IPO ETF Delivers Stellar Returns Despite Several IPO Flops

December 23, 2012

Despite well-known IPO disasters like Facebook (FB), the First Trust IPOX Index ETF (FPX) was the best performing of all strategy ETFs in 2012, delivering returns 8% higher than the S&P 500 after dividends. The ETF continues to test the idea that IPOs are much better for the business than they are investors. While the […]

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Holiday Travel – Stats and Stories [Sponsored Video]

December 20, 2012

This post is sponsored by BMW. For 2012, AAA projects 93.3 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home during the year-end holidays, which is 1.6% greater the 91.8 million people who traveled last year.  This stat alone got me thinking a bit.  Does this mean the economy is really improving?  I mean […]

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Merger Arbitrage ETFs Just Got Better

December 16, 2012

The deals space is heating up – one analyst says to expect a $20 billion merger in 2013 – as companies think about how to use cash balances and low interest rates to their advantage. For investors, the question is how can one use this knowledge to make a profit. Fund managers think merger arbitrage […]

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Low Volatility ETFs: Same Returns with Less Worry

December 9, 2012

If 2012 was the year of the dividend ETF, 2013 may be the year of the low volatility ETF.  The dividend play may be a bit skewed going into 2013 due to so many special dividends (here are a few special dividend announcements) being paid prior to year-end and a possible exodus from dividend payers […]

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ETF Spotlight: PureFunds ISE Mining Service ETF (MSXX)

December 2, 2012

FactorShares, a company better known for exotic funds tracking the spreads between dissimilar asset classes (gold and stocks, for example), has launched a new fund tracking the mining service space. The new fund offers a new way to get exposure to a popular asset class – gold and silver bullion – by investing in companies […]

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Jeep Heroes Program – And Veterans Special Offer [Sponsored Video]

November 27, 2012

Whenever I see a Jeep on the road, I hearken back to some of my old favorite war movies.  As the video below outlines, Jeep vehicles were leading our troops into battle all the way back to World War 2 and has been a mainstay of military equipment ever since. Here’s an interesting factoid for […]

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Utility ETFs Offer Intriguing Opportunity

November 25, 2012

Utility companies are back in the headlines as investors reconsider their preference for dividend-paying equities with uncertain tax policy coming in 2012. Key utility sector indexes are off more than 6% in the last month while forward yields look compelling for conservative investors. Tax Concerns are Overblown Investors traditionally value utilities on a dividend discount […]

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Bank ETFs Rocket in 2012 but The Rally Isn’t Over

November 18, 2012

Investors in banking stocks made out like bandits in 2012 despite worries of a European meltdown, slowly-improving housing market, new regulations, and falling net interest margin. For all the worries about the financial system, banking profits seem as though they are in a consistent recovery. Why Bank ETFs Make Sense The banking system generates revenue […]

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With Hurricane Sandy as Context, Is Your Company Protected?

November 16, 2012

It often takes a crisis to spur action for a business or personal preventative expenditure, but then shortly after the crisis has passed, it’s immediately back to the status quo.  Think about how many people on the East Coast lost power for days on end just over the past couple years with the various major […]

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