Can Fundamental Indexes, ETFs Calm a Bear? It Depends
November 20, 2008 – Is there anything an exchange traded fund (ETF) investor can do in a down market such as this besides grin and bear it? Investment strategies such as stock picking and bond investing are all in the... Continue Reading »

ETFs As A Core To Portfolio Building
November 4, 2008 – Studies show that the majority of active fund managers do not outperform the markets consistently, a fact that has more investors considering exchange traded funds (ETFs) and other index products instead. One of the best ways... Continue Reading »

Splitting Stocks With RevenueShares ETFs
October 30, 2008 – RevneueShares announced a stock split for three of their exchange traded funds (ETFs) that will take place on Nov. 3. The ETF provider is aiming at a per-share drop in price in an effort to... Continue Reading »

Active Mutual Funds Getting Beat Up Compared to Indexes
October 6, 2008 – Actively managed mutual funds sound like less and less of a good idea in the wake of the financial mess, and it could wind up driving investors to exchange traded funds (ETFs). Matthew Hougan for Index... Continue Reading »

As New Active ETF Providers Gear Up, Bear Stearns Fund to Close
September 10, 2008 – Another entrant into the actively managed exchange traded fund (ETF) realm is a few steps closer to reality: Grail Advisors LLC of San Francisco has its application in the comment phase with the Securities and... Continue Reading »

Inverse ETFs See the Silver Lining In Markets’ Cloud
August 28, 2008 – Inverse exchange traded funds (ETFs) played out well in 2008, as market conditions did a reverse and let these types of funds play their part. These types of funds are merely two years old, and the... Continue Reading »

ETFs Have Got You Covered
August 17, 2008 – The exchange traded fund (ETF) fan club keeps on growing. Brian Neill for the Bradenton Herald says that he’s staying away from most individual stocks. Instead, he’s spending more time on ETFs, and the more he... Continue Reading »

New Line of ETNs Pay Homage to Benjamin Graham
August 12, 2008 – Benjamin Graham, the forefather of value investing, is the inspiration for a few exchange traded notes (ETNs) based on his beliefs. The ETNs will seek to track companies with strong, liquid balance sheets, and must... Continue Reading »

ETFs Supporting Value Wait Patiently For Their Day
August 7, 2008 – Value-based managers and investors of exchange traded funds (ETFs) are going through a tough time, despite claims of plentiful stock bargains. Many value funds have sharply tumbled, with Bill Miller’s Value Trust down 29.3% and Morningstar’s... Continue Reading »

If Markets Stay Volatile, Tell ‘Em Large-Cap ETFs Sent Ya
July 23, 2008 – If the dollar remains weak and the markets stay depressed, large-cap exchange traded funds (ETFs) are poised to be sitting pretty. That’s according to Neil Michael, head of quantitative strategies for SPA ETFs. “I suspect that... Continue Reading »

Some iShares ETFs Are Calling It Splits
July 16, 2008 – Barclays Global Investors has announced they are splitting shares amongst 10% of their exchange traded fund (ETF) line, iShares. There are more than 160 U.S.-based products within this fund family, and they represent $327 billion in... Continue Reading »

Looking for the ETF Silver Lining Amid the Clouds?
June 30, 2008 – With the markets and exchange traded funds (ETFs) getting socked by near-daily bad news, you might be wondering how Pollyanna did it. Wasn’t she exhausted? How can you stay optimistic when: Oil keeps hitting new... Continue Reading »

Thinking Caps Are Calling For Large-Cap Stocks And ETFs To Step Up
June 30, 2008 – As far as exchange traded funds (ETFs) divvied up by cap size and growth vs. value, it’s been all about the mid-caps so far this year. For the last three months, mid-caps have returned... Continue Reading »

When It Comes to ETFs, Each Area Marches to Its Own Drummer
June 20, 2008 – The Dow Jones industrial average tested new lows today, so you might be feeling gloomy, but taking a look at the mid-cap growth exchange traded fund (ETF) and the Nasdaq helps round out the... Continue Reading »

Small Companies Might Be Dinged By Active ETFs
June 18, 2008 – While the disclosure rules for actively managed exchange traded funds (ETFs) might benefit the investor who still craves transparency, the rules could inadvertently hurt small-company stocks. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules mandate that... Continue Reading »

