Exchange-Traded Funds

Schwab to Launch Commission-Free ETFs

unclemike — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:41:08 GMT

Why Schwab’s ETFs Could Open Doors

http://www.etftrends.com/2009/02/why-schwabs-etfs-could-open-doors.html

http://www.etftrends.com/2009/11/schwab-readies-to-launch-commission-free-etfs.html

The first four of Schwab’s eight ETFs will begin trading tomorrow morning:

Schwab U.S. Broad Stock Market (NYSEArca: SCHB), 0.08% expense ratio
Schwab U.S. Large-Cap (NYSEArca: SCHX), 0.08% expense ratio
Schwab U.S. Small-Cap (NYSEArca: SCHA), 0.15% expense ratio
Schwab International Equity (NYSEArca: SCHF), 0.15% expense ratio

In December, Schwab will launch four more funds:

Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Growth (NYSEArca: SCHG), 0.15% expense ratio
Schwab U.S. Large-Cap Value (NYSEArca: SCHV), 0.15% expense ratio
Schwab International Small-Cap Equity (NYSEArca: SCHC), 0.35% expense ratio
Schwab Emerging Markets Equity (NYSEArca: SCHE), 0.35% expense ratio

ETF Screener does not get saved

wing2go — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 03:13:05 GMT

I added some criterias in the ETF Screener and saved it in a name. However, next time when I open it again, it does not seem to have saved my criteria. Moreover, the criteria does not shown either.

JAPAN ETFs

Super_Snark — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:22:05 GMT

Japan has been the big party pooper in the latest global stock rally. The Nikkei peaked at the end of August, and since then has been on a roller coaster ride downhill. All the while since then, the stock market has gotten awfully frothy stateside. A major surprise on Monday (to me, at least) was the news that Japan’s third quarter GDP expanded faster than expected. However, the Nikkei ended up flat that day and since then it has resumed its slide. While I have no clue where and when it will bottom, I see an opportunity, here. Now, the manager of SGENX has said that Japanese stocks, in general, are trading at “depression era” lows. I pay little attention to mutual funds (I actually hate them) but I think this guy is onto something. Stock markets have never moved in a rational manner, and this is where the ETF investor might have a shot at taking advantage of the market’s latest bout of shortsightedness.

So what are our tools here? None of the Japan ETFs are terribly cheap and few of them trade on good volume. Oddly enough, the cheapest Japan ETF is WisdomTree Japan Total Dividend (ticker DXJ), with an ER of .48 and yield just shy of 3%. Another noteworthy metric of DXJ is that it is a hair shy of breaking even for the year-to-date. In other words, this ETF had gone nowhere in almost 10 months, except up and down and back where it started. Is this because of a badly composed index or an unappreciative market? I tend to think the later, because this DXJ’s portfolio is anything but junk. Its poor performance suggests some upside to its holdings (we hope). The other large cap Japan ETFs are ITF, JPP, PJO and EWJ. Only EWJ has a significant asset base and trades throughout the day, while the other three trade have tiny asset bases and trade only intermittently through the day, if at all.

The smaller-capitalization options here are SCJ, JSC and another WisdomTree product, DSJ. All three of these strongly overweight consumer services, which should mean more emphasis on the Japanese consumer and less on exports. With lower unemployment and a lot less consumer debt, I think the Japanese consumer might be the best customer as opposed to the overseas customers.

All of the Japan ETFs are strapped with a significant issue – stagnant pricing. With no overlap between Tokyo and US market hours, intraday pricing is a speculative matter. These ETFs can trade at significant discounts or premiums to NAV. While the markets are closed in Japan, the prices on these ETFs dance around all day – or maybe not. Some of the lesser ETFs trade infrequently, going hours, even days between trades. What you have then are virtually closed–end funds, and you will need to take note of discounts and premiums, though it isn’t likely you will work that to your advantage.

In any case, you will need to be proactive in placing orders for any of these, instead of just leaving open a limit order. To highlight this issue note that ITF, opened at $41.50 today, traded down to 40.75 and closed at 40.98, so we are left wondering what the right price was. According to M*, the NAV was 41.44, meaning someone bought the ETF at a discount today. JPP only traded twice in the past trading 5 days, which means it needs to build some assets and trading volume to be a viable option.

In summary, invest carefully and good luck to all.

The Snark!

Preferred stock ETFS

lamendelson — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 18:29:16 GMT

I am invested in PGX- Power Shares Perferred Stock ETF. It has done pretty well, up about 15% for the year. However Powershares PFF which has a very similar portforlio about 3/4 financials is up 30% for the year. I can't understand the difference in the return. Any ideas?

Vanguard Energy ETF's

temery — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:32:34 GMT

Any suggestions? I honestly do not entirely understand the difference between ETF's and Mutual Funds, but I am told that Vanguard has few options when it comes to mutual funds focusing on energy.

