Marsha Zapson
Journal Of Indexes
Case Study: Redesigning A $5.2 Billion Fund
How one pension manager divvies up an index-sensitive portfolio.
ETF Report
Seeking new opportunities
Investors go small and international
ETF Report
New bond ETFs heighten interest
One corner of the ETF industry that has been bypassed-at least until recently- is bonds. It's the forgotten asset class, in part because the mere mention of its name conjures images of stodgy conservatism and more alluring products like private equity, currencies, and alternative weighting schemes have been given preference by ETF designers and captured media attention.
ETF Report
Really trading foreign ETFs
Pining for a little Russia or Turkey or Eastern Europe in one easy ETF trade? Or maybe you've been after a slim ETF focusing on some Japanese banks, but can't find one? It can't be done- at least not yet-in the US, but ETFs covering those markets are available on European and Japanese exchanges. The problem for the US-based investor has been the high cost and inconvenience, to say the least, of gaining access to those markets.
ETF Report
The art of rotation
Six years ago, when Huntington National Bank considered adding an index fund to its stable of mutual funds, Paul Koscik, a Huntington vice president, wanted something a little different than your average Standard & Poor’s 500 index fund. He thought a fund that strategically rotated among equity asset classes based on technical and fundamental analysis— and used ETFs to do so—would be able to beat the S&P 500.
Features and News
Non-Tech, Clean-Tech
First Trust expands its ETF line-up, leveraging the Nasdaq's growing indexing efforts.
ETF Report
Internationals sweep the field
The storyline for 2006 is one of ex-US outperformance. If it's a tale that sounds familiar, it should. Foreign markets have taken center stage since 2002, handily beating the S&P 500 thanks to some head-turning growth in emerging markets, low global interest rates, and a weaker US dollar.
ETF Report
The New Hedge Fund Clones
Think you can fake a hedge fund? A lot of really smart people say you can. In fact, a number of products that passively mimic hedge fund strategies-and their returns-are already up and running. And because they replicate indexes, they clock in a whole lot cheaper than their infamous, actively-managed brethren. These products, which use complex algorithms to replicate skill-based hedge fund investing, have been characterized by some as the next evolution in an industry that has already reached saturation.
ETF Report
Funds of ETFs
ETF-only portfolios designed for average investors