ETFs: Exchange Traded Funds

Markets will drop 25 to 50 percent and it will happen abruptly

Lianfeng — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 19:13:05 GMT

Markets will drop 25 to 50 percent and it will happen abruptly, Deighan told CNBC. “There’s no basic foundation for the run-up we’ve had, been far too rapid. It continues to run up on what’s normally considered bad news,” he said. Deighan said in the past, Wall Street “shoved things down Main Street’s throat.” And now, he believes, "Washington" is trying to do the same. Main Street is slowly finding out "what’s going on with the banks, health care and the Federal Reserve’s moves" and they are “absolutely angry.” http://www.cnbc.com/id/32417835/site/14081545

GAPS TO CLOSE

suitman — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 15:14:08 GMT

POSTED 10/16, 11:15 ET

ETF	BUY @	SELL @	PROFIT %
EEM	40.5	41.38	2.17
EWH	15.71	15.97	1.65
EWJ	9.76	9.99	2.36
EWT	12.37	12.51	1.13
FXI	43.16	44.08	2.13
XHB	15.35	15.64	1.89
XLF	15.21	15.57	2.37

Etfs Technical buy/sell signals

tatrades — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 16:13:22 GMT

Post charts of Etfs showing buy/sell signals.

ETF OF THE DAY

Rollin In It — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 16:28:24 GMT

With financials turning positive at the moment SKF would be a great play. A basket of financials stocks long.

Play the hog and cattle markets with ETFs

Montana — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 15:36:55 GMT

Not ETFs actually but ETNs. Im not very smart in ETNs. And they are new to me, but this one looks interesting. COW. You can play the cattle market with this one. I just read where the cattle market is way down and hogs are even worse off.

Something to look into maybe.

What is ETF?

hkstock74 — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 22:57:44 GMT

top etfs of the week

SHOTCALLER — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 01:04:04 GMT

Weekly Rank, Name, Symbol

100 Value SmallCap S&P 600, RZV
99 China LargeCap Growth G D H USX PS, PGJ
99 India Earnings WTree, EPI
98 Software, PSJ
98 China 25 iS, FXI
97 South Korea Index, EWY
97 Growth MidCap S&P 400, RFG
97 Preferred Stock iS, PFF
96 Semiconductor SPDR, XSD
96 Financial Preferred, PGF
95 Brazil Index, EWZ
95 Sweden Index, EWD
94 Value S&P 500, RPV
94 Malaysia Index, EWM
94 Singapore Index, EWS
93 Internet Architecture H, IAH
93 Emerging Markets, EEM
92 Value SmallCap iS M, JKL
92 Technology MS sT, MTK
91 Value LargeCap Fundamental RAFI 1000, PRF
91 Retail, PMR
91 Latin Am 40, ILF
90 Pacific ex-Japan, EP

AWF

Maxxy — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 13:31:34 GMT

AllianceBernstein Global High Income Fund, Inc.

          Top 10 Fixed-Income Holdings
                                                            Portfolio%
        1)Turkey Government Bond 16.00%, 3/07/12                 3.45%
        2)Republic of Brazil 12.50%, 1/05/16 - 1/05/22           3.32%
        3)Argentina Bonos 7.00%, 10/03/15                        1.92%
        4)Republic of Colombia 7.375%, 1/27/17 - 9/18/37         1.61%
        5)Gaz Capital SA 6.51%, 3/07/22                          1.59%
        6)RSHB Capital SA for OJSC Russian                       1.58%
          Agricultural Bank 7.75%, 5/29/18
        7)Republic of Philippines 9.875%, 1/15/19                1.55%
        8)Republic of Brazil 8.25%, 1/20/34                      1.42%
        9)Philippine Government International Bond 8             1.37%
          .375%, 6/17/19
       10)Republic of Brazil 8.875%, 10/14/19                    1.28%

