ETFs

Homebuilders ETF? Trade ITB

twocents@thestreet.com (Dave Fry) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:56 GMT

Looking to invest in a Homebuilders ETF? I'd recommend trading the iShares Dow Jones U.S. Home Construction ETF (ITB).

Buffett Bashes Gold Bugs

twocents@thestreet.com (Don Dion) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 11:00 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Investors are waiting on bated breath for the release of the Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders letter.

It is one of the most closely watched and heavily scrutinized pieces of literature in today's business world. Droves of individuals from Wall Street and Main Street flock to this missive to find out what is going on inside the mind of billionaire, Warren Buffett.

In addition to providing readers with insight into the current state, future plans and overall outlook for his firm, Buffett also takes time to lay out his views regarding the global economy and offer wisdom regarding the general investing world. Warren Buffett ...

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Slow Ascent for Market Continues: Dave's Daily

twocents@thestreet.com (Dave Fry) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:05 GMT

Jobless Claims (358K vs 370K expected) continued to show some improvement but inside the numbers was one standout data point--there was no gain in "new hires". So we're still just seeing people falling off the roles. Greece was back in the news with an announcement of an agreement. Later in the day came some grumbling about a lack of details with some saying things won't get sorted-out for another 15 days. (Per the AP: "German Finance Minister Schaeuble. Greek deal on spending cuts appears to not yet fulfill bailout conditions.") The final outcome (for this round) theoretically comes on the March 20th drop dead date. But here's the calendar for what's ahead in the euro zone. ...

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Top 10 Global Real Estate ETFs

twocents@thestreet.com (Dave Fry) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 20:03 GMT

There is currently an expanding list of nearly a dozen ETFs oriented to primarily to global REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts) with more on the way no doubt. In the following analysis we stick with our top ten themes while mentioning, where applicable, other choices. Given the limited choices anyway it represents the ETFs available.

The established global REIT market has been volatile and rocked by the eurozone crisis and contagion to other global markets. In the list you'll also note some China related issues which have caused investors concern over apparent property bubbles in both mainland China and Hong Kong. This issue had driven down prices but increased yields which are a staple and attraction for most investors. REITs remain popular with investors seeking greater dividends and income although many current yields remain historically low perhaps misleading some investors expecting more. Further, some with higher dividends feature return of principal which should also be evaluated.

One caution for this list is many of the ETFs in the list are new and/or have lower AUM (Assets under Management) than we would ordinarily prefer. This is a caution most investors should heed particularly when placing trades. "Limit orders" are always an important technique when trading and it becomes more important with less liquid securities. ...

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Dion's Thursday ETF Winners and Losers

twocents@thestreet.com (Don Dion) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 19:32 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Welcome to Don Dion's "ETF Winners and Losers." Be sure to stop by throughout the week to find out which ETFs are gaining or losing. Winners

Market Vectors Solar Energy ETF 7.9%

Solar energy ETFs are gaining ground, helping KWT and the Guggenheim Solar ETF punch through its highs in October. Today's action extends TAN's winning streak to seven days. ...

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Volatility ETN Offers Portfolio Hedge

twocents@thestreet.com (Gary Gordon) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:20 GMT

The following commentary comes from an independent investor or market observer as part of TheStreet's guest contributor program, which is separate from the company's news coverage.

NEW YORK (ETF Expert) -- Volatility ETNs can serve as tools to protect assets that you already have in your portfolio. For example, 80% of the time over the last year, the iPath S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term ETN moved in the opposite direction of the S&P 500 itself. It follows that an active investor could purchase exchange-traded note protection if he is concerned about the magnitude of this seasonal stock rally.

How should you do it? Rather than sell economically sensitive U.S. stock ETFs in your mix -- possibly subjecting yourself to short-term capital gains or potentially throwing off your allocation -- you might purchase VXZ with a weighting of 5% to 10%. ...

