BGI

In the last year, exchange-traded fund companies have created a turf war, with new funds looking to steal investment dollars directly from their competitors. Following the same trend, Charles Schwab has filed with the SEC to create three new fixed income ETFs. The three new funds are the Schwab US TIPS ETF, the Schwab Short-Term [...]

ETF investors experienced their first glimpse at how connected financial ETFs are to Goldman Sachs. Following news of the SEC investigation, Goldman’s stock tumbled – and so did many financial ETFs. Some of the most under-diversified ETFs are the iShares DJ U.S. Broker-Dealers ETF (IAI: Quote, Profile, Advanced Chart, News) and SPDR KBW Capital Markets [...]

The disconnect between municipal bond interest from the marketplace and insurers is growing larger. While investors pile cash into muni ETFs, insurers on the front lines of municipal bond investing are leaving. Currently, only one municipal bond insurer is writing new policies, a stark contrast to seven active writers in 2008, the Wall Street Journal [...]

iShares, a global leader in the development of exchange-traded funds, has grown to capture 50%, or $409 billion, of the US exchange-traded fund business. The company reached the milestone whilst celebrating its tenth year in business. The company, which was sold to BlackRock in a deal for the history books, was founded in 2000, and [...]

Although currency funds have yet to capture a large portion of the exchange-traded fund market, other opportunities exist for investors in the ETF landscape. One such opportunity, iShares MSCI Hong Kong (EWH: Quote, Profile, Advanced Chart, News), a stock fund, is expected to rise with China’s currency. Analysts expect that Chinese stocks catering to consumer [...]

As real estate sails out of the doldrums, some options investors aren’t so optimistic about the future. Two significant trades indicate ETF options traders are bracing for a pullback. The iShares Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate Index (IYR: Quote, Profile, Advanced Chart, News), a popular ETF for tracking major components of the real estate market, [...]

Dividend investors never had their fair share in 2009, but 2010 looks promising for investors seeking better returns from their stock holdings. Improving corporate earnings and depressed volatility are setting the stage for a recovery in dividend ETF investing. Companies listed in the S&P500 paid out $52 billion less in 2009 than 2008, falling from [...]

Under-promoted and under-utilized, ETFs are slowly becoming more accessible through 401k programs’ self-directed brokerage window. 26% of ETF providers allow clients to use this service to make trades for themselves. The service can cost anywhere from $50-100 per year plus trading commissions, depending on the custodian, but allows full access to the stock market, CNN [...]

Rising interest rates from the Federal Reserve are welcomed almost unanimously on Wall Street, with the exception of one major group: bond investors. Higher interest rates could mean plummeting bond prices should the Fed continue to drive rates higher. Investors are increasingly placing bonds, which trade inversely to interest rates, on their portfolio chopping block. [...]

WisdomTree, a small but established exchange-traded fund sponsor, may be seeking a takeover. The fund recently cut 10 unprofitable ETFs, creating rumors the company is prepping to sell. On a conference call regarding the company’s fourth quarter earnings, CEO Jonathon Steinberg noted that following the sale of iShares to BlackRock, “anything could be for sale [...]