    Security Type Breakdown
                                                          Portfolio%
        Corporates - Non-Investment Grades:
            Industrial:
              Consumer Non-Cyclical                            3.90%
              Consumer Cyclical - Other                        3.36%
              Basic                                            2.87%
              Capital Goods                                    2.66%
              Communications - Media                           2.64%
              Communications - Telecommunications              2.55%
              Energy                                           1.88%
              Technology                                       1.81%
              Consumer Cyclical - Retailers                    1.61%
              Consumer Cyclical - Automotive                   1.10%
              Services                                         1.01%
              Other Industrial                                 0.65%
              Transportation - Services                        0.39%
              Transportation - Railroads                       0.14%
              Consumer Cyclical - Entertainment                0.12%
              Transportation - Airlines                        0.10%
              Consumer Cyclical - Restaurants                  0.10%
            SUBTOTAL                                          26.89%
            Financial Institutions:
              Banking                                          1.31%
              Finance                                          0.93%
              Insurance                                        0.31%
              REITS                                            0.22%
              Brokerage                                        0.06%
              Other Finance                                    0.05%
            SUBTOTAL                                           2.88%
            Utility:
              Electric                                         2.08%
              Natural Gas                                      0.52%
            SUBTOTAL                                           2.60%
            Credit Default Index Holdings:
              DJ CDX.NA.HY-100                                 0.94%
            SUBTOTAL                                           0.94%
         SUBTOTAL                                             33.31%
         Emerging Markets - Sovereigns                        21.99%
         Corporates - Investment Grades:
            Industrial:
              Basic                                            2.36%
              Energy                                           0.66%
              Communications - Telecommunications              0.58%
              Capital Goods                                    0.41%
              Consumer Non-Cyclical                            0.30%
              Technology                                       0.18%
              Consumer Cyclical - Other                        0.14%
            SUBTOTAL                                           4.63%
            Financial Institutions:
              Banking                                          2.00%
              Finance                                          0.35%
              Other Finance                                    0.32%
              Insurance                                        0.05%
            SUBTOTAL                                           2.72%
            Non Corporate Sectors:
              Agencies - Not Government Guaranteed             2.46%
            SUBTOTAL                                           2.46%
            Utility:
              Natural Gas                                      0.42%
              Electric                                         0.36%
            SUBTOTAL                                           0.78%
         SUBTOTAL                                             10.59%
         Quasi-Sovereigns:
            Quasi-Sovereign Bonds                              5.85%
         Governments - Treasuries:
            Treasuries                                         5.54%
         Governments - Sovereign Bonds                         5.47%
         Emerging Markets - Treasuries                         4.80%
         Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities:
            Non-Agency Fixed Rate CMBS                         4.36%
         Emerging Markets - Corporate Bonds:
            Industrial:
              Basic                                            0.95%
              Other Industrial                                 0.50%
              Communications - Telecommunications              0.39%
              Consumer Non-Cyclical                            0.14%
              Communications - Media                           0.04%
            SUBTOTAL                                           2.02%
            Financial Institutions:
              Banking                                          1.21%
              Other Finance                                    0.23%
            SUBTOTAL                                           1.44%
         SUBTOTAL                                              3.46%
         Bank Loans:
            Industrial:
              Communications - Media                           0.61%
              Consumer Non-Cyclical                            0.32%
              Capital Goods                                    0.24%
              Technology                                       0.20%
              Services                                         0.19%
              Consumer Cyclical - Other                        0.13%
              Basic                                            0.13%
              Energy                                           0.08%
              Consumer Cyclical - Automotive                   0.02%
            SUBTOTAL                                           1.92%
            Utility:
              Electric                                         0.27%
            SUBTOTAL                                           0.27%
            Financial Institutions:
              Insurance                                        0.10%
            SUBTOTAL                                           0.10%
         SUBTOTAL                                              2.29%
         Asset-Backed Securities:
            Home Equity Loans - Floating Rate                  0.62%
         Governments - Sovereign Agencies                      0.47%
         Local Governments - Regional Bonds                    0.37%
         Inflation-Linked Securities                           0.28%
         Equities:
            Warrants                                           0.11%
         Preferred Stocks:
            Financial Institutions                             0.03%
         SUBTOTAL                                              0.03%
         Short-Term Investments:
            Investment Companies                               0.27%
            Treasury Bills                                     0.19%
         SUBTOTAL                                              0.46%
         Total                                               100.00%

