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Exchange Traded Funds: Most Popular Articles

These articles are the most popular over the last month.
Eleven Types of ETFs
ETFs are generally categorized into the eleven most common types of ETFs. Style ETFs, Market ETFs, Sector and Industry ETFs, Country and region ETFs, foreign currency ETFs, ETNs, Inverse ETFs, bond ETFs, commodity ETFs, derivative ETFs, and innovative ETFs
Getting Started With ETFs
Before you can get started trading ETFs, it is important to understand the investment vehicle before you add them to your portfolio. Therefore it is important to understand the basics about Exchange Traded Funds.
A List of OIL ETFs and ETNs
A list of the major oil ETFs and ETNs for consideration when adding an oil ETF to your portfolio.
Nine ETF Benefits
Take advantage of ETFs by diversifying your investments, hedging against risk, or gaining exposure to certain market sectors with ETFs. Exchange traded funds can be the perfect asset for your portfolio. Investors who include ETFs as part of their trading strategy reap many of these benefits and advantages.
Buying ETF Considerations
Five things you should consider before making an investment in ETFs.
6 Questions About Inverse ETFs
Inverse ETFs are created using derivatives in order to generate profits when the correlating index declines in value. A nice tool to have during bear markets.
Five ETF Disadvantages
There are some reasons an ETF might not be the best fit for your investment portfolio. Here are five ETF disadvantages.
International Bond ETFs
Use international Bond ETFs to diversify a portfolio, gain exposure to foreign markets, hedge foreign risk, control interest rate risk, or create a monthly revenue stream.
What is an ETF?
Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) are funds consisting of a combination of stocks or derivatives that track an market, sector, commodity, currency, or industry index or product.
Seven ETF Investing Strategies
Including ETFs in your investment strategy, can help you hedge risk, increase market exposure, and diversify your portfolio. ETF trading strategies can and should be a part of your portfolio.
Commodity ETF Basics
Commodity ETFs allow investors to hedge risk and gain exposure to physical goods such as agriculture products, precious metals, and energy resources.
Basic ETF Option Strategies
Four Basic ETF Option Trading Strategies
Invest in Oil with Oil ETFs
There is an alternative to investing in oil without buying actual barrels of oil. They are called oil ETFs and are are a simple way to expose your investment strategy to the price and performance of oil, without actually owning any oil itself. Oil ETFs consist of either oil company stocks or futures and derivative contracts in order to track the price of oil, or in some cases oil-related indexes.
Foreign ETF Pros and Cons
There are many advantages and disadvantages when trading foreign ETFs.
Bond ETF Basics
Bond ETFs seek to emulate a correlating bond index and consist of only the largest and most liquid bonds in the underlying bond index in order to be more liquid, active, and transparent. Three qualities not typical of traditional bonds.
ETNs vs. ETFs
ETNs are structured investment products that are issued by a major bank or provider as senior debt notes. This differs from an ETF which consists of an actual security or sometimes commodity derivative.
A List of Gold ETFs
If you are considering adding a gold ETF to your portfolio, here are some of the main ETFs and ETNs you should be watching.
Market ETF Basics
A market ETF is a single investment product that consists of equities in the exchange index it is designed to track. The goal of a market ETF is to emulate an exchange index, not outperform it.
Actively Managed ETFs
Actively Managed ETFs are designed to combine the advantages of ETFs and the benefits of mutual funds in one investment product. In the battle of ETFs vs. Mutual Funds, a winner may have emerged.
ETF vs. Mutual Funds
Mutual funds vs. ETFs. Here are five reasons to consider an ETF over a mutual fund.
ETF Tax Advantages
ETFs hold some tax advantages over mutual funds, which may make them a beneficial asset to add to an investment portfolio.
6 Types of Gold ETFs
There are 6 different types of gold ETFs to consider when including gold investments in your portfolio. Use these types of gold ETFs to hedge downside risk, increase exposure to gold, or diversify a portfolio.
Oil ETFs
If you want to gain some exposure to the oil sector or hedge some oil portfolio risk, an oil ETF might be the way to go.
