From the category archives:

Alternative ETFs

Strategy to Combine High Dividend Yields, Options Income and Price Stability

January 8, 2012

I came across an interesting article on SeekingAlpha where the author suggests a strategy for exploiting the high yields of the Dogs of the Dow (I recently wrote on the 2012 Dogs of the Dow) mixed with selling long-dated options (LEAPS) on those positions. Using Dow stocks also tends to minimize the risk of outright [...]

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Volatility ETNs Soared Last Week…In an UP Market

November 6, 2011

Even though the S&P500 (SPY) closed the week with a respectable 2.4% gain, volatility ETNs (Exchange traded notes) showed huge gains for the week ranging from 19%-40% depending on the type of ETN.  For a bit more on how the volatility index works, the VIX is the CBOE’s market volatility index which derives its volatility [...]

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Social Media ETF – There Can Be Only ONE…

August 22, 2011

The Social Media ETF is here, or so it’s called.  Recently, Global X filed with the SEC (source) to launch a Social Media ETF which will be based on the The Solactive Social Media Index which is representative of business ventures involved social networking, file sharing, and other online media applications. The holdings will be [...]

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3 ETFs to Watch Following Shocking US Credit Downgrade

August 7, 2011

Unless you happen to be coming back from a weekend in the wilderness, Friday night S&P downgraded the US credit rating one notch (see list of AAA Countries remaining).  Obviously, markets will be quite volatile this week following this momentous news.  Over the weekend, the Saudi stock market had opened over 5% down.  As of [...]

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Physical Silver Trust Premium Collapses – Pairs Trade Returns 10%

May 5, 2011

With the various precious metals ETFs out there and the volatility we’re seeing in the markets now, there are opportunities to exploit market inefficiencies that appear and disappear rather quickly (see more on arbitrage investments).  But investors that are agile can benefit as these scenarios repeat themselves somewhat frequently.  In the past, I benefited from [...]

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6 Ways to Protect Your Assets from Impending Deflation

August 5, 2010

There’s more talk now about an impending deflationary period than we’ve heard in several years and the thing about this churn is that even if we don’t truly experience textbook extensive deflation, the sentiment alone could easily drive investors in droves into assets that perform well during periods of deflation.  For the uninitiated, think of [...]

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Shorting Volatility Without the Pain

July 29, 2010

Investors have routinely watched the volatility indicators like the VIX to measure investor “fear” in the market via the implied volatility of the underlying index options.  In recent years, they’ve been able to partake in spikes in volatility as a portfolio hedge via the exchange traded notes, otherwise known as ETNs (VXX) and (VXN) which [...]

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Deflation Investments to Consider with Inflation Fears Out the Window

May 18, 2010

Deflation Investments are getting a lot of press this week.  Many experts are now shifting their sites from fears over inflation to a deflationary environment.  While the rampant printing of money and devaluation of currencies had been front and center since the financial crisis, there are now indications that we may be entering a period [...]

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