Gold exchange traded products such as the SPDR Gold Shares (NYSEArca: GLD),iShares Gold Trust (NYSEArca: IAU) and ETFS Physical Swiss Gold Shares (NYSEArca: SGOL) have retreated a bit in recent days as the July jobs report is stoking speculation the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates this year.
9. Measuring the Pulse of the U.S. Economy
As investors reflect on 2016 to date it may be best described as one lacking consensus on the strength of both the US and Global Economy. On the one hand, the leading broad market has been Emerging Markets at 12.14%, followed by Mid-Cap and Small Cap Indexes at 11.84% and 7.79%, respectively, year to date through Aug. 4, 2016.
10. ETF Investors: The Real Action is Beneath the Surface
A few years ago, we took our children snorkeling off the Florida Keys. We told them about the beauty and diversity of sea life that they should expect to see. They were bursting with anticipation as we rode in the boat out to the reef. Their surprise was visible as the boat stopped.
11. An Efficient, Inexpensive ETF for Long-Term Investors
Vanguard, the second-largest U.S. issuer of exchange traded funds, is one of the low-cost leaders in the ETF arena and the issuer also sponsors some well-known broad market funds, including the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (NYSEArca: VTI).
12. A New Smart-Beta Water ETF
Elevation ETF Trust has come out with the first smart-beta, water sector-specific exchange traded fund that will select components based on factors like risk-to-return and yields.
13. Reading Market Tea Leaves With a Big Biotech ETF
The iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (NasdaqGS: IBB), which tracks the Nasdaq Biotechnology Index, and rival biotechnology exchange traded funds, have recently been on the mend. Continued good fortune for this previously struggling set of ETFs could be telling regarding investors’ risk appetite heading into 2016’s latter stages.
14. Stick With Emerging Market ETF Leaders
Emerging markets debt and equities are among this year’s best-performing asset classes, themes that are lifting the Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets ETF (NYSEArca: VWO) and the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (NYSEArca: EEM), the two largest emerging markets exchange traded funds by assets, in the process.
15. Opportunity, Warnings With Vietnam Frontier Market ETF
In what has been a mostly solid year for emerging markets equities, the VanEck Vectors Vietnam ETF (NYSEArca: VNM) is a laggard with a year-to-date loss of 2.5%.