ETFS

The money market funds asset group set a record for net inflows (+$259.8 billion) for the third consecutive week as the economic impact of the coronavirus continued to wreak havoc on investing. Conversely, taxable bond funds (-$62 billion) and municipal bond funds (-$13.7 billion) each had record-setting net outflows for the second consecutive week, while

Question: Why are there so many ETFs? Answer: ETF providers tend to make lots of money on each ETF so they create more products to sell. The large number of ETFs has little to do with serving your best interests. We leverage our data to identify three red flags you can use to avoid the

(Pexels) As I’ve discussed in recent articles, the main area where I see buying opportunities today is not stocks; it is commodities. Most are at a decade if not multi-decade lows and are at a 40%+ discount to their price just weeks ago. The U.S. is about to launch a $2T stimulus package, not to

In this article, we examine the significant weekly order flow and market structure developments driving XLK price action. The highest probability path for this week was for price discovery higher, barring buy-side failure at key support, 82s-83s. This primary expectation did not play out as a gap lower open developed in Monday’s trade, driving price

The SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (XOP), which is one of the largest energy ETFs, has been under a lot of pressure this year, thanks to the plunge in oil prices, and the fund’s future is looking challenging. The SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF’s portfolio consists primarily

Thesis Summary The Vanguard S&P 500 Growth ETF (NYSEARCA:VOOG) offers a variety of quality, blue-chip stocks that are sure to bounce once the market has bottomed. With large exposure to the technology and communication sectors, the fund will likely offer great returns in the coming years. Consider scaling into this fund as stocks find a

Main Thesis The purpose of this article is to evaluate the SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 High Dividend ETF (SPYD) as an investment option at its current market price. I have recommended, and owned, SPYD for a long time, but recent market action has altered my opinion on the fund. The fund’s poor performance indicates it

ETF Overview Invesco Dynamic Semiconductors ETF (PSI) owns a portfolio of large-cap semiconductor stocks. The fund seeks to track the investment results of the Dynamic Semiconductor Intellidex Index. Stocks in PSI’s portfolio should continue to enjoy favorable industry fundamental as the semiconductor industry is set to grow at a rate of 7.67% annually through 2024.

(This article was published to members of Yield Hunting on March 12th. All data herein is from that date. We have recently updated this analysis for members.) The down move in the markets definitely shows how funds are positioned and how they will react to a ‘liquidity crisis’. The data herein is through Thursday March

The coronavirus fallout turned catastrophic in a fast and furious fashion, as President Trump announced U.S. travel ban from Europe soon after the Covid-19 outbreak was declared a pandemic by the WHO. Global ex-U.S. Real Estate Fund (VNQI) could not escape the wrath of the bloodbath with a devastating -20% year-to-date performance, though has outperformed

Lipper’s fund asset groups (including both mutual funds and exchange-traded funds) took in $70.4 billion of net new money for the fund-flows trading week ended Wednesday, March 11. Money market funds (+$87.6 billion) were responsible for all of the week’s net inflows as investors parked a significant amount of money on the sidelines, driven by

I’ve been looking for closed-end fund bargains amidst the recent carnage. Buying cheap assets is great, but finding a double discount is even better. One fund that recently came to my attention is the NexPoint Strategic Opportunities Fund (NYSE:NHF). NHF has traded at a chronic discount, and it recently became more severe. The current NAV

If you were lucky enough to have purchased the VelocityShares 3x Inverse Crude Oil ETN (DWT) at the beginning of this year, then it’s been a great way to start off 2020. In line with a drop in WTI of near-historical proportions, DWT has rallied by around 270%, delivering astounding returns to investors. While these

Thesis Summary The Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS) can be used to gain exposure to equity markets outside of the U.S. Diversifying your portfolio is especially useful during a correction. Having said this, upon further analysis of the fund, we believe there are better alternatives out there to help investors balance out their portfolios.

