Category

Real Estate ETFs

Jun 30
0

When Market Breadth Stinks, Cash Is The Mouthwash

By | Bond ETFs, Consumer ETFs, Current Affairs and ETFs, Dividend ETFs, Energy ETFs, ETF Philosophy, ETF Strategy, Large Cap ETFs, Materials ETFs, Real Estate ETFs, Retail ETFs, Technology ETFs, Telecom ETFs, Transportation ETFs, US Markets and ETFs, Utilities ETFs | No Comments

Perma-bulls on the major networks routinely gloss over the reduction in stock market breadth. For example, 60% of the Dow 30 components currently sit below long-term moving averages. When companies like Coca-Cola, Wal-Mart, DuPont, Intel and Verizon are simultaneously suffering from rally fatigue, one might anticipate an eventual breakdown in the gravity-defying direction of popular benchmarks like the Dow and the S&P 500. It is not just companies in the Dow that are struggling. Most of the individual sector investments…

Read More
Jun 11
0

Rate-Sensitive, Energy-Sensitive Sectors Now Down 10%-Plus

By | Biotechnology ETFs, Bond ETFs, Current Affairs and ETFs, Dividend ETFs, Energy ETFs, ETF Philosophy, ETF Strategy, Health ETFs, Internet ETFs, Natural Resources ETFs, Real Estate ETFs, Technology ETFs, Transportation ETFs, US Markets and ETFs, Utilities ETFs | No Comments

Bullish borrowers have increased their margin debt to invest in stocks from $445 billion in January to $507 billion today. And why not? The overall price movement for growth sectors of the stock market remains healthy. Flashy sub-segments like cyber-security and biotech continue to soar. For example, I allocated a small portion of moderately aggressive client assets to the Pure Funds ISE Cyber Security ETF (HACK) in early February. Its series of higher lows since its inception lent credibility to…

Read More
Dec 29
0

Are Rate-Sensitive ETFs Suggesting Economic Weakness Ahead?

By | Bond ETFs, Consumer ETFs, Current Affairs and ETFs, ETF Strategy, Real Estate ETFs, US Markets and ETFs, Utilities ETFs | No Comments

Lost in the bull market euphoria is the reality that economists have been dead wrong about the direction of asset prices, particularly bond prices. Last December, when 55 of the most prestigious economists across a wide range of institutions had been polled by Bloomberg about where the 10-year yield (3.0%) would end the year, each of the 55 professionals anticipated higher rates. The average of those estimates? 3.41%. And yet, the 10-year will finish the year closer to 2.25%. That…

Read More
Oct 02
0

Is The S&P 500 Now Safer Than A Diversified Portfolio?

By | Bond ETFs, Consumer ETFs, Current Affairs and ETFs, Emerging Market ETFs, ETF Philosophy, ETF Strategy, International ETFs, Large Cap ETFs, Mid Cap ETFs, Real Estate ETFs, Small Cap ETFs, Special Sectors ETFs, Technology ETFs, US Markets and ETFs | No Comments

Both the media and a wide array of financial advisers preach owning a diversified portfolio. Below, I have created a hypothetical asset mix that a moderate growth investor might employ: 30% iShares S&P 500 (IVV) 25% Vanguard Total Bond (BND) 12.5% iShares MSCI EAFE (EFA) 7.5% SPDR S&P Mid-Cap 400 (MDY) 5% SPDR High Yield (JNK) 5% Vanguard Short-Term Bond (BSV) 5% Vanguard Emerging Markets (VWO) 5% iShares Russell 2000 Small Cap (IWM) 2.5% Vanguard REIT (VNQ) 2.5% iShares TIPS…

Read More
Aug 13
0

These 5 ETF Charts Are Killing “Risk-On” Exhilaration

By | Asia ETFs, China ETFs, Commodity ETFs, Consumer ETFs, Current Affairs and ETFs, Emerging Market ETFs, ETF Philosophy, ETF Strategy, Europe ETFs, Financial ETFs, International ETFs, Latin America ETFs, Real Estate ETFs, Retail ETFs, Small Cap ETFs, Special Sectors ETFs, US Markets and ETFs | No Comments

Admit it. You are feeling a little bit edgy these days. While you understand that fear is the elixir of investment opportunity, you also recognize that there is little glory for the last person standing on a sinking aircraft carrier. Most in the media have been touting bull market accomplishments, job gains and economic progress. Writers regularly highlight the monster percentage gains that U.S. stocks have enjoyed since the lows hit in March of 2009 rather than discuss the reality…