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China ETFs Navigate Tricky Housing Bubble

twocents@thestreet.com (Don Dion) — Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:00 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- When it comes to global investing, one of the biggest and most closely watched stories over the past few years has been China's handling of its red hot housing industry.

This week, it appears as though a new chapter has begun to take shape. While interesting to watch, this is a story that conservative ETF investors would likely be best off following from the sidelines.

Fearing a bubble, government officials have taken a myriad of steps to reign in the breakneck growth of the real estate market. In the past, these proposed policies, which have included higher down payments, bans on third-home purchases, and placing limits on bank lending, had little impact on cooling expansion. ...

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Central Bank Liquidity Props Markets: Dave's Daily

twocents@thestreet.com (Dave Fry) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 23:59 GMT

I would advise most to forget PEs, current earnings and dividends, global economic indicators and even Greece (if only temporarily). The number one factor driving global stock indexes higher are monetary policies and liquidity impact from the three central bank amigos. Sure markets are overbought and volume remains scant. The first condition is readily viewed by any number of respectable indicators: McClellan Summation Index (featured near the end of this posting), DeMark Indicators, Relative Strength Index and so forth). Light volume is due to ongoing investor flight as many sit on their hands. ...

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Top 10 Technology ETFs

twocents@thestreet.com (Dave Fry) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 20:18 GMT

NEW YORK (ETF Digest) -- Currently there are nearly three dozen ETFs oriented to the technology sector with more on the way. The following analysis features a fair representation of ETFs available. We believe from these investors may choose an appropriate ETF to satisfy the best index-based offerings individuals and financial advisors may utilize.

We're not ranking these ETFs favoring one over another so don't let the listing order mislead you. Although we may use some of these in ETF Digest portfolios it's not our intention to recommend one over another.

ETFs are based on indexes tied to well-known index providers including Russell, S&P, Barclays, MSCI, Dow Jones and so forth. Also included are some so-called "enhanced" indexes that attempt to achieve better performance through more active management of the index. ...

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Dion's Wednesday ETF Winners and Losers

twocents@thestreet.com (Don Dion) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:36 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Welcome to Don Dion's "ETF Winners and Losers." Be sure to stop by throughout the week to find out which ETFs are gaining or losing. Winners

Guggenheim Solar ETF 4.2%

Solar energy stocks are ratcheting higher, pushing TAN to its sixth consecutive day of gains. This multi-day rally has propelled the fund to levels last seen prior to its November sell off. ...

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ETF Mid-Week Peek

twocents@thestreet.com (ETF Digest) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 19:14 GMT

The following commentary comes from an independent investor or market observer as part of TheStreet's guest contributor program, which is separate from the company's news coverage.

By David Gillie

NEW YORK (ETF Digest) -- This week the market launched into a state of euphoria that we haven't seen since the announcement of QE2 and pre-crash highs of 2007. Better-than-expected jobs number was the main catalyst. Bernanke testified before Congress and although he didn't say where, when or how, traders heard the market will never go down. Perhaps he blinked it with his eyes in Morse code. ...

Why UNG Is Worst Investment in the World: Opinion

twocents@thestreet.com (Daniel Dicker) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 13:44 GMT

The following commentary comes from an independent investor or market observer as part of TheStreet's guest contributor program, which is separate from the company's news coverage.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The worst investment in the world, the United States Natural Gas fund has again revealed how cruddy it is by announcing a four-for-one reverse split as of Feb. 22. Anyone who still holds this turkey expecting it to even approximate the price movement of natural gas should be convinced by this last move to get out of this horrible fund.

Futures-based ETFs start with a grave disadvantage in the ETF world: instead of using various groupings of stocks to replicate the movement in a sector, they must use futures contracts and over-the-counter swaps to try and capture the price movement of an underlying commodity. While there may be a terrific appetite for investors afraid or unwilling to engage in the futures market to bet on prices of natural gas or crude oil, there is really no good way to represent these commodities like stocks. Most of these ETFs are programmed to fail. ...