Foreign Currency ETFs
Currency ETFs are a simple way to gain exposure to foreign currencies without all the complexities. Currency ETFs are pre-packaged investments that track a certain currency, similar to how a normal ETF tracks an index.
Industry ETFS
Industry ETFs track industry indexes, but the goal is not to outperform them. Industry ETFs usually consists of the same securities as their correlating indexes.
Gold ETFs
Gold ETFs are commodity exchange traded funds made up of gold backed contracts and derivatives. The purpose behind a gold ETF is to track and reflect the price of gold.
ETF Arbitrage
it is important to understand that arbitrage keeps ETF prices in line with their correlating indexes and the equities in the fund.
5 Reasons for Energy ETFs
Energy ETFs can provide a portfolio with exposure to the energy sector and provide protection against energy investment risk or even general inflation risk.
ETF Earnings Season Strategies
ETFs are a great addition to your earnings season investing strategy. Whether you need to hedge downside risk, gain exposure to certain industries, or increase volatility, exchange traded funds can be the best tool in your investing arsenal. Here’s how ETFs can be a part of your earnings season investing strategy.
Solar Energy ETFs
Now that solar Energy ETFs are becoming popular due to solar energy tax incentives from the government and concerns about oil prices and an energy crisis. It might be time for you to include solar energy ETFs in your portfolio.
Paying Taxes on ETF Dividends
ETFs have tax advantages over mutual funds. However, when it comes to paying taxes on ETF dividends, things are different. ETFs issue two kinds of dividends, qualified dividends and unqualified dividends.
ETF Option Straddles
While an advanced strategy, including ETF option straddles in your portfolio may be the perfect way to hedge risk or gain volatility exposure
3 Types of Energy ETFs
There are three main types of energy ETFs investors can utilize to gain exposure to the energy sector, hedge energy investment risk, diversify their portfolio, or control inflation exposure.
Six Reasons to Sell an ETF
Selling ETFs might be a sound strategy for your investment portfolio, but as with any investment, make sure you are doing it for the right reasons.
GLD, a Major Gold ETF
GLD is the SPDR Gold Shares ETF. The gold ETF tracks the price performance of the gold bullion.
Investing in Gold with ETFs
Gold is a safe investment that investors tend to add to their portfolios during times of duress, but stocking up on gold bars might not be the most efficient method of stabilizing a portfolio. Enter Gold ETFs, a simple way to expose your investment strategy to the performance of gold, without actually owning any gold products. Gold ETFs consist of futures and derivative contracts in order to track the price of gold, or in some cases gold-related indexes.
Index Basket
Index baskets are a collection of securities that represent a sector or market index.
ETF Short
Putting on a short ETF position either by selling an ETF or buying an inverse ETF might be just as profitable as a long position if an investor does so for the right reasons.
USO, The United States Oil ETF
The USO is an ETF that tracks the performance of crude oil.
Types of ETNs
There are many different types of ETNs to utilize in your portfolio. Commodity ETNs, Currency ETNs, Strategy ETNs, and Emerging ETNs may provide the investment vehicle you need to accomplish your investing goals.
DJP, A Commdity ETF
DJP is the iPath Dow Jones-AIG Commodity Index Total Return ETN.
DBO - an Oil ETF
The PowerShares DB Oil ETF (DBO), follows the price of the Deutsche Bank Liquid Commodity Index - Optimum Yield Oil Excess Return.
BWZ - International Bond ETF
The SPDR Barclays Cap Short Term International Treasury Bond ETF (BWZ) tracks the Barclays Capital 1-3 Year Global Treasury ex-United States Capped Index.
6 Mutual Fund Disadvantages
There are many disadvantages of mutual funds, so they may not be the best fit for your investment strategy. It may be time to consider ETFs.
XME - the SPDR Metals ETF
The SPDR S&P Metals and Mining ETF (XME) tracks the price the S&P Metals & Mining Select Industry index.
DGL, A Gold ETF
The PowerShares DB Gold ETF (DGL) tracks the performance of the Deutsche Bank Liquid Commodity Index - Optimum Yield Gold Excess Return.
