etf
An ETF (Exchange-Traded Fund) is an investment fund that holds a collection of underlying assets, such as stocks or bonds, in a single pooled vehicle. ETFs allow investors to purchase a variety of different securities at once, providing greater diversification compared to owning individual assets. They are traded on stock exchanges like regular stocks, allowing for intraday trading at market prices. ETFs typically have lower fees than mutual funds and often passively track an index or sector, making them a popular choice for investors seeking a cost-effective way to invest in a diversified portfolio.
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SPDR S&P 500 ETF $133.97 (New York symbol SPY; buy or sell through brokers; www.spdrs.com) holds the stocks in the S&P 500 Index, which consists of 500 major U.S. stocks that are chosen based on their market cap, liquidity and industry group. The index’s highest-weighted stocks are Exxon Mobil, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble, Apple, JP Morgan Chase & Co., Johnson & Johnson, IBM, Chevron, General Electric, Pfizer Inc., Coca-Cola Co. and AT&T. The fund’s expenses are just 0.10% of its assets....
SPDR DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE ETF $126.09 (New York Exchange symbol DIA; buy or sell through brokers; www.spdrs.com) holds the 30 stocks that make up the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The fund’s top holdings are IBM, ExxonMobil, Chevron Corp., 3M, Johnson & Johnson, McDonald’s Corp., Coca-Cola Co., Caterpillar Inc., United Technologies and Boeing Co. The fund’s expenses are about 0.18% of its assets. SPDR Dow Jones ETF is a buy....
POWERSHARES QQQ ETF $58.18 (Nasdaq symbol QQQQ; buy or sell through brokers; www.invescopowershares.com), formerly called Nasdaq 100 Trust Shares, holds the stocks that represent the Nasdaq 100 Index. That index is made up of the 100 largest shares on the Nasdaq exchange, based on market cap. The Nasdaq 100 Index contains firms from a number of major industries, including computer hardware and software, telecommunications, retail/wholesale trade and biotechnology. It does not contain financial companies. The fund’s expenses are about 0.20% of its assets. The index’s highest-weighted stocks are Apple, Microsoft, Qualcomm, Google, Cisco Systems, Intel, Amazon.com, Oracle Corp., Comcast Corp. and Amgen Inc....
SPDR S&P CHINA ETF $78.27 (New York Exchange symbol GXC; buy or sell through brokers; www.spdrs.com) is an exchange-traded fund that aims to track the S&P China BMI Index. This index is made up of all of the publicly traded Chinese stocks that are available to foreign investors. Right now, it holds 153 stocks. The $759-million fund’s top holdings are: China Construction Bank, 6.9%; China Mobile, 6.2%; Baidu Inc., 5.2%; Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, 5.1%; CNOOC, 4.7%; PetroChina, 3.9%; Bank of China, 3.7%; China Life Insurance, 3.5% and Tencent Holdings, 2.8%. SPDR S&P China ETF was launched on March 19, 2007. It has a 0.59% MER, and yields 0.8%....
GUGGENHEIM CHINA SMALL CAP ETF $28.48 (New York Exchange symbol HAO; buy or sell through brokers; www.guggenheimfunds.com) aims to track the AlphaShares China Small Cap Index. This index is made up of all investable Chinese stocks with market caps between $200 million and $1.5 billion. The $296.7-million fund’s top holdings are China Shanshui Cement Group, 1.9%; Mindray Medical, 1.5%; BBMG Corp., 1.4%; Tsingtao Brewery, 1.4%; Great Wall Motor, 1.4%; Soho China, 1.4%; Zhaojin Mining Industry, 1.3%; Semiconductor Manufacturing International, 1.3%; Zhuzhou CSR Times Electric Co., 1.2%; and China Everbright, 1.2%. As China’s economy matures, and consumers feel more protected by the expanding social-safety net, domestic spending should rise. The ongoing Arab revolution could also spur China’s leaders to boost spending on social programs and services to ease the growing gap between the rich and poor. This fund is well positioned to benefit from these trends....
Chinese stocks have lagged behind North American markets this year. That’s partly because investors are concerned about collapses of Chinese reverse-takeover stocks (RTOs), like Sino-Forest. That concern has spilled over to even high-quality Chinese stocks. RTOs bought bankrupt North American companies that were already listed on U.S. or Canadian exchanges. That bypassed the more rigourous initial public offering (IPO) process. Most are sound companies, but some, like Sino-Forest, have been accused of falsifying contracts and asset holdings. Still, the long-term outlook for China, and Chinese stocks, is bright. One of the best ways to profit is through low-fee exchange-traded funds (ETFs)....
Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) may have a place in your portfolio. That’s because, unlike many other financial innovations, they don’t load you up with heavy management fees, or tie you down with high redemption charges if you decide to get out of them. Instead, they give you a low-cost, flexible, convenient alternative to mutual funds. ETFs trade on stock exchanges, just like stocks. Prices are quoted in newspaper stock tables and online. You’ll have to pay brokerage commissions to buy and sell ETFs. However, ETFs’ low management fees still give them a cost advantage over most conventional mutual funds. As well, shares are only added or removed when the underlying index changes. As a result of this low turnover, you won’t incur the regular capital-gains bills generated by the yearly distributions most conventional mutual funds pay out to unitholders....
Gold hit an all-time high of $1,577.50 U.S. an ounce in April, before falling to around $1,500 U.S. Gold now trades at around $1,529.30 U.S. Like gold, silver reached an all-time high in April, when it hit $49.76 U.S. an ounce. It, however, fell sharply, and now trades at $35.88 U.S. Gold and silver could well regain their highs and move up even further over the longer term, although they will likely remain volatile. Higher prices would arise from investor fears that inflation or global political and economic instability will weaken key currencies, such as the U.S. dollar. If you want to hold a number of gold or silver stocks, these two exchange-traded funds offer top-quality global miners and low fees....
GLOBAL X COPPER MINERS ETF $19.61 (New York symbol COPX; buy or sell through brokers; www.globalxfunds.com) tracks the Solactive Global Copper Miners Index, which includes between 20 and 40 international companies that mine, refine or explore for copper. Germany-based Structured Solutions AG created this index. Canadian-based companies make up 48.9% of the fund’s holdings. It also includes companies based in the U.S. (8.7%) and Australia (6.7%), Global X Copper Miners ETF’s MER is 0.65%. Its top 10 holdings are Antofagasta plc at 5.6%, First Quantum Minerals, 5.5%; Inmet Mining, 5.3%; Jiangxi Copper, 5.3%; Ivanhoe Mines, 5.2%; HudBay Minerals, 5.2%; KGHM Polska Miedz, 5.1%; Freeport Copper, 5.1%; Grupo Mexico, 5.1%; Kazakhmys plc, 5.1%; Oz Minerals, 5.0%....
Prices of copper and many copper stocks have moved down lately, along with stock markets. That’s because of investor concerns about the global economic recovery, ongoing European debt problems and continued weakness in U.S. housing markets. In addition, the March earthquake/tsunami/nuclear disaster in Japan crippled many of that country’s factories. These facilities are now resuming production, but Japanese consumption of metals, including copper, will need more time to return to pre-disaster levels. (You can get our latest outlook on copper prices—and our top picks in copper stocks—ABSOLUTELY FREE in our new report, “Copper Mining: How to Choose the Best Copper Stocks and ETFs to Profit from the Reconstruction of Japan.” Click here to download your copy today.)...