Exchange traded funds have seen volume rise during the market’s recent volatility as investors use the financial products for specific sector trades and to hedge risk.
ETFs have made navigating a bumpy market somewhat easier, with choices ranging from leveraged and short vehicles to income-generating funds that take the guesswork out of single stock picking. The ETF has made it easier for both individual and institutional investors to trade the market, report Joseph A. Giannone and Jessica Toonkel for Reuters.
“Clients are starting to understand that abnormal is normal,” said Howard Sontag of Sontag Advisory, in the report. “We cannot control market volatility, but we can build a portfolio that gives our clients some comfort.”
Those investors and advisors with a high risk tolerance can dabble with leveraged and inverse ETFs, which play the opposite sides of the markets’ moves. However, these funds are intended for traders who watch the markets daily, and were never intended as a buy-and-hold investment. [ETF Trading Volume Spikes In Market Volatility]
For those investors who think market volatility will continue, there are exchange traded products that track CBOE Volatility Index futures. The index has doubled since the end of July, when markets began to stagger. The iPath S&P 500 VIX Short Term Futures ETN (NYSEArca: VXX) is one type of exchange traded product.
Investors hungry for an income stream who do not want to research individual stocks could tune into the SPDR S&P Dividend ETF (NYSEArca: SDY), which is a basket of dividend-paying companies. [Global ETF Business May Hit Nearly $5 Trillion By 2015]
Tisha Guerrero contributed to this article.
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.