ETF Expert

In my most recent column, I highlighted year-to-date winners from the international ETF arena. In many ways, it seemed counter-intuitive to see Brazil and Chile in the black ink. It may even have surprised some readers to discover developed nations like Taiwan and Israel on the upswing.

Nevertheless, none of these countries had verifiable uptrends in place. They all sit far below their 200-day moving averages. Moreover, they hadn't put together a string of victories across 4-, 8- and 12-weeks.

Outside of the short funds, do momentum players even exist? Not in stock land. However, there are a number of momentum ETFs with gains over the popular 1, 2, and 3 month measures (a.k.a. 4-, 8- and 12-week returns.)

The PowerShares DB US Dollar Bullish (UUP) continues to defy the naysayers; that is, the books and articles and cover pieces declaring the death of the dollar haven't been prescient enough.

In fact, the U.S. dollar is near a 3-year high against major world currencies. UUP is above 50-day and 200-day moving averages. And PowerShares DB US Dollar Bullish is one of very few momentum investments that have pieced together gains in all three periods (i.e, 4-, 8- and 12-weeks).

 
While shorting intermediate and long-term treasuries has been a successful move for many investors (See "UltraShort Treasury ETF Is Suggesting Greater Risk-Taking"), there's plenty of evidence showing the continued strain on the credit system. Witness the 4-, 8- and 12-week gains for the SPDR 1-3 Month T-Bill (BIL). As paltry as the fractional percentage gains may be, some momentum on the shortest maturities still exists.

So the safe haven play continues, concentrated in the shortest treasury maturities as well as faith in the U.S. dollar. Since we can keep printing them, right?

Well, that last fact has the gold and silver bugs "spark-plugged." The SPDR Gold Shares (GLD), iShares Silver Trust (SLV) and the Powershares DP Precious Metals Fund (DBP) have all of the momentum in the world.

Each of these precious metal holdings have come up victorious over 4-, 8- and 12-weeks. All 3 managed to hold above 50-day and 200-day moving averages through March 6, 2009. However, SLV did fall slightly below its long-term, 200-day trendline on the stock surge of Tuesday, March 10.

If you'd like to learn more about ETF investing… then tune into "In the Money With Gary Gordon." You can listen to the show "live" or via podcast or on your iPod at this link.

Disclosure Statement: ETF Expert is a web log ("blog") that makes the world of ETFs easier to understand. Pacific Park Financial, Inc., a Registered Investment Advisor with the SEC, may hold positions in the ETFs, mutual funds and/or index funds mentioned above. Investors who are interested in money management services may visit the Pacific Park Financial, Inc. web site.