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Greece Keeps the Lady Waiting: Dave's Daily

twocents@thestreet.com (Dave Fry) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:05 GMT

"Never put off until tomorrow what you can do the day after tomorrow" ...

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Dion's Tuesday ETF Winners and Losers

twocents@thestreet.com (Don Dion) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 19:57 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Welcome to Don Dion's "ETF Winners and Losers." Be sure to stop by throughout the week to find out which ETFs are gaining or losing. Winners

iShares Gold Trust 1.5%

Safe haven asset classes are taking a hit, indicated by the nearly 1.5% losses seen from the iShares Barclays 20+ Year Treasury Bond Fund. Meanwhile, gold is pushing higher, sending IAU and the SPDR Gold Shares to the winners list. ...

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Top 10 Industrial Sector ETFs

twocents@thestreet.com (Dave Fry) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 18:43 GMT

NEW YORK (ETF Digest) -- There is currently an expanding list of 20 ETFs oriented to the industrial sector with more on the way. The following analysis features a fair representation of ETFs available. The list comprises basic manufacturing mixed with large defense sectors. We believe from these investors may choose an appropriate ETF to satisfy the best index-based offerings individuals and financial advisors may utilize individually or in a portfolio.

Where competitive issues exist and/or repetitive issues available at a fee cost saving we mention those as other choices. New issues are coming to market consistently (especially globally) and sometimes these issues will need to become more seasoned before they may be included at least in our listings. ...

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India at Critical Inflection Point

twocents@thestreet.com (ETF Digest) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:13 GMT

The following commentary comes from an independent investor or market observer as part of TheStreet's guest contributor program, which is separate from the company's news coverage.

By David Gillie

NEW YORK (ETF Digest) -- India, Asia's third largest economy and the world's most populous democracy, is at a critical inflection point as it ends the fiscal year in March. The government announced an anticipated growth rate next year of 6.9%, down from 8.4% the previous fiscal year. Much of the weakening economy has been related to the struggles of it European trading partners. India's growth rate had been explosive prior to the 2008 crash. However, the Indian stock market had a 25% slump in 2011 even with an 8% growth rate. Much of the pressure on the Indian economy was excessive inflation. The government took strong measures to not only curb inflation but to draw outside investment. A further sign of positive monetary policy is an anticipated rise in interest rates. WisdomTree India Earnings (EPI) was the first all India ETF. ...

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Look Out for Nat Gas ETN Premium

twocents@thestreet.com (Don Dion) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:00 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Natural gas prices have seen some glimmers of life during the opening weeks of 2012, leading investors and analysts to question whether the battered fuel's multi-year descent is at last coming to an end.

Despite this improving sentiment, I believe conservative minded investors should continue to steer clear.

As I explained at the end of January , the battered fuel source has become an increasingly popular destination as speculative traders attempt to call a bottom. ...

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Light-Volume Dip Buying: Dave's Daily

twocents@thestreet.com (Dave Fry) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 00:19 GMT

Clearly, markets can't continue to produce 4-8% per month returns without some profit-taking or correction. Even in the dotcom days returns like this weren't achieved consistently. A downturn is healthy to weed-out excess. That said, dip buyers are a stubborn bunch and they're programmed to do this until they break their F-10 key.

In a news vacuum, Greece again takes center stage as a debt deal and austerity measures have the goal posts continually moved. Greece should probably just default and get it over with. They would then exit the EMU and the drachma would make a return. The political will for both austerity and debt repayment isn't there. The last major sovereign default was when Argentina defaulted on $95 billion in 2001. Subsequently they were shutout of the capital markets. In 2005 they arranged to pay 30% of amount owed to 75% of the creditors. There is still $7.5 billion outstanding mostly owed to the Paris Club (an informal group of creditors) and negotiations are ongoing. It wasn't the end of the world but the difference now is the EU and EMU relationship with Greece. There wasn't then or now any South American common monetary system or currency. ...