I am looking to put ~ $10,000 into an energy fund. ETF's were suggested ...

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Brokerage with Automatic Rebalancing?

rklemaster — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 01:23:45 GMT

I would like to build an all ETF portfolio for 401(k) rollovers. It will take many funds at different weightings to get maximum diversification, and manually rebalancing could be a major pain. Does anyone know a brokerage that offers an automatic rebalancing tool like the functionality that is offered with many 401(k) plans?

I have checked my bank, Vanguard, Etrade, Schwab, Ameritrade, and Scottrade, but can't find a tool like this. The closest I could find was Ameritrade with their "Amerivest" option, but it doesn't let you pick your own ETFs and has an additional yearly fee.

List the best ETFs

PMohan — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 01:22:50 GMT

Please provide best ETFs avaiable Globally

I want to move from mutual funds to ETFs

Thanks

Pete

Hedge against falling dollar

mjoanfoster — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 21:25:33 GMT

I have been advised that a Hongkong Exchange ETF called PAIF-ABF (mix of govt debt from China, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong and the Philippines) may be a good hedge against a falling dollar since these currencies are undervalued against the dollar. Anyone know anything about this?

Best Healthcare ETFs

kklein1 — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 14:23:42 GMT

Wondering what are the opinons on the following Healthcare ETFs: XLV, VHT and PJP.

Looking to sell some Johnson&Johnson and be more diversified with a Healthcare ETF.

Thanks,

How big are the long term tax savings with ETF's

pinfish — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 14:49:30 GMT

I'm 38 years old and am building a long term (20 year) taxable portfolio. I will be using index funds or EFT's. I have a sum of greater than $100,000 to start with and then will be dollar cost averaging after that. I have seen that the average tax savings of EFT's over index funds have been 0.36% over 3 years and 0.77% since the eft's inception. If investing $1000 at each transaction ( lets say 4 trades per month) on scottrtade, $7 is 0.7%. Obviously this fee is when you buy, and when you sell. If this math is carried out over 20 years, how much is the real tax savings- assuming 15% long term capital gain taxes, and a 10% annual return? With the dividends being reinvested in the index funds automatically, and compounding longer - vs having to pay fees to reinvest with the eft's yourself- would this offset some of the tax savings seen with the EFT's? I can't seem to find "real world" case's to show me the long term difference. Thanks

Re-allocating

Mcaskill — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:25:33 GMT

Mcaskill

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Re-Allocation

10 hours, 45 minutes ago | Post #2728560

What would the Vanguard alternative be to the following allocation:

SPY-7.75%

VTV-7.75%

IWC-7.75%

VBR-7.75%

VNQ-4%

EFA-6.4%

EFV-6.4%

VSS-6.4%

DLS-6.4%

VWO-6.4%

WPS-3%

SHY-10%

IEF-15%

TIP-5%

Moving from ind equities to ETF's tomorrow, and considering this "adjusted" Merriman portfolio. I adjusted to 70/30 ratio which is where I want to be. 85% is within my IRA, and the other 15% is in a taxable brokerage acct. I do not have a Vanguard acct, but use a discount brokerage. This is a 6-figure portfolio, middle-aged semi-aggressive investor. I'm wondering if the non-Vanguard funds above have a less expensive Vanguard alternative that performs just as well?

Inflation ETF etc

yogibearbull — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:53:31 GMT

ETFs are rapidly evolving and growing.

Recently Schwab announced commission free trading for Schwab ETFs for Schwab customers. There goes one disadvantage of ETFs vs no load funds although for a limited universe of customers.

Now comes an ETF for inflation protection from Wisdom Tree

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/WisdomTree-Enters-the-etfsa-2173001966.html?x=0&.v=1

Free enterprise means that bold innovations are offered by new players looking to gain foothold.

etfconnect for sale

glallen — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:30:06 GMT

I just attempted to look at some ETF info on etfconnect.com and got the following message;
"The domain etfconnect.com is for sale"

That was news to me. What other web sites do others use for getting information on ETFs. I am aware of the data that Morningstar has for ETFs but sometimes it helps to look at the data from more than one single source.

Gordon

Best Way to Invest in Aussie Dollar?

jagor — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 08:59:37 GMT

What's the best way for an American investor--with a U.S. dollar account--to invest in Australian dollars?

On October 7 the Reserve Bank of Australia (RSB) raised its interest rate to 3.25%. I have heard lots of pundits on television predicting that the Aussie dollar will most likely reach parity with the greenback within 2010 [current rate is 1 Aussie dollar=0.922 U.S.

I know that there at least two Aussie dollar ETF's--AUD and FXA--and that Everbank sells Aussie dollar CD's.

So, which of the above is the best? Or there is another, better way to invest in Aussie dollars?

