Retirement: U.S. ETFs Catch Eye Of NorthCoast's Jamin

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NorthCoast Asset Management is betting on the U.S. As 2015 gets underway, NorthCoast's ETF retirement portfolios are rich with U.S. exchange traded funds. The strategy is based in part on macroeconomic sentiment. "The U.S. economy is strengthening," said Patrick Jamin, chief investment officer for NorthCoast. "It's one of the few major economies that are likely to accelerate in 2015." An improving job market and lower crude oil

ETFs Stun With $50.8 Bil Dec. Inflow; $240.8 Bil In '14

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The ETF juggernaut rolled on in December, crushing mutual funds on its way to an 11th straight month of net inflow. Investors plowed a whopping $50.8 billion into the nation's equity, bond and hybrid exchange traded funds combined. That pushed U.S. ETF industry assets to $1.974 trillion at the end of December, up 1% over the previous month, according to Investment Company Institute, a trade association. Over the past 12 months, ETF assets

ETFs Favored For Their Flexibility

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With global capital markets in constant flux, it's paramount for active investors to employ flexible instruments so that they can reposition their portfolios at any time and access any market they wish. It's no different for active traders in retirement accounts, where, in addition to flexibility, minimizing fees helps avoid erosion of the tax-advantaged benefits they provide. ETFs offer the combination of these advantages. "From my standpoint, <>

ETFs: Spotlight On Smart Beta Investment Strategies

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The ever-green, overused term "smart beta" came under the spotlight on day two of ETF.com's eighth annual Inside ETFs conference in Hollywood, Fla., which concludes Wednesday. Smart beta exchange traded funds offer an alternative to traditional cap weighting of portfolio holdings. Recently, some analysts have tried to popularize use of the term "strategic beta." That doesn't imply traditional passive indexing lacks smarts, they say. Others argue

ETFs: With SEC Settlement Over, F-Squared Moves Ahead

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The new CEO of F-Squared, the largest ETF strategist, is ready to put the old stuff behind. "It's done. We came to a resolution" with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Laura Dagan told IBD. She spoke on the sidelines of ETF.com's eighth annual Inside ETFs conference, taking place in Hollywood, Fla., Jan. 25-28. "I was hired to be CEO of the future, that's what I am focused on," Dagan said, while adding: "There's always room for

ETF Choices, Low Trading Fees Make Best Brokers A Hit

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Most ETF investors worry about stock market turmoil and uncertainty. But as the best online stock brokers know, others live for volatility. Of a certain kind. "Our customers like to trade products that are volatile and have great liquidity," said Salomon Sredni, CEO of TradeStation , an online brokerage firm focused on the trading community rather than buy-and-hold investors. For active, swing and day traders, the intraday volatility of stocks and

Europe ETFs: Where to Invest As ECB Announces Bond Buy

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Currency-hedged Europe exchange traded funds popped Thursday on news of a mammoth bond-buying program in the ailing region. Mario Draghi, president of the European Central Bank, unveiled a plan to pump 60 billion euros ($70 billion) a month to stimulate economic growth and curb the threat of deflation. Analysts had expected the program, known as quantitative easing, to target the spending of 50 billion euros a month. "Investors saw this coming,

Inside ETFs Conference To Focus On Financial Advisers

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It's the exchange traded fund shindig of the year, and it rocks. Without further ado, here's Matt Hougan -- president of ETF.com, which is organizing the event -- telling IBD what to expect from the eighth annual Inside ETFs conference taking place in Hollywood, Fla., Jan. 25-28: IBD: How has the event grown? Hougan: The conference has grown in terms of registrations every year, from 400-plus in year one to roughly 1,500 last year. This year, we are

Top Three Actively Traded ETFs Fall Off Perches

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The three most actively traded ETFs have tumbled from their recent all-time highs and are trading below their 50-day moving average lines. SPDR S&P 500 (SPY) is 5% off its old high, set in December. IShares Russell 2000 (IWM) is 4% below its record, as is PowerShares QQQ (QQQ). Both the SPY and QQQ ETFs have a large-cap stock bent. But QQQ offers a much stronger tech stock tilt -- 56% vs. SPY's 17.7%. It also allocates far more to its top 10 stock

Best ETFs 2015: Dividend, Low Volatility ETFs Rise

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A choppy start to the stock market in January may hold a taste of what lies ahead for ETF investors in 2015. In a word, volatility. Analysts debated the causes: Was it tumbling oil prices? Or the poor outlook in Russia and Greece? Or the expectations of a Fed rate hike? Or the Swiss currency stunner? Whatever the case, this much was certain: Investors didn't like it. SPDR S&P 500 (SPY) has lost 1.9% since the start of the year. It's now trading

SPDR ETFs: Why Is State Street's Nick Good Excited About 2015?

