U.S. shoppers spent like crazy on Black Friday and Cyber-Monday, but then pulled back in the days that followed. Not surprisingly, the short-term uncertainty over consumption has led many to take profits on assets such as SPDR Retail (XRT), Consumer Discretionary (XLY) and the Retail HOLDRs (RTH). However, luxury retailers like Saks and Nordstom have experienced no letdown [...] [...more]
I rarely miss an opportunity to peruse ETF flow data. Typically, though, I see the information as identifying money that will be late to the performance-chasing party. On the other hand, the March fund flow data may be telling us something unique. For one thing, in spite of a strengthening U.S. dollar in March, investors snapped up shares of [...] [...more]
In January, ETF fund flows depicted a number of seemingly incongruous events. Investors liked foreign stocks, but hated U.S. stocks. They distanced themselves from the risks of the financial sector, while they embraced the risks of energy and natural resources industries. Meanwhile, foreign currencies became outcasts, yet most forms of U.S. bonds received billions of new assets. Perhaps [...] [...more]
The exchange-traded fund industry certainly has reason to cheer. With nearly 820 ETFs and close to 3/4 of $1 trillion under management, the numbers speak volumes about viability and desirability. Yet, with roughly $90 billion net new dollars coming in 2009, U.S. stock ETFs actually LOST -$26 billion of assets under management. And that’s on top of the fact that [...] [...more]