Mid-Cap ETFs And Stocks Are Just The Right Size
June 3, 2008 – What type of stocks and exchange traded funds (ETFs) are not too large and not too small, and doing mostly just right in 2008? The mid-caps. Between the three cap sizes, mid-sized companies have been the... Continue Reading »

All-World ETFs: Just Add Water, Instant Diversification
May 28, 2008 – All-world exchange traded funds (ETFs) are the latest industry hot spot, and providers are lining up to launch them. The two-month-old Barclays fund iShares MSCI ACWI Fund (ACWI) holds 694 stocks from the 2,736-stock underlying... Continue Reading »

Micro-Cap ETFs Will Have Their Day (It’s Just Not Today)
May 23, 2008 – Lately, mid-cap exchange traded funds (ETFs) have surged on ahead of all the other caps. Bringing up the rear are the microcaps. Five years ago, that wasn’t the case and microcaps, those companies with market... Continue Reading »

With ETFs, Sometimes It’s Good to Be the Middle Child
May 20, 2008 – The trouble with mid-caps and their exchange traded funds (ETFs) is that they don’t get the same coverage in the financial media as the large-caps. Even small-caps get more attention as investors mine through... Continue Reading »

State Street Goes Down The International ETF Road
May 15, 2008 – State Street Global Advisors is going down the real estate and mid-cap road on an international scale, with new exchange traded funds (ETFs) that invest overseas. The new funds, according to Reuters, are: SPDR DJ... Continue Reading »

Being In the Middle Better for ETFs Than Jan Brady
April 29, 2008 – Among the exchange traded funds (ETFs) that focus on a particular company size and investing style, mid-cap growth seems to be leaving the others in the dust lately. In the last three months, mid-cap growth... Continue Reading »

What Do Expense Ratios Have To Do With It?
April 24, 2008 – There are big discrepancies between assets and revenues, as analysts point out, but do expense ratios really matter to investors when it comest to investing with exchange traded funds (ETFs)? Matthew Hougan for Index... Continue Reading »

Is It Stupid to Keep It Simple With ETFs?
April 12, 2008 – The exchange traded fund (ETF) industry is currently brimming with excitement over a couple of new all-world funds. But can keeping it too simple be a wise strategy? Gary Gordon for ETF Expert doesn’t... Continue Reading »

PowerShares Launches Its Actively Managed ETF Line
April 11, 2008 – The long-awaited actively managed exchange traded funds (ETFs) from Invesco PowerShares are here. They’re billed as the industry’s first three actively managed equity ETFs, and they began trading on the NYSE Arca today. All of... Continue Reading »

Feeling Bearish or Bullish? There’s An ETF For Every Mood
April 11, 2008 – Last week’s stock surge has caused a pullback for some of the leveraged and inverse exchange traded funds (ETFs), the same funds that were earning traders so much money. David Penn for Trading Markets explains... Continue Reading »

Playing the Waiting Game With ETFs
March 28, 2008 –   Some believe we’re in a full-blown recession, but no matter what they believe, exchange traded fund (ETF) investors shouldn’t panic. Chris Fichera for Consumer Reports suggests staying put and weathering the storm, while making some... Continue Reading »

Actively Managed Mutual Funds Make ETFs Look Good By Underperforming
March 8, 2008 – Actively managed mutual fund enthusiasts say that a bear market is where active stock picking can beat index funds or exchange traded funds (ETFs). Jonathan Chevreau for Financial Post takes a look at the... Continue Reading »

PowerShares Launches Its India ETF Today
March 5, 2008 – PowerShares launched its India exchange traded fund (ETF) this morning, and it’s trading on the NYSE Arca. The PowerShares India Portfolio (PIN) will join the WidsomTree India Earnings Fund (EPI) as the two ETFs dedicated... Continue Reading »

The Second Clear Indexes Student ETF Contest
February 28, 2008 – Clear Indexes is holding their second student contest for best exchange traded fund (ETF) idea. The Second Clear Next Generation ETF Contest boasts a $5,000 prize and a paid internship, plus the chance to... Continue Reading »

