PowerShares

Option trading volume on the Chicago Board of Exchange was down in August as a whole. ETF trading showed some areas of growth but slowed from the previous month. ETF market share was down slightly too. According to the press release, year-to-date ETF option volume through August grew by 6% over the previous year at [...]

The PowerShares High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (PHB) from Invesco is now tracking a new index, and thus has been renamed. While keeping the same ticker symbol on the NYSE Arca, PHB is now known as PowerShares Fundamental High Yield Corporate Bond Portfolio, effective August 2, 2010. PHB is now tracking the Research Affiliates’ Fundamental [...]

Two sponsors, PowerShares and State Street Global Advisors, are fighting for control over the Build America Bond space. The two firms, both competitors, have battled on annual expense ratios, but now PowerShares is looking to take the space with another issue. The newest Build America Bond ETF is none other than the PowerShares Intermediate Build [...]

Some sectors are seasonal, and a few fare better in the summer than any other time during the year. Here is a brief list of the ETFs that heat up as summer begins. With oil on the top of everyone’s mind following a spill in the Gulf of Mexico, Claymore/Aphashares Global Solar Energy Index ETF [...]

Alongside the popular Build America Bond ETF by PowerShares, State Street has launched another similar exchange-traded fund. The State Street fund offers little difference against PowerShares’ ETF, even adopting the same (.35%) annual expense as its PowerShares rival. State Street’s fund is designed to track a new category of municipal debt subsidized in part by [...]

Following fears of a contagion coming out of Greece and Spain, normally quiet currency ETFs attracted large option interest. The PowerShares DB US Dollar Index (UUP: Quote, Profile, Advanced Chart, News) recorded a call to put ratio of 198 to 1, signifying investors’ flight. One trader represented most of the volume, selling 20,500 calls with [...]

The advertising business is incredibly cyclical, and investors are looking to the PowerShares Dynamic Media ETF (PBS: Quote, Profile, Advanced Chart, News) to forecast the future for the economy. With earnings for media conglomerates soon due, investors expect to get an accurate read on whether businesses are preparing for recovery. The PowerShares Dynamic Media ETF [...]

IndexIQ took home the coveted “Most Innovative ETF” award for 2009 from Capital Link. For the first time ever, one company, IndexIQ, earned the honor in two categories: ETFs and indexes. The IndexIQ’s IQ Hedge Multi-Strategy Tracker ETF (QAI: Quote, Profile, Advanced Chart, News) took home the Most Innovative ETF 2009 award, while its underlying [...]

While other sponsors are busy tending to a growth in fixed income ETFs, PowerShares is carving out a niche of its own in small cap funds. The issuer launched nine funds on Wednesday. The funds and their respective ticker symbols are as follows: 1. PowerShares S&P SmallCap Consumer Discretionary Portfolio (XLYS: Quote, Profile, Advanced Chart, [...]

PowerShares released a new exchange-traded fund on Friday that seeks to track the performance of several closed-end funds. While returns have yet to be published as the product is brand new, high fees may quickly send it to rest in peace in the ETF grave. The fund acts as a generous tax shelter for investors, [...]