SHY - a Treasury Bond ETF
The iShares Barclays 1-3 Year Treasury Bond ETF (SHY) tracks the short-term sector of the United States Treasury market as defined by the Barclays Capital 1-3 Year U.S. Treasury index.
OIH
The OIH is an oil ETF that tracks the Oil Services Index (OSX).
DVY Index-Tracking ETF
DVY is a dividend-tracking ETF that follows the Dow Jones Select Dividend Index.
Style ETFs
The purpose of style ETFs is to track a specific investment strategy or style. They are created with the purpose of tracking a specific style index, but not to outperform it.
Industry ETF
Industry ETFs are exchange traded funds that tracks a certain industry or sector of the market. The assets in an industry ETF usually include stocks from that particular industry or mimic the stocks in the sector index.
The History of ETFs
The first ETF showed up in Canada as the Toronto Index Participation Fund (TIP 35). Flash forward to 1993 when the first ETF appeared in the United States as the Standard & Poor’s 500 Depository Receipts. Asia followed suit in 1999 with its first ETF, the Hong Kong Tracker Fund. And last but not least (not really last either) was Europe’s Euro STOXX 50 market ETF launched in 20001.
DTO - an Oil ETN
DTO - The PowerShares DB Crude Oil Double Short ETN inversely tracks the price the Deutsche Bank Liquid Commodity index - Optimum Yield Oil Excess Return giving investors a chance to invest or take a short position in oil.
OIL - An Oil ETN
The iPath S&P GSCI Crude Oil Total Return Index ETN (OIL) follows the price of the Goldman Sachs Crude Oil Return Index, which reflects returns of the futures contacts that make up the underlying index.
UCO - an Oil ETF
The Ultra DJ-AIG Crude Oil ProShares ETF (UCO) seeks to track the Dow Jones AIG Crude Oil Sub-Index at twice the rate.
USL - The US 12-Month Oil ETF
The US 12-Month Oil ETF (USL) tracks the changes in the price of light, sweet crude oil, which are measured by changes in the average price of 12 oil futures contracts traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
SCO - an Oil ETF
SCO is the UltraShort DJ-AIG Crude Oil ProShares ETF. It tracks the inverse performance of the Dow Jones AIG Crude Oil Sub-Index. If the price of the index goes up, SCO will fall.
SLV, A Silver ETF
The iShares Silver Trust ETF (SLV) tracks the performance of the market price of silver. The ETF is designed to give investors the ability to make an investment similar to an investment in silver, but the ETF is not the exact equivalent of an investment in silver.
EWW, a Mexico Market Index ETF
The EWW (iShares MSCI Mexico Investable Market Index ETF) tracks the performance of the MSCI Mexico Investable Market index.
GDX - a Gold Miners ETF
The Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (GDX) tracks the price of the AMEX Gold Miners index. The gold ETF consists of companies in the gold mining industry.
DBE, an Energy ETF
The PowerShares DB Energy ETF (DBE) tracks the Deutsche Bank Liquid Commodity Index, Optimum Yield Energy Excess Return. The fund consists of futures contracts on commodities like crude oil, heating oil, gasoline and natural gas.
IAU, A Gold ETF
The iShares COMEX Gold Trust ETF (IAU) is designed to track the price of gold. The Trust receives gold deposits for the creation of baskets in order to sell gold as needed to cover the trust's liabilities and for redemption.
DXO - An Oil ETN
DXO - The PowerShares DB Crude Oil Double Long ETN tracks the price the Deutsche Bank Liquid Commodity index - Optimum Yield Oil Excess Return giving investors a chance to invest in oil.
EWJ - a Japan ETF
The iShares MSCI Japan Index ETF (EWJ) emulates the performance of the MSCI Japan index, which consists of stocks traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
UBM- An Industrial Metals ETN
The E-TRACS UBS Bloomberg CMCI Industrial Metal ETN (UBM) follows the performance of the UBS Bloomberg CMCI Industrial Metals Total Return index.
