S&P

Standard & Poor’s has reached an agreement to license the S&P500 to seven major European ETF sponsors. The agreement would allow for practical cross-listing of US stocks through the exchange-traded fund platform. By the end of May, seven new S&P500 funds are expected to be listed on European exchanges, according to a press release. The [...]

Rydex will close 12 of its leverage exchange-traded funds, saying farewell to an industry largely locked down by larger issuers Direxion and ProShares. The closures follow its acquisition by Guggenheim Capital. The twelve funds to be closed are: 1. Rydex 2X Russell 2000 (RRY) 2. Rydex Inverse 2X Russell 2000 (RMM) 3. Rydex 2X S&P [...]

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 [...]

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, [...]

Investors may be gaining ground in the post-financial crisis stock market, but those who bet that the volatility would continue have lost their shirt. While the markets soared, volatility disappeared. The iPath S&P500 Vix Short-Term Futures ETN (VXX: Quote, Profile, Advanced Chart, News) has virtually collapsed, losing investors 36% of their investments year-to-date. Thus far, [...]

Often a leading indicator, shipping companies have outperformed the market in 2010, indicating that the economy is on a long road to recovery. Year-to-date, the Claymore/Delta Global Shipping ETF (SEA: Quote, Profile, Advanced Chart, News) has earned investors a hefty 14.8% return compared to 4.5% for the S&P 500. Demand for global shipping companies is [...]

State Street has blanketed the fixed income ETF space with a new filing with the SEC for seven funds. The new ETFs will cover some of the most popular fixed-income products currently trading on the stock exchanges. The seven new ETFs are as follows: 1. SPDR S&P Agency Bond ETF 2. SPDR Barclays Capital Corporate [...]

What is good enough for individual investors is apparently good enough for governments. A fresh look into China’s holdings has revealed a staggering $9.6 billion invested in US traded ETFs. Although most of the Chinese holdings are in pure indexing funds like the SPDR (SPY: Quote, Profile, Advanced Chart, News) and Powershares QQQ (QQQQ: Quote, [...]

Taking advantage of two popular investment choices, UBS has released a new ETN centered on two products: index funds and gold. The fund will combine 100% long positions in both the S&P 500 index, as well as gold. The UBS E-TRACS S&P500 Gold Hedged Index ETN (SPGH: Quote, Profile, Advanced Chart, News) seeks to track [...]

ETF investors will soon find a little more Buffett in their portfolio; Warren Buffett that is. Warren Buffett’s investment giant Berkshire Hathaway is slated to replace Burlington Northern in the S&P500. Berkshire Hathaway will join the S&P500 to replace the firm it recently purchased, railway powerhouse Burlington Northern, MarketWatch reports. Exchange-traded funds tracking the index [...]