    Country Breakdown
                                                          Portfolio%
                United States                                 41.24%
                Russia                                        10.02%
                Brazil                                         8.94%
                Indonesia                                      4.78%
                Turkey                                         4.44%
                Venezuela                                      3.99%
                Philippines                                    3.67%
                Colombia                                       3.19%
                Argentina                                      2.20%
                Kazakhstan                                     1.78%
                Hungary                                        1.78%
                Peru                                           1.49%
                Uruguay                                        1.44%
                Panama                                         1.17%
                El Salvador                                    1.16%
                Canada                                         1.05%
                Hong Kong                                      0.90%
                Ukraine                                        0.82%
                Dominican Republic                             0.67%
                Ghana                                          0.54%
                Egypt                                          0.49%
                Gabon                                          0.44%
                India                                          0.43%
                United Kingdom                                 0.43%
                Iceland                                        0.41%
                Australia                                      0.38%
                Jamaica                                        0.37%
                Singapore                                      0.25%
                Bermuda                                        0.23%
                Cayman Islands                                 0.17%
                Netherlands                                    0.17%
                Ireland                                        0.15%
                Luxembourg                                     0.15%
                South Africa                                   0.14%
                France                                         0.12%
                Nigeria                                        0.11%
                Germany                                        0.11%
                Italy                                          0.10%
                Belgium                                        0.04%
                Japan                                          0.03%
                Poland                                         0.01%
                Total                                        100.00%

    Credit Quality Breakdown
                                                          Portfolio%
                    AAA                                        4.71%
                    AA                                         0.63%
                    A                                          1.24%
                    BBB                                       31.89%
                    BB                                        36.85%
                    B                                         17.43%
                    CCC                                        5.27%
                    CC                                         1.07%
                    C                                          0.27%
                    D                                          0.18%
                    A-1+                                       0.46%
                    Total Investments                        100.00%

    Portfolio Statistics
           Percentage of Leverage:
                  Bank Loans:                0%
                  Investment Operations: 10.76%*
                  Preferred Stock:           0%
           Total:                         10.76%

           Avg. Maturity:        9.21 Years
           Duration:             5.42 Years
           Total Net Assets:    $858.7 Million
           Net Asset Value:     $11.25
           Number of Holdings:   510

This is information I found in Yayoo Finance

T-Bills

WSS Admin — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 05:07:42 GMT

If you really want to put on your cowboy hat and go "buck wild," there is a product for you. Direxion -- a name you might have heard as a way to play the bank-industry woes, via the Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3x Shares (Symbol: FAZ) -- has set up four separate triple-leverage interest-rate ETFs.

•    Direxion Daily 10-Year Treasury Bull 3x (Symbol: TYD)
•    Direxion Daily 30-Year Treasury Bull 3x (Symbol: TMF)
•    Direxion Daily 10-Year Treasury Bear 3x (Symbol: TYO)
•    Direxion Daily 30-Year Treasury Bear 3x (Symbol: TMV)

Article about FAS and FAZ reverse splits

Montana — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 22:51:15 GMT

Don Dion

07/07/09 - 09:00 AM EDT

The combination of market volatility and the methodology of Direxion Shares Daily Financial Bull(FAS Quote) ETF and Direxion Shares Daily Financial Bear(FAZ Quote) has eroded the per-share value of these ETFs, prompting the issuer to notify investors of reverse splits planned for July 8.

The low price of FAZ and FAS, approximately $5 and $8 respectively, has caused a surge of volume in the funds in recent months as investors require more shares to meet intraday hedging objectives. The pending reverse split of the shares should lower transaction fees for frequent investors while discouraging investors who should avoid the funds in the first place.

