While we were distracted by the bigger names in the world of exchange traded funds (ETFs), some smaller ETFs you might not know about have been on fire for the last month.
With everyone’s minds preoccupied by the real estate sector, financial news, or the economy in general, most smaller ETFs are not getting the limelight they deserve. Well, here are five lesser-known ETFs that have produced large results in a short amount of time.
Warning: Understand that while the assets are low, the holdings within these funds are still liquid. There can be wide bid/ask spreads, so be sure to use limit orders if you buy funds with low assets.
Rydex S&P Smallcap 600 Pure Value (RZV): $14.8 million in assets; up 52.8% in the last month; expense ratio of 0.35%; 115 holdings. It tries to mirror the performance of the S&P SmallCap 600/Citigroup Pure Value Index. Small-caps could be leading the way out of the recession, since they’re more nimble and quick to react.
Top Sectors/Industries include: Consumer Discretionary 50.8%, Financials 22.1%, Information Tech 13.7%, Industrials 7.6%, Materials 2.7%, Other 3.1%.
PowerShares Global Coal (PKOL): $5 million in assets; up 34.1% in the last month;, expense ratio of 0.75%; 32 holdings. It is based on the NASDAQ OMX Global Coal Index, which measures the performance of globally traded securites of large/liquid companies in exploration for and mining of coal. The coal industry has been under fire lately and has been fighting for its future, reports Anne C. Mulkern for The New York Times. Many in the coal industry are worried about its future.
Sector allocations include: Energy 97.4%, Materials 2.6%.
Fund Country Allocations include: U.S. 33.4%, China 23.4%, Australia 19.5%, Canada 11.6%, Indonesia 6.6%, Thailand 3.7%, Singapore 1.5%, U.K. 0.4%.
iPath DJ AIG Copper (JJC): $37 million in assets; up 10.9% in the last month; expense ratio of 0.75%. The fund is designed to reflect the performance on copper contracts, and is composed of Copper High Grade futures contracts traded on the New York Commodities Exchange. Copper prices have been on the rise lately, thanks to falling supplies, rising demand from China as they take advantage of low prices and speculation that lending could spur inflation (against which copper is viewed as a hedge).