Read More
Jul 28
0

Home Sales Data Incinerate Confidence In Economically Sensitive Stock ETFs

By | Consumer ETFs, Current Affairs and ETFs, Energy ETFs, ETF Philosophy, ETF Strategy, Financial ETFs, Materials ETFs, Real Estate ETFs, Special Sectors ETFs, US Markets and ETFs | One Comment

My wife and I sold two condominiums near the tail end of 2005. We could not justify owning residences that were 40% more expensive to own than to rent. Simply put, it was time to cash in. Due largely to my comfort with the liquidity of market-based securities, I did not wade back into the real estate investment waters until 2012. I purchased a mixed-use property in a short sale. And today, I operate Pacific Park Financial, Inc. – a…

Read More
Jul 21
0

Sector ETFs In 2014 And 2007: The Inconvenient Comparison Feels Like A Bone In The Throat

By | Bond ETFs, Current Affairs and ETFs, Dividend ETFs, Energy ETFs, ETF Philosophy, ETF Strategy, Financial ETFs, Health ETFs, Internet ETFs, Materials ETFs, Real Estate ETFs, Retail ETFs, Special Sectors ETFs, Telecom ETFs, US Markets and ETFs, Utilities ETFs | No Comments

The S&P 500 has served up a 7%-plus return through the first six-and-a-half months of the year. That’s remarkably impressive when one considers the depth of geopolitical conflict, the implication of structural under-employment, the October end of quantitative easing (QE3) and the strong possibility of a significant change to the legislative branch this November. Naturally, some investment sectors of the economy have outperformed others. Here’s a peek at the 2014 year-to-date results: Sector ETF Performance (1/1-7/21) in 2014    …

Read More
Jun 23
0

3 Rate-Sensitive ETF Categories Demonstrate High-Caliber Endurance

By | Alt Energy ETFs, Consumer ETFs, Current Affairs and ETFs, Dividend ETFs, Energy ETFs, ETF Philosophy, ETF Strategy, Europe ETFs, Financial ETFs, Global ETFs, International ETFs, Real Estate ETFs, US Markets and ETFs, Utilities ETFs | No Comments

Many of the word’s most respected economists projected the direction of interest rates at the start of the year. The average assessment? Experts collectively anticipated that the 10-year Treasury bond yield would rise from 3.03% to 3.41% by the end of 2014. I didn’t see it. For one thing, the well-being of real estate in a below-trend recovery largely depends on rate containment. Yet rising interest rates adversely impacted home sales in the 2nd half of 2013.  Second, the Federal Reserve…

Read More
Jun 02
0

3 “Risk-Off” Signs For ETF Investors

By | Consumer ETFs, Currency ETFs, Current Affairs and ETFs, ETF Philosophy, ETF Strategy, Real Estate ETFs, Retail ETFs, Special Sectors ETFs, US Markets and ETFs | No Comments

Committee members of the U.S. Federal Reserve forecast economic growth every year. Not surprisingly, investors place a great deal of faith in those projections. After all, Fed estimates may impact monetary policy. Estimates for each of the last five years turned out to be exceedingly rosy. Time and again, the “recovery” turned out to be sluggish rather than robust. Granted, the Federal Reserve’s actions succeeded in suppressing interest rates, and ultra-low rates have contributed handsomely to corporate refinancing. Some might…

Read More
May 01
0

What You Don’t Know About Relative Strength Shifts In ETFs Can Hurt You

By | Asia ETFs, Biotechnology ETFs, China ETFs, Commodity ETFs, Currency ETFs, Current Affairs and ETFs, Dividend ETFs, Emerging Market ETFs, ETF Philosophy, ETF Strategy, Frontier Market ETFs, Health ETFs, International ETFs, Internet ETFs, Large Cap ETFs, Real Estate ETFs, Small Cap ETFs, Special Sectors ETFs, Technology ETFs, US Markets and ETFs | No Comments

One of the best web sites for identifying trends in the ETF marketplace is ETFscreen.com. And one of the best features at the data aggregation portal is the Relative Strength Factor (RSf) reporting. According to ETF Screen, the Relative Strength Factor (RSf) represents a percentile ranking of fund performance relative to all other funds in the universe. While it is measured over an entire year, the factor heavily weights recent performance to identify funds that have been accelerating versus those…

Read More