With equity markets near all-time highs and interest rates near all-time lows, consensus return forecasts have dwindled and many institutional investors have turned to absolute return strategies to address their challenges. And while the potential of low correlation and downside protection from absolute return is great, finding the right strategy is challenging. Unfortunately, absolute return…
Next month, Savvy Investor will be exhibiting at the Inside ETFs conference in London, and we'd love to meet you there. Fund buyers and institutional investors can qualify for a free pass by contacting victoria.wells@informa.com. Anyone else can quote VIP code FKF2254SAVVY for a 20% discount. For more details visit Inside ETFs London.
Within the investment funds industry, actively managed funds face a number of obstacles, including increased competition, fee compression, and the rise of ETFs (just to name a few). These challenges all increase the pressure on active funds to achieve a positive risk-adjusted performance versus a benchmark index.
U.S. money market funds amassed their highest level of assets since October 2009 as investors shift cash into low-risk products amid worries about a global economic slowdown and trade tensions, a...
We introduce a new proxy for measuring corporate bond liquidity, using the price of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that hold corporate bonds. It measures the average liquidity across 900 corporate bonds every day, many more than other proxies used in previous Bank of Canada analysis. The new proxy nonetheless paints a very similar picture of liquidity conditions and confirms the previous…
Based on Morningstar data, the majority of smart beta exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have 10 times more exposure to developed markets versus emerging markets. However, that’s not to say it’s because smart beta strategies like those utilizing quantitative methodologies are less effective in emerging markets. Per an article in Barron’s, “the MSCI Emerging Markets Index generated [...] The post Are…
Mutual funds, like dinosaurs, might be roaming the capital markets with their sheer size, but exchange-traded funds (ETFs) might be preparing their active fund counterparts for extinction.
A new generation of online financial advisers allow investors to bypass funds and customize portfolios to match their environmental, social or governance-related goals.
The European fund industry saw a return to positive flows throughout the first half of this year against a backdrop of a volatile but positive market environment.
Even with the challenges facing its economy, such as slowing growth, China is prepared to exercise patience in what could be a long, protracted trade war. While the second largest economy is brimming with confidence, it might be wise for investors to give China-focused exchange-traded funds (ETFs) another look. The U.S.-China trade war is now [...]
The post China Prepared to Exercise Patience in…
Smart beta exchange-traded funds (ETFs) offer investors a different look as opposed to the run-of-the-mill passive index strategy and with the latest market volatility, investors may want to reconsider adding more value as opposed to growth in their portfolios. A market-capitalization-weighted index provides clients with exposure to a particular market based on security prices, without [...]
The…
As bond yields plunge to historic lows, investors craving for steady income are turning to dividend-focused funds. But beware — not all dividend exchange-traded funds are created equal.
The United States Oil Fund (NYSEArca: USO), which tracks West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures, and the United States Brent Oil Fund (NYSEArca: BNO), which tracks Brent crude oil futures, rallied Wednesday even after Morgan Stanley pared its price forecast for crude oil. Investors considering USO or other oil exchange-traded products have several factors to [...]
The post Oil ETFs Rise Even…
A large-than-expected drawdown in U.S. crude stockpiles helped offset concerns over weakening oil demand, lifting energy sector-related exchange traded funds on Wednesday. Among the best performing non-leveraged ETFs of Wednesday, the SPDR Oil & Gas Equipment & Services ETF (NYSEArca: XES) rose 2.8%, iShares U.S. Oil Equipment & Services ETF (NYSEArca: IEZ) gained 2.6% and SPDR [...]…
The iShares MSCI Frontier 100 ETF (NYSEArca: FM) is up more than 16% year-to-date and is outperforming broader emerging markets exchange traded funds. FM could keep moving higher, particularly is the U.S. dollar weakens and the Federal Reserve lowers interest rates. Frontier markets include those less advanced capital markets from the developing world with an [...] The post Frontier Stocks…
We saw technology become a hot-button topic during the U.S.-China trade war negotiations, but now agriculture has come to the forefront between the two nations. With China pulling out of buying U.S. agricultural products, it puts commodity exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in focus now that American farmers are set to lose one of their biggest customers.
With government bond yields still low and the Federal Reserve poised to cut interest rates this year, some high dividend strategies and the related exchange traded funds are increasingly attractive to income investors. The SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF (NYSEArca: SPYD) is an ETF to consider. SPYD tries to reflect the performance of [...] The post An Interesting Option For High…
While some are moving away from speculative-grade debt with lower credit ratings in a heightened risk-off environment, income-minded investors can still look to targeted junk bond exchange traded fund strategies that steer toward high-yield debt with a little less credit risk. According to ICE BofAML data, the spread between the most speculative-grade triple-C rated bonds [...]
The post 3 Junk…
This year has been a big year for the market, with political and economically charged news events that have catalyzed investors to enter a variety of ETF sectors, including equities, gold, and most recently bonds.