ETF

ETF investors looking to gain exposure to the biotech sector have a number of options to consider--five to be exact. While there are some similarities between these funds, there are also some significant differences that result in unique risk and return profiles and diverging returns. In this article, we profile each of the ETF options, highlighting the pros and cons of each.

Just because you can trade some ETFs now without paying any commissions, are you really getting a sweet deal?

As developed economies struggled to regain their footing in the wake of the recent economic downturn, many investors have been drawn to the potential for meaningful growth offered by emerging markets.

As the ETF industry has expanded in recent years, a significant portion of growth has come from the tremendous rise in popularity of exchange-traded commodity products. In addition to broad-based funds such as DBC or DJCI, several commodity-specific products have accumulated billions of dollars in assets, and several were even among the very largest of all ETFs at the end of 2009.

In recent weeks, news that London-based ETF Securities is preparing to launch physically-backed platinum and palladium ETFs rolled through the financial markets, causing tremendous excitement among bulls and inflation bugs alike and sending prices of these metals soaring in anticipation.

Many traders are throwing around the term "January Effect," especially as we turn the corner into January 2010. Some are trying to profit from the "January Effect," but what is this ‘effect' and how can we monitor it? Let's find out.

To most, cotton is a part of everyday life, a part of the textiles found in every wardrobe. But after prices surged in 2009, some investors have begun making cotton a part of their portfolio as well, and are turning to cotton ETFs as a way to gain exposure.

Much has been made of the stellar performance of emerging market ETFs during 2009 and the importance of maintaining an allocation to these funds in investor portfolios. But these discussions have primarily focused on emerging market equity ETFs, overlooking a rapidly-expanding corner of the bond ETF market.

It’s no secret that actively managed funds have fallen out of fashion. Many big names have touted the benefits of financial instruments that track an index, and ETFs such as SPY and VTI have enjoyed huge asset inflows as a result.

As the ETF industry has expanded in recent years, so too has the number of asset classes accessible through exchange-traded products.

Commodity ETFs have seen billions of dollars of cash inflows in recent years, as investors have embraced these exchange-traded products as efficient ways to gain exposure to an asset class that was previously off limits to many.

Gold is often referred to as a “safe haven” investment, reflecting its tendency to rise in times of economic uncertainty. While there is no shortage of “gold bugs” that buy and hold the metal for extended periods of time, there are countless investors who trade gold quite actively.

with Emerging Market economies bucking the trend, we look at three sector ETFs that could provide useful gains for longer term investors

with a veritable delicatessen regards emerging markets ETFs, we appluad the new launches into Chinese sectors by Global-X, but doi we need two tech sector offerings?

Dec 6th, 2009
The first half of last week started out strong with stock and precious metal ETFs moving higher. The week ended with less certainty of direction. The energy sector underperformed the market with crude oil and natural gas moving lower.