Exchange traded funds (ETFs) experienced a lot of activity in August. ETF Insider’s ETF 50 Index, which represents the asset-weighted price performance of the 50 largest ETFs, accounted for 80.7% of total ETF assets, reports Aaron Siegel for Investment News. It increased by 0.6% in August after declines two months in a row. The gains might have been larger, but 48% of the SPDRs (SPY), which is the largest ETF, were sold short during the month. It gained 1.3% during August. According to ETF Insider the following were ETF winners and losers for August:
- PowerShares QQQ (QQQQ) – up 2.95%
- iShares FTSE/Xinhau China 25 (FXI) – up 7.60%
- iShares Cohen & Steers Realty Majors (ICF) – up 6.37%
- Anyone who shorted SPDRs ETFs
- iShares MSCI Japan Index (EWJ) – down 2.49%
- iShares MSCI Brazil Index (EWZ) – down 3.66%
The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of Tom Lydon, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.