About.com Exchange Traded Funds

New Bond ETF - MINT

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:18:28 +0000

Another day, another new ETF. This time it's a bond ETF from PIMCO...

MINT - PIMCO Short Maturity Strategy Fund

The new bond ETF will trade on the NYSE Arca and track the Citigroup 3-month Treasury Bill Index. The fund is an actively managed ETF and will consist of short duration debt securities that will not exceed one year. The goal of the new ETF is to compete with money markets by providing an alternative with a higher yield.

To see more bond funds, look no further than our list of bond ETFs, which now includes MINT.

New Bond ETF - MINT originally appeared on About.com Exchange Traded Funds on Tuesday, November 24th, 2009 at 11:18:28.

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New Electric Grid ETF - GRID

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:21:27 +0000

Another new ETF launched last week; we seem to be seeing a lot of new funds lately. I even have another one to write about tomorrow. This time it's an industry ETF for the electrical energy sector from First Trust...

GRID - First Trust NASDAQ Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund

The new ETF will track the NASDAQ OMX Clean Edge Smart Grid Infrastructure Index and of course will trade on the NASDAQ. The ETF consists of 29 companies related to the electrical infrastructure industry. For example, companies involved with electrical meters, grids, storage, etc.

To see more energy ETFs, look no further than our Master List of Energy ETFs, which will now include GRID.

New Electric Grid ETF - GRID originally appeared on About.com Exchange Traded Funds on Monday, November 23rd, 2009 at 11:21:27.

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A New Actively Managed ETF � ALT

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:25:00 +0000

iShares launched their first actively managed ETF this week on the NYSE Arca...

ALT - the iShares Diversified Alternatives Trust.

The new ETF will consist of bond, commodity, currency and interest rate futures in order to expose discrepancies in the pricing of financial instruments. The new financial ETF wants to profit from the deviations of current asset prices and their historical norms.

Due to the complexity of the pricing structure, strategy and analysis, this new ETF will have to be "actively managed" by a fund manager in order to make it successful. While it's not the first actively managed fund to hit the market, it is definitely one of its own kind and the first of this type of ETF for iShares.

A New Actively Managed ETF � ALT originally appeared on About.com Exchange Traded Funds on Friday, November 20th, 2009 at 11:25:00.

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An Update About State ETFs - TXF and OOK

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:35:27 +0000

Earlier this� month I wrote some blog posts about the launch of two new State ETFs...

As of today, Geary Advisors announced they are also reducing fees on the new funds. And they are using a portion of the fees to help the fight against autism.

"Geary Advisors, LLC, announced today that it is in the process of reducing the fund fees for its two state-based exchange-traded funds OOK and TXF. The advisor has agreed to reduce investment advisory management fees and to reimburse other expenses to the extent the total annual fund operating expenses, as a percentage of average daily net assets, exceed .20 percent. A reduction or reimbursement lowers the expense ratio."

"At least 10 percent of the OOK and TXF management fees will go to support Aaron's Bridge, an Oklahoma nonprofit� organization working to establish and provide more treatment options in Oklahoma and Texas for children with developmental disabilities, including Autism Spectrum Disorder."

Texas State ETF (TXF) Launches Today

An Update About State ETFs - TXF and OOK originally appeared on About.com Exchange Traded Funds on Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 at 15:35:27.

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Charles Schwab to Launch ETFs

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:57:41 +0000

Charles Schwab is now part of the ETF universe by launching four new index ETFs...

SCHF - the Schwab International Equity ETF
SCHX - the Schwab US Large-Cap ETF
SCHA- the Schwab US Small-Cap ETF
SCHB - the Schwab US Broad Market ETF

SCHF is a foreign ETF that will track the FTSE Developend ex-US Index, and index with over 14oo international stocks. The two style ETFs SCHX (large-cap) and SCHA (small-cap) will track Dow Jones Indexes.

While these are the first few ETFs for Schwab, they will not be the last. They plan on rolling out more in the future. Also, in order to gain traction in the competitive ETF market, Schwab is offering online commission free trading for its customers who buy and sell these ETFs. That works.

Charles Schwab to Launch ETFs originally appeared on About.com Exchange Traded Funds on Monday, November 16th, 2009 at 13:57:41.

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New Gold ETF - GDXJ

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:13:22 +0000

Another new gold ETF hit the market this week. This time it's a small-cap style ETF from Van Eck Global.

GDXJ will track the Market Vectors Junior Gold Miners Index, which consists of small-cap stocks in the gold and precious metal mining industry. Some of the 38 companies included in the new ETF are New Gold Inc, Alamos Gold, and Silver Standard Resources.

Van Eck is also the mastermind behind GDX - the Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF, which launched back in 2006. GDX has 31 gold mining company stocks in its holdings.

