15 Most Read ETF Articles of the Week (May 2-6)

REITs are securities that trade like a stock and invest in real estate directly through property ownership or mortgages. Click to read more >>

8. The Best Strategy to Implement Smart-Beta ETFs into Portfolios

Smart-beta or alternative index-based exchange traded fund (ETF) strategies have quickly gained traction among financial advisors and investors seeking to enhance portfolio returns or smooth out their investment ride. Click to read more >>

9. Uranium ETF Fights off Commodity’s Slump

In what amounts to a vexing scenario, the Global X Uranium ETF (NYSEArca: URA), which tracks uranium miners, is up more than 4% over the past month and more than 8% year-to-date even as uranium prices slide. Click to read more >>

10. Gold ETF Traders Should Keep These 5 Factors in Mind

As the gold market makes an impressive bull run this year, precious metals exchange traded fund (ETF) investors will have to watch a handful of factors to gauge how far the rally can keep going.

Year-to-date, the SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEArca: GLD), iShares Gold Trust (NYSEArca: IAU) and ETFS Physical Swiss Gold Shares (NYSEArca: SGOL) have returned over 21%. Click to read more >>

11. Why Investors are Bearish on Oil ETFs

The United States Oil Fund (NYSEArca: USO), which tracks West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures, and the United States Brent Oil Fund (NYSEArca: BNO), which tracks Brent crude oil futures, are up an average of more than 28% over the past three months. That still is not enough to impress all oil market participants. Click to read more >>

12. High Quality Junk Bond ETFs Limit Default Risk

Speculative-grade, junk bonds have staged an impressive recovery from the February lows, but face mounting risks, notably from commodity producers. Investors, though, can diminish credit risks associated to more troubled areas through targeted high-yield bond exchange traded funds.

For instance, the Market Vectors Fallen Angel High Yield Bond ETF (NYSEArca: ANGL) tracks so-called fallen angel speculative-grade rated debt, or debt securities that were initially issued with an investment-grade rating but were later downgraded to junk territory. Click to read more >>

13. Low Rates Help Preferred ETFs Power Up

Count preferred stocks and exchange traded funds among the income-generating asset classes that are receiving renewed attention from income investors this year as the Federal Reserve balks at raising interest rates.

The iShares U.S. Preferred Stock ETF (NYSEArca: PFF) and the PowerShares Preferred Portfolio (NYSEArca: PGX) sport tempting yields that average out to about 5.8%. Like many preferred ETFs, PFF and PGX are heavy on preferred issued by financial services companies. Click to read more >>

14. State Street Gender Diversity ETF off to Stellar Start

Many investors, including some professionals and advisors, look to invest with a moral compass. Issuers of exchange traded funds (ETFs) have been meeting that demand with an increasing number of exchange traded funds that address various issues.

Time will ultimately tell how successful these ETFs end up being, but investors do not need to wait to gauge the success of the SPDR Gender Diversity Index ETF (NYSEArca: SHE). Click to read more >>

15. Global X Launches Millennials ETF on Nasdaq

Millennials – it’s the largest generation in the United States made up of more than 90 million people aged 16 to 36.

Global X Funds hopes to capitalize with its launch today of its Global X Millennials Thematic ETF (Nasdaq: MILN). Click to read more >>