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All That Glistens Is Not GLD

twocents@thestreet.com (ETF Digest) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:56 GMT

The following commentary comes from an independent investor or market observer as part of TheStreet's guest contributor program, which is separate from the company's news coverage.

By David Gillie

NEW YORK (ETF Digest) -- Gold has lost it high status as the world's alternate currency. This was confirmed to me when the weekend repair guy came to fix the A/C and gave me a "hot tip" to buy gold. I've even noticed fewer ads on TV featuring a well-coiffed lady with a British accent, peddling gold-plated wooden Nickels (with .003 micrograms of "real gold"). Perhaps a dentist could tell you how much .003 micrograms of real gold is. Gold has been in a terrific bull market for nearly a decade. Recent currency wars over the past few years send gold into the stratosphere. That didn't go unnoticed and gold became a toy of day traders and speculators. Hedge funds massed gold then quickly dumped it to cover redemptions. SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) holds physical gold bullion. ...

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Dion's Monday ETF Winners and Losers

twocents@thestreet.com (Don Dion) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:41 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Welcome to Don Dion's "ETF Winners and Losers." Be sure to stop by throughout the week to find out which ETFs are gaining or losing. Winners

iPath Dow Jones UBS Natural Gas Subindex Total Return ETN 3.2%

A 15.5% premium is heavily impacting the performance of GAZ, causing it to perform out of line with its fellow natural gas futures-tracking ETF, the United States Natural Gas Fund. While GAZ is sitting solidly in positive territory, UNG, which boasts not premium, is up around 1%. ...

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'Cash Cow' Investing: Finding Yield in 2012

twocents@thestreet.com (Gregg Greenberg) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:20 GMT

Editor's note: As part of our partnership with Nightly Business Report, TheStreet's Gregg Greenberg will join NBR Monday (check local listings) to reveal where fund managers are looking for yield in 2012.

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Just because the economy is growing does not mean investors should abandon high-paying dividend stocks in favor of growth names, says Oliver Pursche, co-portfolio manager of GMG Defensive Beta Fund .

"No one is saying you shouldn't own growth stocks. The point is that dividends are a key component of total return, so investing in high-quality, high dividend paying stocks that also have growth characteristics should do very well in 2012, just like it did in 2011," says Pursche. ...

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Top 10 Consumer Discretionary ETFs

twocents@thestreet.com (Dave Fry) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 17:43 GMT

NEW YORK (ETF Digest) -- The consumer sector overall is said to comprise nearly two-thirds of U.S. GDP growth. For that reason alone focusing on the conditions of this sector is important for all investors. The list of ETFs available is growing and the indexes they're related to can be quite different one to the next. Some issues are new and have yet to gain wide support despite being well structured with a linked index and low fees.

One strange thing you might discover is some popular ETFs have holdings and weightings which are surprising and not intuitive despite good looking charts. For many investors, knowing what you own or wish to own is important. Retail and related consumer issues (excluding Consumer Staples) can offer dramatic examples of what's under the hood and perhaps offer some surprises.

Let's look at a variety of these ETFs with their top holdings and see if from a fundamental view they meet the test of what you think you'd find under the hood. Then we'll view current technical market conditions and trends as they apply to each. ...

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New ETF Gives Investors Denmark Exposure

twocents@thestreet.com (Roger Nusbaum) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:55 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- ETF provider iShares rolled out another Scandinavian ETF with the iShares MSCI Denmark Capped Investable Index Fund.

It comes hot on the heels of similar iShares funds for Norway and Finland. Another iShares ETF, the iShares MSCI Sweden Index Fund has been around for a long time.

In all of these ETFs, one holding dominates. In the case of EDEN, it is insulin manufacturer Novo Nordisk, which accounts for 22% of the fund. ...