FAS and FAZ were launched by Direxion in November of 2008, as measures of volatility reached incredible peaks. As investors were looking for even greater means to bet on the market's intraday moves, Direxion introduced the two triple-leveraged funds, which provide 3 times exposure for shareholders on a daily basis. Because the funds have a daily "reset" in their tracking of the market, risk that a long-term loss will result grows over time.

In one of my recent articles, "Big Action in Triple-Leveraged ETFs," I discussed how math can work against long-term holders of leveraged ETFs. Because the funds only track returns on a daily basis, a percentage move down that follows a percentage move up can be detrimental. Case in point: FAS, the 3 times bull ETF, is down more than 67% year-to-date while its bearish peer FAZ is down nearly 86%. Clearly, these ETFs do not track the movement of the actual market over time.

Direxion Shares and Direxion Funds, managed by Rafferty Asset Management is the issuer of leveraged index funds, ETFs and alternative-class fund products for investment advisors and sophisticated investors who seek to effectively manage risk and return in both bull and bear markets. Founded in 1997, the company has approximately $6.5 billion in assets under management as of May 31, 2009. Disclosure available on the company's Web site further specifies that the products are intended for advanced investors only.

On Wednesday, July 8, Direxion will execute a 1-for-5 reverse split of the shares of FAS and a 1-for-10 reverse split of the shares of FAZ. Because of the split, some investors will be left holding fractional shares that cannot be traded on NYSE Arca. According to Direxion's press release:

Thus, FAS and FAZ will redeem for cash a shareholder's fractional shares at the Funds' respective split-adjusted NAVs as of July 8, 2009. Such redemptions could cause a shareholder to realize a gain or loss in connection with the redemption of the shareholder's fractional share. Otherwise, the reverse split will not result in a taxable transaction for holders of FAS or FAZ shares. No transaction fee will be imposed on shareholders for such redemption.

Direxion will provide a one-time opportunity for shareholders to redeem their odd-lot shares. While the split will hike up the price of FAS and FAZ, potentially discouraging some investors from scooping up shares, further market volatility could erode the price of FAS and FAZ once again in the future.

The reverse split in FAS and FAZ should dampen the explosion in volume that the funds have seen in the past few months. Since the share price of FAS and FAZ has been so low -- approximately $8 and $5, respectively -- investors have had to buy more and more shares to have equivalent investments.

The drop in price has also potentially attracted investors who do not belong in leveraged funds. With higher share prices and lower share volume, the headlines for these funds may finally become representative of their actual meaning to the market.

In a Q&A available on their website, direxionshares.com, the issuer notes that the reverse split could be beneficial to their shareholders. The primary reason that Direxion is completing the split is the fees that are currently incurred by shareholders. Direxion notes:

The bid-ask spread is expected to decline as a percentage of the price paid per share. For instance, a penny spread on a $5 stock is 20 basis points (0.2%), while a penny spread on a $50 stock is 2 basis points (0.02%). Further, commissions charged by brokers who assess their clients on a per share basis will be smaller as investors will need to buy or sell fewer shares to meet their investment goals. In short, Direxion believes that the reverse splits will adjust the share prices to a more cost efficient level for the Funds' shareholders.

While investors may begrudge the taxable event that will result from redeeming odd-lot shares in the wake of the split, the reduction in transaction fees may be a satisfying reward.

Direxion's reverse split will reduce fees and refocus investors in the short term, but due to the nature of the funds, long-term problems will remain. The split will prop up the funds' price for now, but erosion could haunt investors once again. In the meantime, it is more important than ever for investors to focus on the true purpose of the funds: as an intraday hedge for sophisticated investors.

Top ETFs

SHOTCALLER — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 02:34:46 GMT

Monday, June 29, 2009

ETFs Up +50% Since March 31st

At quarter-end it is always interesting to see what some basic performance scans show up. Case in point, the ETFs which are up more than +50% since the closing price on March 31st:

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Great to see this new category.

SHOTCALLER — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 15:00:28 GMT

ETFs are the fastest growing segment of the stock market. They are becoming very popular as a hedge with a basket of family stocks.

They appear as a fund but trade like stock.