To see a list of more gold ETFs like GDXJ and GDX, look no further than our list of gold ETFs.

New Gold ETF - GDXJ originally appeared on About.com Exchange Traded Funds on Friday, November 13th, 2009 at 15:13:22.

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Are ETFs Better Than Mutual Funds?

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 07:51:13 +0000

As you know, I have a lot of material about ETFs on this site. The good, the bad, and the not-so-ugly. However, just how good are these assets? Are they better than mutual funds?

There's no clear cut answer and every investment should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. However, if you really want to compare the two types of funds. I'm here...I mean we're here to help.

Mark Kennedy meet Lee McGowan. ETF Guide meet Mutual Fund Guide. Lee and I collaborated on our latest article comparing ETFs to mutual funds. The new piece gives you the story from both sides. Is an ETF better than a mutual fund or is a mutual fund better than an ETF? We both have are opinions, as you will see.

But wait, there's more! We also give you the inside scope on the tax implications of each product, the benefits, the risks, the whole enchilada. So without further ado...

Is an ETF Better than a Mutual Fund?

Are ETFs Better Than Mutual Funds? originally appeared on About.com Exchange Traded Funds on Wednesday, November 11th, 2009 at 07:51:13.

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New Treasury Linked ETFs - FIVZ, ZROZ

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:04:39 +0000

PIMCO launched two new treasury-linked ETFs last week, which track two U.S. Treasury Indexes as their benchmark.

FIVZ - the PIMCO 3-7 Year U.S. Treasury Index Fund follows the Bank of America Merrill Lynch 3-7 Year Treasury Index and will trade on the NYSE Arca
ZROZ - the PIMCO 25+ Year Zero Coupon U.S. Treasury Index Fund follows the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Long US Treasury Principal STRIPS Index and will also trade on the NYSE Arca.

FIVZ will consist of the 5-year treasury note along with other treasuries with similar durations and will rebalance monthly, while ZROZ will rebalance quarterly.

If you would like more information on the new ETFs, you can find it on PIMCO's website here.

Or if you'd like to see more similar ETFs, look no further than our list of bond ETFs,

New Treasury Linked ETFs - FIVZ, ZROZ originally appeared on About.com Exchange Traded Funds on Monday, November 9th, 2009 at 13:04:39.

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Powershares Build America Bond ETF

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:51:14 +0000

Powershares has put together a new ETF to track the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Build America Bond Index. The BAB ETF will consist of securities that are eligible to partcipate in the Build America Bond Program.

The Build America Bond Program was created under the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in order to decrease borrowing costs of local and state governments.� BABs are taxable municipal bonds that are actually subsidized by the U.S. Treasury.

There are two types of BABs - direct payment and tax credit bonds. Direct Payment BABs will pay the issuer 35% of the interest payments made to investors. Tax credit BABs will pass the 35% along as a tax credit. BABs were launched in April of 2009 and have been steadily increasing in popularaity with each passing day.

Therefore, due to their newfound popularity, it was only a matter of time before someone created new bond ETFs to track their performance.� Or in the case of the new funds, tracking the BAB index.

Here are some highlights regarding the new ETF...

It will invest at least 80% of its total assets in taxable municpal securities elegible for the BAB program
It will disclose its full portfolio holdings on a daily basis
The securities in the fund must have an investment-grade rating
The securities must have at least one year to maturity
Securities must have a fixed coupon schedule
Securities must have a minimum amount outstanding of $1 million
Securities in the ETF must have a direct pay federal subsidy

It's not only nice to see more bond ETFs, but more ETF innovations as well. And if your looking for more bond ETF information, you've come to the right place...

What You Need to Ask About Bond ETFs

14 Types of Bond ETFs

4 Ways to Invest with International Bond ETFs

A List of Bond ETFs

You Need to Ask About Bond ETFsW

Powershares Build America Bond ETF originally appeared on About.com Exchange Traded Funds on Thursday, November 5th, 2009 at 11:51:14.

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Texas State ETF (TXF) Launches Today

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:20:38 +0000

As I told you in my last post about the Oklahoma State ETF (OOK), the Texas State ETF launch was not far behind. Only a few days in fact. Today, OOK Advisors launched TXF on the NYSE Arca and as of right now it's trading around $36.

The new Texas ETF invests in securities that represent a benchmark index of large publicly traded companies that have their headquarters in Texas. As for the actual holdings in the new fund, they can be found on the TXF website as well as some other pertinent information.

So now that we have Texas and Oklahoma, how long until I can get a Pennsylvania ETF for my portfolio?

Texas State ETF (TXF) Launches Today originally appeared on About.com Exchange Traded Funds on Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 at 11:20:38.

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