High Yield Junk Bond ETF: Risk/Reward Spectrum Favor Buying?

March 24, 2010

Given the current low interest rate environment and the seemingly unchecked momentum in common equities since last March, investors may want to consider parking some portion of their allocation in high yielding vehicles in the event the market takes a breather.  There are some decent ETFs out there that combine high yield, sustained dividend payouts […]

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The Week’s Hottest ETFs (3/21/10)

March 20, 2010

While broad market indices continued their ascent for the week, stocks took a breather on Friday in anticipation of the historic healthcare vote this weekend.  Since it’s unclear specifically whether the legislation will even pass and if so, exactly what it will mean for equities, markets could continue to be choppy while this plays out.  […]

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Beating the S&P500 with Equal Weight ETF

March 16, 2010

Over the years, there has been much debate in the investment community over an equal-weighted index vs. weighting by market cap or share price.  There are pros and cons to each method of weighting.  For instance, while the S&P500 is comprised of 500 stocks representing a broad swath of sectors in the US, the top […]

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Hedge Fund ETF – Main Street’s Ticket to Performance or Marketing Hype?

March 15, 2010

The first Hedge Fund ETF launched in 2009.  While even many of the most popular hedge funds took it on the chin during the financial collapse, the lure of double-digit market returns with low correlation to conventional asset classes makes the sound of a “Hedge Fund ETF” appealing.  In 2009, IndexIQ launched the IQ Hedge […]

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ETFs on the Move – Last Week’s Top Performers

March 14, 2010

With US equities continuing their ascent in the face of uncertainty over a major healthcare initiative, unrest in Greece and mediocre employment developments, the following ETFs performed quite strongly given the circumstances.  For the week ended 3/12/2010, here’s a snapshot of some of the best performing ETFs of both the traditional and leveraged sort: Hottest […]

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6 Precious Metals ETFs to Play a Weak Dollar Secular Trend

March 12, 2010

Precious Metals ETFs may play an important role in this environment.  After years of a slowly deteriorating US dollar, the greenback found some footing during the financial crisis and is now benefiting from the financial woes in Greece which may well boil over into other Euro-zone countries.  However, this near term calamity doesn’t address the […]

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1 Year Post-Crash: Biggest Winners and Losers by Country, Sector

March 9, 2010

It was one year ago today that the complete capitulation of retail and institutional investors alike ended and on March 10, 2009, the money started pouring in again.  During that time, virtually all asset classes rocketed up with annual gains that haven’t been seen in decades.  For investors savvy enough to either stay the course […]

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Impressive Muni ETF Yields 7.4% Tax-Free and Pays Monthly

March 8, 2010

The high yield muni market in general has been a stellar performer following the trough of the 2009 financial collapse but there are some striations depending on just which municipalities are covered in a particular holding. Many view California as being on the risk of declaring bankruptcy for instance, while much of the midwest remains […]

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Lumber Stock Breakout – This Timber ETF is on Fire

February 16, 2010

Timber prices have been on fire over the past year more than doubling the return of the S&P500.  The most direct play on lumber prices without trying to buy forests yourself is the ETF based on the Claymore Beacon Global Timber Index, which goes by the ticker (CUT) and invests in stocks that benefit from […]

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