Financial

For the first time, investors will have direct access to India’s infrastructure industry with the launch of a new ETF by Emerging Global Shares. The new ETF will be the eighth fund from EG Shares, which specializes in various sectors within emerging markets. For example, EG Shares has emerging market ETFs for both the financial [...]

For the first time, investors will have direct access to India’s infrastructure industry with the launch of a new ETF by Emerging Global Shares. The new ETF will be the eighth fund from EG Shares, which specializes in various sectors within emerging markets. For example, EG Shares has emerging market ETFs for both the financial [...]

Charles Schwab, the well-known financial services provider, will now be offering lower expense ratios for the majority of its ETFs. Schwab already extends commission-free trades to its online account holders and has become even more competitive with its ETF fees. Of the eight domestic and international ETFs in Schwab’s line of exchange-traded funds, six will [...]

The value of palladium as a hedge against inflation and economic calamity was put to the test amidst worries over European solvency. Investors swapped palladium positions for gold, seeking the ultimate protection against another financial crisis. Both palladium and platinum fell to a multi-week low as investors reorganized their metals positions. Most notably, palladium investment [...]

WisdomTree has announced it will close 10 exchange-traded funds, which have been unable to garner significant volume from investors. The 10 funds announced for closure currently contain less than $180 million in assets. The WisdomTree funds slated for closure are: -WisdomTree International Financial Sector Fund (DRF) -WisdomTree International Health Care Sector Fund (DBR) -WisdomTree International [...]

Following a bullish start to 2010, a quick three-day plunge shows investors are still playing defensively. Investors placed bearish put option bets worth more than $1.2 billion in stock on several top exchange-traded funds. A total of 400,000 contracts were traded in the Materials Select Sector SPDR fund (XLB: Quote, Profile, Advanced Chart, News), the [...]

Analysts familiar with the exchange-traded fund industry revised estimates regarding when ETFs might cross the $1 trillion mark, fearing a financial crisis would keep ETFs from $1 trillion until mid-2010. However, a report from Barclay’s Global declares that exchange-traded fund briefly touched above the $1 trillion mark worldwide in the last days of 2009. Total [...]

There are many ways to skin the exchange-traded fund cat beyond simply short and long positions. In fact, one popular exchange-traded fund generated extra returns to investors by lending their shares last year. Even with an annual fee, State Street beat its benchmark by .26% last year on its popular Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund [...]

PowerShares has filed with the SEC to tap into a highly demanded exchange-traded fund niche. In the filing, four funds, three sector specific bond funds, and one convertible bond fund are outlined to tap into incredible demand for fixed income ETFs. The four funds are as follows: 1. PowerShares Financial Corporate Bond Portfolio 2. PowerShares [...]

For the first time in months, exchange-traded fund assets have fallen month to month as investors pull away from high priced financial stocks. The dip follows a record high in assets of $695 billion in September. Total US based ETF assets fell to $689 billion in October, down $5.3 billion from the month prior. The [...]