around 20% of bidders are not actually planning on using the machinery, rather, they are going to re-sell the stuff for higher return on a healthier construction market.

SPDR S&P Homebuilders (XHB), down 53.4% year-to-date

iShares S&P Global Industrials (EXI), Caterpillar is 1.4%; down 54.1% year-to-date