More than 140 new exchange traded funds and exchange traded notes (ETNs) have debuted in 2013. Many are new spins on broad market and sector concepts, but a few do standout and can be considered unique fare.
Trang Ho for Investor’s Business Daily looked at five ETFs that launched this year, including a few that have immediately proven successful.
One of the ETFs that fits the bill as new, unique and rapidly successful is the Cambria Shareholder Yield ETF (NYSEArca: SYLD), which was launched in mid-May by Mebane Faber’s Cambria Investments. SYLD holds stocks that Cambria ranks “highest for paying cash dividends, buying back shares and paying down debt. The strategy thereby targets the three ways companies can distribute cash to shareholders, known as shareholder yield,” according to IBD.
SYLD not only has eclipsed the much ballyhooed $100 million in assets under management mark and has returned 13% since its debut, the fund has proven successful that last week Cambria launched SYLD’s global equivalent, the Cambria Foreign Shareholder Yield ETF (NYSEArca: FYLD).[Cambria Launches Global Shareholder Yield ETF]
IBD also highlighted the db X-trackers Harvest CSI 300 China A-Shares Fund (NYSEArca: ASHR). ASHR debuted in early November as the first U.S.-listed ETF to offer investors direct exposure to China’s A-shares via the equities themselves, not derivatives. Not only has ASHR returned 6.5% since Nov. 13, but the ETF’s AUM total is now north of $192.3 million. [Reform-Minded Beijing Lifts China ETFs]
The Forensic Accounting ETF (NYSEArca: FLAG) was one of the first equity-based ETFs to debut this year (late January launch) and holds 380 to 400 stocks screened from a universe of the 500 largest U.S. stocks and as a result excludes about 100 stocks that have “overstated revenue, underestimated expenses, generated unsustainable sources of cash flow, or that are otherwise viewed as underperforming, IBD reported, citing FLAG’s prospectus.
FLAG has returned an impressive 24% since coming to market.
The Robo-Stox Global Robotics & Automation Index ETF (NasdaqGS: ROBO) certainly qualifies as original as it is the first dedicated robotics ETF on a U.S. exchange. ROBO has a decent weight to 3D printing stocks compared to other ETFs. [ROBO not Quite a 3D Printing ETF]
The Vident International Equity Fund (NasdaqGS: VIDI) entered a crowded field of international equity ETF, but that has not stopped the ETF from raking in $367 million in AUM.
The ETF “selects 35 developed and emerging market countries with the most liquid stocks. It then weights each company based on the amount of risk each contributes to the overall country basket,” according to IBD.
VIDI tracks the Vident Intenational Equity Index (VIE), which evaluates constituent countries “across growth, sound money, political stability and value factors. VIE rebalances twice a year and “seeks to reduce country, currency, and company concentration risks that can sometimes be typical amongst traditional capitalization-weighted approaches,” according to the issuer. [Vident Global Equity ETF Debuts]
Cambria Shareholder Yield ETF
ETF Trends editorial team contributed to this post.