Thanks!

Jagor

Boulder Growth and Income is 5*. Last Dividend 10/08

roderick — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 19:10:13 GMT

Much talk on Yahoo how your fine firm can rate a dead

BIF five stars.

Is there something I am missing.

I have an MBA from Wharton and love your site

DTO

Don Basore — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 15:43:09 GMT

Has anyone else beeen watching this very volitale fund. It is a short on oil. I bought in a small position @ $74.29 today. Some days it swings by $5 or more, so beware. It is NOT for the faint at heart. My personal buy price was $75.00. Any input both pro & con is welcome . Don

DBP: Advantage of futures over bullion?

Ineophyte — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 02:15:24 GMT

What is the advantage of DBP? It invests in gold futures 80% and silver futures 20%. Why not just buy gold and silver bullion etf's at a 4 to 1 ratio?

Thomas

$1.00 cash + $1.00 worth of UDN = $2.00 unchanging in value over time???

Ineophyte — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 03:28:42 GMT

Since UDN is designed to give a return opposite (negative or positive) to the movement of the American dollar index, would not a one-to-one composition of cash dollars to UDN cancel out any change in real value over time?

Assume Joe Investor has on October 25, 2009 a portfolio of $100,000 of which he uses to purchase on that date $50,000 worth of UDN, and leaves the remaining $50,000 in cash. Would Joe not still have the same amount of real wealth in October of 2010 or even October of 2020 as he did on October 25, 2009?

Thomas

CRB Index commodities ETF?

invest08 — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 19:50:09 GMT

Hi All,

I need some suggestion for investing in Lyxor Commodities ETF (listed in Europe and Asian markets) that track Commodities CRB (Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index).

1. Is CRB index a good proxy for commodities investment? I realized that CRB index based ETFs are not available (is that true?) in US market - is there any reason behind this?

2. Any views on Lyxor commodities ETF? Is this a good ETF?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions / pointers.

etf screen

mani6000 — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:45:32 GMT

How can I find out all the 5 star rated etf from the etf performance screen ?

Thanks

Brazil to impose taxes on foreign investors

closer — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 01:29:57 GMT

Check out the after-hours quotes for BRF and EWZ. Are investors reacting to this news?

"Oct. 19 (Bloomberg) -- Brazil will impose taxes on purchases by foreign investors of real-denominated, fixed-income securities and on purchases of stocks, Finance Minister Guido Mantega said.

The measures are being taken 'to avoid an excess speculation in the stock market and in capital markets,' Mantega told reporters in Sao Paulo.

Earlier today, the Brazilian real was cut to 'underweight' from 'overweight' in RBC Capital Markets’ model portfolio on concern the government would impose new taxes.

Today’s announcement reverses last year’s decision to end such taxes. In October 2008, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva eliminated a tax, known locally as IOF, of 1.5 percent on foreign investments in certain financial products and of 0.38 percent on foreign-currency loans.

'Excess global liquidity could lead to an over-appreciation of the real,' Mantega said. That would threaten to hurt the country’s exporters and further fuel demand for imports.

Foreign investor[s] will pay a 2 percent tax when they enter the country to buy stocks or fixed-income securities."

How do I invest in U.S. Exports?

Uncertain — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 22:30:01 GMT

Whenever the dollar drops everyone says that U.S. export companies do well. I wish there was an etf that was made exclusively of export based companies. Of course Coca Cola, Pepsi, but any other more diverse options ideas?

Looking for ETF's to replace PISRX

wino1 — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:47:52 GMT

Any suggestions appreciated.

DXO

sh2dist — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:12:40 GMT

I am looking for information concerning DXO. I bought a few shares back when oil was in the 30s and still have most of them, though I sold enough to cover my investment at about 70. DXO has been halted and does not even appear on my statement or account at this time. Apparently, it got too big for regulators. My question is what happens to it next? Obviously I can't sell even if I wanted to, or do anything else until it shows up again.

Anybody else in this boat? Anybody with information?

Thanks.

Actively Managed ETF

bandit9497 — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 19:56:19 GMT

This seems to be a new area that ETFs are moving in to. Today, ETFs usually follow a set strategy, have excellent transparancy and low costs. In the near future, ETFs seem to be moving towards an actively managed form.

This would make ETFs more like mutual funds, and presents some of the same issues. Mutual funds typically are not open about what they own. An actively managed ETF will need to address this, and from what I am reading, they are planning to provide clarity of what they own on a daily basis. Costs will go up from the very low costs found in a typical ETF. The fees will need to be held down to make this a worthwhile investment forum.

One of the advantages of a actively managed ETF is the ability to trade them on a daily, weekly or even montly basis. There are restrictions on most mutual funds in terms of an abilty to trade them easily.

thoughts?

thanks,