April 2012

State Street Takes on Active ETFs with 3 New Funds

April 29, 2012

State Street Global Advisors, arguably the most influential player in the ETF space, announced the launch of three new actively-managed exchange-traded funds. Before the announcement, State Street sponsored only passive portfolio products. Actively-Managed SPDRs The actively-managed products rolled out this week are more than your average plain-vanilla ETF. The products are unique, touching on inflation […]

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Carnival of Passive Investing #17

April 27, 2012

For those that aren’t familiar, a blog carnival is a place to show off the best articles in a particular niche.  Publishers submit articles they think would be a great fit for a carnival and the site running it that week determines what articles make the cut.  It’s a great way for a site to […]

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ETF Transparency: For Big Investors Only!

April 22, 2012

Exchange-traded funds might not be as transparent as you think. The industry of exchange-traded fund issuers has already come under fire from FINRA for disclosures on leveraged ETFs, but new complaints say the transparency rules favor larger investors over smaller, retail investors saving for goals like retirement. How Transparent are ETFs, Anyway? Exchange-traded funds are […]

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What Makes an ETF Tax Efficient?

April 15, 2012

Exchange-traded fund investors know better than to ignore the cost of a particular investment in a portfolio. Most gravitate to ETFs for tax efficiency and low annual management fees relative to mutual funds. Let’s explore one natural benefit to the ETF structure that makes it tax efficient. ETF Structure Affect Tax Liabilities Exchange-traded funds are […]

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Equal Weighted ETFs to Counteract the Apple Effect

April 9, 2012

Every alternative has its costs. Exchange-traded funds make investing less expensive, arguably less thoughtful, and certainly much less profitable for the investment management industry. From the perspective of an individual investor, these are all very good things. We often miss what the popularity of indexing tends to hide. Separating the Index from the Investment BusinessInsider […]

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ETF Investing in the News – April 2012

April 8, 2012

Here are some ETF stories in the news this past week: Emerging-Market Bonds Quench a Yield Thirst (NY Times) Are Dividend ETFs the Best for Income? (Chicago Tribune) How ETFs Fit with 401(k)s (Barron’s) Van Eck Junk Bond ETF Coming (NASDAQ) ETF Statistics for March (ETF Daily News) Horizons ETFs Launches Canada’s First Inverse Volatility […]

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Best ETFs in March 2012 – Finance and Volatility

April 1, 2012

Let’s breakdown the best and worst performing exchange-traded funds in March 2012, while highlighting the best three leveraged and unleveraged funds. Top Leveraged ETFs in March 2012 VelocityShares Daily Inverse VIX Short Term ETN (XIV) 36.94% – This inverse fund tracking double the daily change in the short-term VIX index ran away from the pack […]

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