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Stock Market's Rocket Ride Loses Steam

twocents@thestreet.com (ETF Digest) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:08 GMT

The following commentary comes from an independent investor or market observer as part of TheStreet's guest contributor program, which is separate from the company's news coverage.

By David Gillie

NEW YORK (ETF Digest) -- I started learning about the stock market by building and launching model rockets with my older brother. ...

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Five ETFs to Watch This Week

twocents@thestreet.com (Don Dion) — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 11:00 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Here are five ETFs to watch this week.

Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR

Earnings season continues to press on with dozens of companies scheduled to step up to the plate next week. The middle of the week will be particularly exciting for investors following the consumer staples industry with names, including Coca-Cola, Philip Morris, CVS Caremark and Pepsi on the docket. ...

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Currency ETFs Hold Their Own

twocents@thestreet.com (Gary Gordon) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 01:04 GMT

NEW YORK (ETF Expert) -- The mainstream financial media may have caught a break in 2011. Neither the S&P 500 nor the Dow fell more than 20% from respective highs, meaning that nobody ran with the "Bear Is Back" headline. It follows that the March 2, 2009 lows still represent the start of a bull market uptrend.

Not surprisingly, many have chosen to wistfully recollect the 90%-plus, since-inception gains for U.S. stocks. Meanwhile, others wisely remind us that substantial corrections of 10% to 20% occurred in each of the 3 years -- 2009, 2010, 2011.

Interestingly enough, there have been a number of cat-skinning ways to achieve admirable profits in the period. The Australian dollar via the CurrencyShares Australian Dollar picked up three-fourths of the SPDR S&P 500 Trust's upside for roughly three-fifths the beta risk. That's a pretty good deal for highly correlated assets in the currency "carry trade." ...

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Controversial Jobs Report Stokes Bulls: Dave's Daily

twocents@thestreet.com (Dave Fry) — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:04 GMT

The jobs report Friday was a ginned-up number but the media and algos don't look under the hood much it seems. Yes, the unemployment rate fell to 8.3% and 243K new jobs were created and perhaps the number itself will boost confidence.

My favorite book from college statistics was 'How to Lie with Statistics'. I believe the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) may have ripped a chapter or two from the book. The details were interesting and little reported because the media has soap to sell. First a whopping 1.2 million people vanished from the labor force in 2011. That is a massive seasonal/consensus driven adjustment. The BLS assumes those people aged 55 and higher died from the 2010 consensus. (So much for living longer in the USA!) ...

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VIX: 'Risk On' or Danger?

twocents@thestreet.com (ETF Digest) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:55 GMT

The following commentary comes from an independent investor or market observer as part of TheStreet's guest contributor program, which is separate from the company's news coverage.

By David Gillie

NEW YORK (ETF Digest) -- The Volatility Index (VIX) is a measure of options activity on the S&P 500--frequently referred to as the "fear index." The current VIX chart would indicate fear in the market is so low that it is to levels of complacency. Recession off the table, European debt solved, Market's going up forever! Oh really??? ...

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Dion's Friday ETF Winners and Losers

twocents@thestreet.com (Don Dion) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 19:35 GMT

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Welcome to Don Dion's "ETF Winners and Losers." Be sure to stop by throughout the week to find out which ETFs are gaining or losing. Winners

iShares Dow Jones U.S. Home Construction Index Fund 4.7%

The homebuilders are reveling in the market's strength, pushing funds like ITB and the SPDR S&P homebuilder ETF to some standout gains. Friday's action marks ITB's third consecutive day of gains. ...

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Groundhog Snoozer: Dave's Daily

twocents@thestreet.com (Dave Fry) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:10 GMT

Jobless Claims data was better than expected (367K vs previous 379K). Productivity (.7% vs. 1.9% previously) & Costs (1.2% vs -2.1% previously) was worse overall. Barely discussed, Challenger Job Cuts (53K January vs 41K December) were much worse and often this data will works its way into Friday's Employment Report. ...

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