ETFs

Unless high-speed professional trading somehow leads to more Flash Crashes and everybody decides they need complete liquidity on all investments, how fast you can get in and out of these funds should not matter much.

Too many investors and even their financial advisors are not paying enough attention to “what’s under the hood” of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that have become so popular with investors in the past two or three years, according to S&P equity analyst Todd Rosenbluth.

After seeing assets flow out of ETFs in May -- the first time flows have reversed direction since August 2010 -- the ETF Industry saw a 1.4%, or $8 billion, decline in overall assets in June, according to State Street Global Advisors, which just released its latest Snapshot report tracking ETF funds.

After a strong start in the first four months of 2011, exchange-traded funds and mutual funds both saw cash flow out of products that invest long-term in stocks at the end of the second quarter.

Exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, have become increasingly popular among investors because they're more liquid and tax efficient than mutual funds and give them exposure to stocks, bonds and commodities they otherwise might not be able to access.

Assets in U.S.-listed exchange-traded funds and exchange-traded notes rose 39% from a year ago to $1.098 trillion at the end of June, up from nearly $788 billion at the end of June 2010, the National Stock Exchange said.

First Trust Advisors is planning to launch the First Trust ISE Cloud Computing exchange-traded fund on Nasdaq on Wednesday, which it says is the first ETF focused on cloud computing.

When it comes to trading, there are some considerations advisors can take into account to make their utilization of exchange-traded funds more efficient.

Understanding the Dynamics of ETF Liquidity, Pricing, and Trading

While France has devised a plan to roll over Greece’s debts and the Greek parliament -- in the face of a national strike and major protests -- just passed austerity measures requested by the European Union, these early signs that worst of the Greek debt crisis is over doesn't mean investors can relax and assume all is well.

A trio of new bond fund products on offer by Fidelity, iShares and PIMCO provide smaller investors with the opportunity get more of the benefits of a bond ladder without the usual bond fund downsides.

Brinker Capital this week became the latest independent investment management firm to add a suite of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to its defined contribution retirement plan offering, adding seven new ETFs that range from defensive fixed-income funds to aggressive equity-based funds.

Emerging Global Advisors, the sub-advisor to the EGShares family of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) this week launched a suite of sector-specific, emerging markets ETFs.

Invesco PowerShares Capital Management this week introduced a “suite” of nine new exchange-traded funds (ETFs) which it is calls Fundamental Pure Style ETFs, based upon the Research Affiliates Fundamental Index (RAFI).

Direxion has launched five new daily leveraged and inverse exchange-traded funds, focused on sectors that have attracted large assets and have high trading volume.

IndexIQ this week launched a new exchange-traded fund (ETF) for investors looking for exposure to small-cap real estate stocks and real estate investment trusts (REITs).

Investors' infatuation with both exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and dividend-paying stocks helped Global X Funds' new SuperDividend ETF fly out of the gates in its first trading day last week.

Are municipal bonds coming back into favor? Some industry analysts seem to think so.

Assets flowed out of ETFs in May, the first time flows have reversed direction since August 2010, according to State Street Global Advisors, which just released its latest Snapshot report tracking ETF funds.

New York-based exchange traded fund (ETF) provider Global X Funds this week rolled out a new ETF for investors who are looking to buy funds comprised of stocks that consistently deliver solid dividends to their shareholders.