Alibaba, Other Hot New Stocks Snatched By These ETFs

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Just call it the best of times for IPOs -- at least since the dot-com days of 1999-2000. In 2014, 275 initial public offerings hit the U.S. stock market, raising $85.2 billion. Here's a look at ETFs holding some of the best performing and most watched debuts this year. Five Top-Performing IPOs Radius Health (RDUS), a biopharmaceutical firm developing drugs for osteoporosis and other endocrine diseases, has rocketed 388% since its first close, on

ETF Asset Growth Driven By Demand For Domestic Stocks

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The 10th straight month of net inflow into exchange traded funds (ETFs) helped propel assets in the ETF industry to $1.995 trillion in November, according to the Investment Company Institute (ICI). The ETF industry last saw net outflow in January, to the tune of $15.15 billion. The ICI report confirms that ETFs were on the cusp of a milestone heading into December. On Dec. 22, assets in U.S.-listed ETFs reportedly crossed a record $2 trillion.

Three ETF Trends To Watch As Assets Hit $2 Trillion

Otmane El Rhazi from Investor's Business Daily - ETFs RSS.



Christmas came early for ETF industry watchers. The stock market rally drove assets in exchange traded funds past the $2 trillion mark this week, according to ETF.com. That milestone resulted from investors adopting ETFs as a low-cost, diversified way to access equities and fixed income -- not merely from product proliferation, said Todd Rosenbluth, director of fund research at S&P Capital IQ. "It took 11 years for the ETF industry to gather the

First Trust's New Active ETF Soaks Up Pimco Outflow

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Pimco, the California-based investment giant, continues to dominate active ETF market share. But First Trust is nipping at its heels. After co-founder Bill Gross' departure, Pimco continues to see outflow from its actively managed, fixed-income exchange traded funds. Investors pulled $312.8 million from Pimco products in November as its market share eroded by 4%. First Trust attracted $1.08 billion in November inflow, up from roughly $600 million

Russia ETFs Reel From Crumbling Ruble, Rate Hikes

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With the ruble crumbling to rubble, investors in Russia ETFs are fleeing the dust. The country's stocks nose-dived Tuesday after a massive interest-rate hike failed to prop up the currency, leading to worries about capital controls, as reported by IBD. The losses exacerbate Russia's market performance woes: its stock market and currency have fallen more than 55% and 47%, respectively, in 2014. "A substantial part of the decline is explained by the

PowerShares ETFs Tumble But 2 See Strong Gains

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PowerShares' largest ETF has tumbled in the December market sell-off. The $40.43 billion QQQ (QQQ), with $40.43 billion in assets, is 4% off its 14-year high set on Nov. 11. But it handily beat the S&P 500 with its returns of 21.52% vs. 14.39% for 1 year, average annual 24.48% vs. 20.40% for three years, 19.32% vs. 14.81% for five years and 10.56 vs. 5.36% for 10 years. QQQ is so popular that many investors, both institutions and individuals, know

PowerShares ETFs Innovate With Smart Beta: Dan Draper

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PowerShares didn't just help to pioneer smart beta ETFs. It continues to seize shifts in consumer sentiment to introduce novel and intelligent products. Even as the flagship PowerShares QQQ (QQQ) ("the cubes") continues to rank as one of the most actively traded ETFs on the stock market, newer products such as PowerShares Senior Loan Portfolio (BKLN) win plaudits and awards. The Illinois-based company offers 133 U.S.-listed ETFs with a combined

Energy ETFs Sink Hard On Supply Glut, Strong Dollar

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Investors in energy stocks hit the skids in the past three months. The price for West Texas Intermediate crude oil -- often used as a benchmark of U.S. prices -- sank below $60 per barrel Thursday, its lowest level since July 2009. "That takes the wind out of the sails of upstream companies that are getting less for their product," said Stewart Glickman, an equity analyst at S&P Capital IQ. Predictably, most energy ETFs are trading in lockstep with

Emerging Markets Hold Opportunity, Require Caution

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Investors in emerging markets should brace for volatility, said Heidi Richardson, global investment strategist for the investment management company BlackRock. For example, China ETFs reversed sharply Tuesday on rule changes to low-grade bonds by Chinese regulators. Notwithstanding Tuesday's action, several China ETFs bounced back nicely in the second half of the year. Experts at BlackRock point out that Chinese stocks have seen gains despite, or

China ETFs: A-Share Funds Soar On Recent Rule Changes

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You snooze, you lose. China is heeding that all-American adage. As of Nov. 30, the 34 exchange traded funds tracking China region stocks were up 6% on average in 2014. ETFs holding big-cap Chinese stocks gained as much as 8% year to date; some small-cap counterparts fell 1%. Their performance trails the S&P 500's 11.4% rise in the same period by a wide margin and neighboring India's scorching 25.3% stock market gains by a mile. Chinese regulators