New ETFs Take Innovative Approach To S&P
February 27, 2008 – A trio of new exchange traded funds (ETFs) launched on Friday, taking a different twist on the Standard & Poor’s benchmarks. They will use the same stocks as the S&P but the ETF will... Continue Reading »

Claymore ‘Acts Responsibly’ and Closes 11 ETFs
February 1, 2008 – After three years of billions of dollars flowing into exchange traded funds (ETFs) and hundreds being launched, one ETF provider is showing their accountability and trimming the hedges. Following a recommendation and approval from their... Continue Reading »

Short ETFs Shining Bright
January 22, 2008 – These days, it’s all about the short exchange traded fund (ETFs). Scroll through the list of top-performing funds year-to-date on Morningstar and you’ll see the proof: the top 33 performing funds so far this year... Continue Reading »

Spa Market Grader ETFs Going International
January 15, 2008 – Spa MarketGrader’s exchange traded funds (ETFs) are now ready to take on Italy, months after launching their funds on the American Stock Exchange. Their six U.S. equity-focused Market-Grader ETFs will appear on Milan’s Borsa Italiana stock... Continue Reading »

Fund’s Performance May Be a Harbinger of Tough Times for Small Cap ETFs
January 10, 2008 – While two exchange traded funds (ETFs) might follow the same underlying index, discrepancies are still possible. A case in point is the SPDRs (SPY) vs. the Rydex S&P Equal Weight (RSP). Each fund has the... Continue Reading »

And the Clear Indexes ETF Creation Winner Is….
January 9, 2008 – Clear Indexes LLC announced the winner of its exchange traded fund (ETF) competition, which took place from October 12-November 26, 2007. James Baker, 18, an NYU freshman, won the Clear Next Generation ETF Competition. His idea was selected... Continue Reading »

ETF Asset Class Reveiw for 2007
December 14, 2007 – Which asset classes and similar exchange traded funds (ETFs) fared well for 2007? Matthew D. McCall for Seeking Alpha gives us his take based on the nine categories of market capitalization and growth versus... Continue Reading »

The Forgotten “Mid-Cap Category” ETF
November 27, 2007 – Mid-cap exchange traded funds (ETFs) seem to get lost somewhere in between small and large-caps. Mid-cap companies have market caps of $2 billion to $10 billion, and are typically less volatile than small-caps, yet... Continue Reading »

The Goldilocks ETF: Mid-cap Growth (IWP)
September 20, 2007 – We talk a lot about large-cap versus small-cap exchange traded funds (ETFs) maybe because it’s more interesting to look at the extremes. However, caught in the middle of the large-cap versus small-cap debate are... Continue Reading »

ETF Performance Fluctuates for the Month
August 17, 2007 – Amid stormy conditions on the market’s rough water, is there any calm where exchange traded funds (ETFs) can fare well? Aaron Pressman for Business Week shows us what is staying afloat for the month... Continue Reading »

Mid-Cap ETFs: A Fair Comparison?
July 5, 2007 – Within mid-cap exchange traded funds (ETFs) you can find core, growth, value, leveraged, market-cap and fundamentally weighted. But how do they compare against one another? Investor’s Business Daily reports that in comparing 25 mid-cap ETFs,... Continue Reading »

Market Cap ETFs For Diversification
June 30, 2007 – Market-cap weighted index fund exchange traded funds (ETFs) arguably can be the base of a well-rounded portfolio. The core building blocks of a well-diversified portfolio include small, mid and large-cap stocks, Seeking Alpha reports.... Continue Reading »

A New Mid-Cap Index for an ETF
April 6, 2007 – Zacks Investment Research launched a new mid-cap core index that can be used for exchange traded funds (ETFs). The press release states that over years of academic research and practical experience Zacks has found... Continue Reading »

ETFs Can Help the Tax Bill
March 18, 2007 – Tax season is under way and for those investors with investments in exchange traded funds (ETFs), capital gains tax is one less worry. While it is too late for those who delayed on ETF... Continue Reading »

Mid-cap Stocks Good For ETFs
February 11, 2007 – Mid-cap exchange traded funds (ETFs) didn’t perform as well as large- and small-cap ETFs in 2006.  ETF Guide ponders, "Could this be the year that mid-caps outperform?"  Last year, the sector was up about... Continue Reading »