The California Public Employees’ Retirement System's (CalPERS) decision to dump its hedge fund program has set off a discussion about the importance of cost, simplicity and liquidity in investment products. These are three characteristics that have helped the exchange-traded fund (ETF) industry grow among institutional investors. So what could CalPERS' move mean for ETFs in the future?
Having been well schooled in the meaning of the term “black swan event” over the last decade, investors are already peeking around corners and looking for places to hide in case something unexpected pops up to derail the global economy. And, as tensions rise in Ukraine and other areas of the world, investors seem more jittery than ever. So how is all this fear playing out in the exchange-traded fund space? A couple of trends came to light this past week.
Investors are also showing renewed love for Asia - aside from Japan, Asian emerging markets have drawn investors’ attention as China’s growth outlook improves. That’s coming at the expense of developed equity exchange-traded fund (ETF) exposures - Europe in particular as the region struggles to juice its economy towards growth with little or no luck.
Gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) lose their predictive power, leveraged gold ETFs under perform, and other must-read stories about ETFs that track this bright, shiny metal.
Canada’s biggest investors haven’t wholeheartedly embraced exchange-traded funds (ETFs), but that could be changing, according to a new survey of institutional ETF use by Greenwich Associates. Tough investment conditions and rising interest rates in particular have increased institutional interest in using ETFs to gain exposure to new asset classes—not just equities.
It’s been years now since Japan first initiated its plan to juice up its economy by buying domestic exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Back in 2010, the Bank of Japan started buying ETFs that track the Nikkei Stock Average and the Topix Index. At a time when ETFs were the target of some serious regulatory side-eye post-Flash Crash, Japan’s innovative use of the products as a pillar of Abenomics caught my eye. Four years on, however, and investors are showing their skepticism about the link between ETF inflows and the health of the overall economy.
Significant exposure to equities driving returns.
“I can’t believe it’s almost over!” That's the universal lament I’ve been hearing ever since the calendar ticked over to August 1. Back-to-school ads are on TV and everyone is turning their minds to September. But summer’s not over yet for exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
The rising cost of futures trading is a challenge for many investors right now and apparently according to Reuters some large institutions—including endowments and sovereign wealth funds—are turning to exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to bring down the cost of trading them.
Portfolio manager Jim Morrow says there's one story investors aren't talking about enough: the growing strength of U.S. financials.