Long-time readers and listeners know that I am an active manager of passive “Index ETFs.” I favor exchange-traded index vehicles because the diversification comes with low expenses, exceptional tax-efficiency and intra-day liquidity. The media have regularly inquired why I rarely endorse the use of “Active ETFs.” Â For one thing, these funds involve more frequent trading, creating [...] Continue Reading...
During Alan Greenspan’s tenure at the helm of the Federal Reserve (1987-2006), the investment community created a phrase to capture the former chairman’s wordiness. “Fed Speak” aptly described the long-winded ambiguity in his statements. In fact, it is likely that Mr. Greenspan was intentionally vague to reduce extreme price swings in the stock market. In 2013, [...] Continue Reading...
In 1986, I visited the Philippine Stock Exchange. There were few, if any, computers on the floor. Black markers registered trading activity on a giant whiteboard. And the feeling that I came away with was that I had caught a glimpse of an incomplete science experiment. Today, however, a number of frontier economies have upped their [...] Continue Reading...
“I’ve never seen THIS in 34 years of investing,” quipped media personality Jim Cramer on Monday. What was Mr. Cramer referring to? For the most part, he expressed excitement over the stock market’s ability to reward stocks of companies that missed earnings expectations as well as to reward those that beat expectations by not taking [...] Continue Reading...
Extraordinary rallies off bear market bottoms are typical. Bullish run-ups in March of 2003 as well as March of 2009 registered enviable unrealized gains of 35% and 65% respectively; each advance experienced little resistance for roughly 9-10 months. Powerful moves off minor corrections are less typical, if not downright suspicious. Investors in the S&P 500 SPDR [...] Continue Reading...
Sometimes, when the chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve speaks, my diaphragm pushes on my lungs hard enough to inhibit breathing. It’s not that I don’t admire Ben Bernanke on a variety of levels. It’s just hard to believe that a man of remarkable intelligence is serious when he says, “In light of the current [...] Continue Reading...
On Wednesday, 5/8/2013, U.S. stocks recorded gains for a 5th consecutive session. In fact, the S&P 500 logged its 12th gain in 14 trading days, rising 6% since a mid-April hiccup and reaching yet another all-time peak. Equally intriguing, the last week has witnessed a renewed interest in foreign equities. In spite of a deepening recession [...] Continue Reading...
There have been precious few opportunities to purchase U.S. stock weakness over the last seven months. Specifically, the smallest dips have reversed course quickly, always finding a way to grind higher. On the other hand, some exchange-traded vehicles along the more modest rung of the risk ladder have caught the attention of institutional buyers. Consider SPDR [...] Continue Reading...
Right now, the good folks at Morningstar view Low Volatility ETFs as too expensive. The analysts at the investment evaluation giant believe that investors should focus on mega-cap brand name corporations instead — companies that may have more reasonable prices relative to earnings and/or fair value estimates. Mega-cap ETFs include assets like Guggenheim Russell Top 50 (XLG) [...] Continue Reading...
Daisy Maxey is a talented financial columnist for WSJ.com. Ms. Maxey also follows me on Twitter. Not surprisingly, then, I may be slightly hesitant to question the timing of her recent feature, “Frontier Market Funds Offer Promise, Risk.” By the percentages, Ms Maxey cites data that is supposed to represent opportunity in the least developed countries [...] Continue Reading...