IndexIQ Deal Highlights Growth In Alternative ETFs

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New York Life plunked down an undisclosed sum to buy IndexIQ last week. Announcing the acquisition, the mega insurer touted the small $1.5 billion ETF provider's expertise in alternative investing. Increasingly, investors expect more for their portfolios than just core holdings with pure beta exposures, said Adam Patti, CEO of IndexIQ, which will be folded into New York Life's MainStay Investments subsidiary after the deal closes in the first half

New York Life Set To Acquire ETF Provider IndexIQ

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New York Life, the largest U.S. mutual life insurance company, is set to acquire ETF provider IndexIQ. A leading provider of alternative ETFs, IndexIQ will be folded into the insurer's investment management arm, which includes MainStay mutual funds. The move marks New York Life's first foray into the world of exchange traded funds. "We intend to leverage IndexIQ's capabilities to become the dominant provider of nontraditional ETF solutions," Drew

Top Performing Funds: Core Style Straddles The Line

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Core mutual funds, which invest in both growth and value stocks, have outperformed both individual styles in the past 15 years and have been pushing ahead of value funds since the spring of last year. A $10,000 investment in the average core fund on Sept. 30, 1999, would have grown to $30,121 by Dec. 2 this year, according to Morningstar data. That result beats value funds' $27,924, growth funds' $14,272 and $21,468 for the S&P 500, a proxy for

ETF Investing: Rebalance To Handle Risk, Limit Losses

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For many investing experts, the ringing out of the old year also means taking stock of investments and fine-tuning portfolios. "Rebalancing to unloved areas is a great thing to do at this time of the year," said Tom Lydon, president of etftrends.com. Lydon likens this to a discipline -- and it's one that he notes often gets lost after a good year in the stock market, such as 2014. What does rebalancing an ETF portfolio really mean? "It is no

New ETFs: First Trust Dorsey Wright Focus 5 Tops $1 Bil

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The First Trust Dorsey Wright Focus 5 (FV) exchange traded fund (ETF) recently crossed $1 billion in assets, achieving that milestone in less than a year since its launch. Only a small number of ETFs have pulled off that feat, according to Ben Johnson, director of passive funds research at Morningstar. None did so at a more blistering pace than SPDR Gold Trust (GLD). Launched in November 2004, it racked up $1 billion in assets after just three

ETFs And Mutual Funds: Mix And Match To Have It All

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There's a David vs. Goliath story line in the world of funds: the relatively young, $1.89 trillion exchange-traded fund industry growing at the expense of the older, $15.8 trillion mutual fund industry. Don't let that neat little plot fool you. There's a way to mix and match mutual funds with ETFs to reach your investment goals, experts say. That would make for the real winner in the story: you. In Aaron Izenstark's book, ETFs are superior core

NorthCoast ETF Retirement Portfolios Stick With IVV

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NorthCoast Asset Management's ETF retirement portfolios are wrapping up 2014 with more gains. In November, U.S. equity positions have kept their momentum as leading indicators pointed to a strengthening economy in the U.S.. Foreign holdings have also been on the move as stimulus strategies in Japan and Europe have provided optimism overseas. Here are some highlights for the month. Breaking Records The iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV)

ETF Assets Close In On $2 Trillion Milestone

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Assets in exchange traded funds will soon cross $2 trillion -- a significant threshold for this relatively young investment vehicle. That's no mean accomplishment. It took almost 18 years for ETFs to reach $1 trillion in assets, but only about four more years to double to $2 trillion, according to ETF.com. The first ETF -- the $199.2 billion SPDR S&P 500 (SPY) -- debuted just over 20 years ago in 1993. Since then, many investors have sought out

ETF Managed Portfolio Assets Fell 6% In Q3

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Assets in ETF managed portfolios fell 6% in the third quarter, according to a new Morningstar report. That brought assets in 677 strategies from 143 firms tracked by the investment research firm to $96 billion -- on the same level as at the end of 2013. In Q3, U.S. equity strategies continued to claim the top spot with $32 billion in assets, but that was down 12% from Q2. ETF managed portfolios typically invest more than 50% of assets in

Three New ETFs Go After Hackers And Volatility

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What's new in November? Twelve exchange-traded funds that give investors a stake in investments ranging from cybersecurity firms to commodity futures. Here's a close look at three that have hauled in $10 million or more apiece in under a month of trading in the stock market: PureFunds ISE CyberSecurity (HACK) launched Nov. 12 and has marshaled $25 million in assets so far. It invests in 30 hardware- and software-oriented cybersecurity companies,

SPY IWM QQQ: Most-Active ETFs Rebound

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The most actively traded ETFs rebounded from mid-October dips. SPDR S&P 500 (SPY), a proxy for the broad stock market, has rallied 13% from its intraday low to an all-time high. Along the way, it regained its 40-week and 10-week moving averages. IShares Russell 2000 (IWM) has handed investors a 12% rally. It barely cleared its September before easing. It's now 3% below its all-time high set in early July. Its 10-week line is still running below