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State Street Global Advisors may be synonymous with SPDR S&P 500 (SPY). But the second-largest ETF provider in the U.S. has several other aces up its sleeve: a top-notch suite of sector and industry ETFs, a partnership with DoubleLine that's all the buzz, and a robust pipeline that includes the new Quality Mix SPDRs. The company's 145 U.S.-listed ETFs hold $434.74 billion in assets combined. Nick Good, senior managing director and chief operating

Swiss ETF Gain On Currency Move: 3 Things To Know

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Switzerland's central bank stunned markets Thursday by suddenly yanking the cap on the franc-euro rate. That immediately strengthened the Swiss franc, which soared 30% higher against the euro. At the same time, it depressed local stock prices on fears that the stronger currency would hurt Switzerland's exports to Europe. The price of gold also jumped. SPDR Gold Trust (GLD), which tracks the price changes of gold bullion, gapped up 3% Thursday. It

3 Sectors To Beat: Health, Tech and Industrials

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That clanging noise you just heard was Alcoa (AA) bolting out of the Q4 earnings season gate. On Monday, the metals firm reported earnings per share of 33 cents, up from 4 cents in the year-earlier period. Of 24 firms that have reported so far this quarter, 20 beat estimates, two missed and two met. That's an 83% beat rate, well ahead of 64% at this point last quarter, S&P Capital IQ notes. Successful investors pay close attention to a company's

Risky Funds? Leveraged ETFs Come Under SEC Scanner

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Economists at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission have begun scrutinizing riskier types of exchange traded funds to determine whether they exacerbate market volatility. The SEC is working on a white paper on risky ETFs, primarily focused on leveraged and synthetic funds, Reuters reported Friday. Are these strategies risky? Direxion Investments, one of the largest providers of leveraged ETFs, rejects that contention outright. "Leveraged

Three Ways To Play ETFs In Troubled Europe

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The beleaguered euro sank to a nine-year low last week, but investors aren't abandoning this ship. In the four weeks that ended Jan. 7, Europe ETFs drew $400 million in new money despite tumbling 9.7%, TrimTabs Investment Research reports. To TrimTabs CEO David Santschi, that's troubling. He believes that fund investors, "who tend to be poor market timers," are bottom-fishing. "I simply wouldn't touch Europe ETFs on the long side now," he said.

Best ETFs For 2015: Retail Poised To Rise

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Tight-fisted American consumers did little for ETFs holding retail, apparel, media, hotel, restaurant or automobile stocks in 2014. But that could be changing in 2015. As the broad market-tracking SPDR S&P 500 (SPY) returned 13.5% and defensive sectors such as utilities soared as much as 28.7%, Consumer Discretionary SPDR (XLY) climbed a relatively modest 9.5%. Now, with recent job and GDP numbers looking good -- not to mention the entirely

BlackRock iShares Tops 2014 ETF Flow

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BlackRock's iShares ETFs captured $102.8 billion in new investor money in 2014, taking the top industry spot in terms of inflow, BlackRock reports. Globally, exchange traded funds saw a record $330.7 billion in inflow, with iShares accounting for 31% of the total. Record demand from Asian and Latin American customers for both U.S. and European iShares ETFs helped to drive the growth. The U.S. product line gathered $82.8 billion in new assets,

Five ETFs That Top Strategists Say Could Excel In 2015

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For the ETF industry, 2014 went out with a bang. On Dec. 22, total assets in roughly 1,600 U.S. exchange traded funds reportedly topped $2 trillion. That milestone confirmed a stock market rally that saw SPDR S&P 500 (SPY) rise 13.5% last year. But out with the old and in with the new. We asked investment pros to provide their outlook for 2015 and top picks for ETF investing. J.J. Schenkelberg, senior portfolio manager with CLS Investments in

Five Best ETF Themes For Investors In 2015

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ETFs proved a winner in 2014, with assets in U.S. funds topping $2 trillion on Dec. 22. That confirmed the popularity of exchange traded funds, as well as a successful year for the stock market. The start to 2014 was rocky, with a stock market slowdown induced by the polar vortex. In the second quarter, the Fed's signals on ending its bond purchase program created volatility. Then things calmed down. As the year wore on, investors adjusted well to