ETF Overview Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (NASDAQ:VXUS) invests in international large-cap and giant-cap stocks. The ETF tracks the FTSE Global All Cap ex US Index, which includes over 7,000 stocks. These are quality large-cap or giant-cap stocks that have been through numerous economic cycles. However, the fund has a higher exposure to slower growth

ETF Overview iShares Global Healthcare ETF (NYSEARCA:IXJ) owns a portfolio of large-cap healthcare stocks in the world. The ETF tracks the investment results of the S&P Global 1200 Health Care Index. Stocks in IXJ’s portfolio should benefit from an ageing population in the world in the next few decades. In addition, these stocks will also

Main Thesis The purpose of this article is to evaluate the iShares MSCI United Kingdom ETF (EWU) as an investment option at its current market price. While I was optimistic on British equities heading in to 2020, EWU has been under pressure since mid-January. The recent election provided some clarity on Brexit, but negotiations continue

The Mid Cap Blend style ranks fifth out of the 12 fund styles as detailed in our Q1’20 Style Ratings for ETFs and Mutual Funds report. Last quarter, the Mid Cap Blend style ranked sixth. It gets our Neutral rating, which is based on an aggregation of ratings of 19 ETFs and 364 mutual funds

ETF Overview The Vanguard Industrials ETF (NYSEARCA:VIS) owns a portfolio of U.S. industrial stocks. The ETF basically tracks the performance of the MSCI US Investable Market Industrials 25/50 Index. The fund has delivered an excellent 257% total return in the past 10 years. Stocks in VIS’s portfolio are those with competitive advantages. While we are

The Large Cap Value style ranks second out of the 12 fund styles as detailed in our Q1’20 Style Ratings for ETFs and Mutual Funds report. Last quarter, the Large Cap Value style ranked second as well. It gets our Attractive rating, which is based on an aggregation of ratings of 67 ETFs and 855

On a year-to-date basis, the oil bears trading the ProShares UltraShort Bloomberg Crude Oil ETF (SCO) have received a strong return of nearly 60% in conjunction with a drop in the price of oil. While this return has certainly been a benefit to holders of the shares, I believe that this run is nearly over.

Main Thesis The purpose of this article is to evaluate the VanEck Vectors High-Yield Municipal Index ETF (HYD) as an investment option at its current market price. With equity losses rattling investor sentiment right now, I felt it was timely to do an updated review of HYD, which holds high yield muni bonds. This is

Investment Thesis Last July, I wrote two articles for Seeking Alpha in which I examined six of the most popular preferred stock ETFs. In the first of those articles, I considered the Invesco Preferred Portfolio ETF (PGX) alongside two of its competitors. In response to a lively discussion in the comments of that article, I

Thesis Welcome to Orchid’s Platinum Weekly report, in which we discuss platinum prices through the lens of the GraniteShares Platinum Trust (PLTM). PLTM reached a high of $10.00 per share on February 19, missing our Feb-20 target of $10.30 per share. Platinum has performed the worst among the precious metals space so far in February,

Main Thesis The purpose of this article is to evaluate the iShares U.S. Utilities ETF (IDU) as an investment option at its current market price. In the short term, the utilities sector continues to push to new highs, and it is actually the second best performing sector so far in 2020. With this bullish momentum,

Main Thesis The purpose of this article is to evaluate the Vanguard Mortgage-Backed Securities Index ETF (VMBS) as an investment option at its current market price. As we push into 2020, I find mortgage debt an attractive way to hedge against potential volatility in equities. This is a sector I have recommended for a while,

The Invesco DB USD Index Bullish Fund (NYSEARCA:UUP) has moved to levels that are near the highs from last October and macroeconomic trends suggest that these gains have the potential to continue. Key event factors in several different countries have positioned trading scenarios in ways that support the bullish outlook for this U.S. dollar-based ETF,

[embedded content] The 10 year Treasury is at 1.47%. The 30 year Treasury bond is at an all time low yield of 1.92%. Just deal with it. Get over it. There ain’t no yield in sight, and none is likely to show up anytime soon. The Fixed-Income markets have been flummoxed by the world’s central

For the third week in row, investors were overall net purchasers of fund assets (including those of conventional funds and ETFs), injecting $13.9 billion for Lipper’s fund-flows week ended February 19, 2020. Fund investors were net purchasers of taxable fixed income funds (+$7.9 billion), money market funds (+$6.3 billion), and municipal bond funds (+$1.8 billion),

Introduction A positive week for the municipal bonds and the closed-end funds that invest in them. Just a year ago, the market environment was totally different and it was possible to find many interesting buying opportunities in the area. Currently, the closed-end funds are traded at relatively high annual Z-scores. So, we are very cautious