DBA, an Agriculture ETF
The DBA (PowerShares DB Agriculture ETF) tracks the price and yield performance of the Deutsche Bank Liquid Commodity Index.
DIA - the DIAMONDS Trust ETF
The DIAMONDS Trust, Series 1 ETF (DIA) tracks the price and yeild of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) Index.
GLL - a Short Gold ETF
The UltraShort Gold ProShares ETF (GLL) inversely tracks twice the performance of the gold bullion. As the index falls in price, the gold ETF increases.
DBB, a Base Metals ETF
The PowerShares DB Base Metals (DBB) tracks the performance of the Deutsche Bank Liquid Commodity Index - Optimum Yield Industrial Metals Excess Return. The index is composed of futures contracts on base metals like aluminum, zinc and copper.
DBS, A Silver ETF
The PowerShares DB Silver ETF (DBS) tracks the price of the Deutsche Bank Liquid Commodity Index - Optimum Yield Silver Excess Return. The underlying index is composed of futures contracts on silver.
MWJ, a Russell Index ETF
The Direxion Mid-Cap Bull 3x Shares ETF (MWJ) will move in the same direction of the Russell 1000 Mid-Cap index, seeking an estimated 300% of the moves within.
Exchange Traded Funds - Articles
An index of articles for the Exchange Traded Funds guide site.
DOY - an Oil ETF
The MacroShares $100 Oil Down ETF (DOY) inversely tracks the price of West Texas Intermediate light, sweet crude oil (WTI).
Continuous Market
A continuous market is a market or exchange where securities are continuously priced and traded in an auction format when the market is open.
ITA, a Defense - Aerospace ETF
ITA is the iShares Dow Jones US Aerospace & Defense ETF that tracks the Dow Jones U.S. Select Aerospace & Defense index. The ITA ETF consists of companies in the aerospace and defense sectors.
PJP - a Pharma ETF
The PowerShares Dynamic Pharmaceuticals ETF (PJP) emualtes the performance ofthe equity Pharmaceuticals Intellidex. Both the ETF and the correlating index consist of equities in the pharmaceutical industry.
RSX - A Russian Market ETF
RSX is the Market Vectors Russia ETF, which tracks the performance of the DAX Global Russia Index.
OLO - an Oil ETN
OLO - the PowerShares DB Crude Oil Long ETN consists of futures to track the performance of the Deutsche Bank Liquid Commodity index - Optimum Yield Oil Excess Return.
SZO - an Oil ETN
SZO - the PowerShares DB Crude Oil Short ETN inversely tracks the performance of the Deutsche Bank Liquid Commodity index - Optimum Yield Oil Excess Return.
USV - A Silver ETN
The E-TRACS UBS Bloomberg CMCI Silver ETN (USV) tracks the performance of the UBS Bloomberg CMCI Silver Total Return index, which measures returns from a basket of silver futures contracts.
RWW, A Financial Sector ETF
The RWW is a RevenueShares ETF for the financial sector. RWW consists of companies like JP Morgan Chase (JPM), CitiGroup (C), and Wells Fargo (WFC).
ETNs
ETNs are structured investment products that are issued by a major bank or provider as senior debt notes. This differs from an ETF which consists of an actual security or sometimes commodity derivative.
JJN, a Metals ETN
JJN, the iPath DJ AIG Ind Metals TR Sub-Idx ETN, tracks the Dow Jones-AIG Industrial Metals Total Return Sub-Index. The ETN emulates the performance of industrial metals.
DGP, A Gold ETN
The PowerShares DB Gold Double Long ETN (DGP) follows the performance of the Deutsche Bank Liquid Commodity index - Optimum Yield Gold Excess Return.
EWG, a German Market Index ETF
The iShares MSCI Germany Index (EWG) is a foreign ETF that tracks the MSCI Germany market index. The stocks in the fund are traded primarily on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
IGV - Technology Software ETF
IGV - the iShares S&P North Amer Tech-Software ETF, tracks the price of the S&P Goldman Sachs Technology Industry Software Index.
UHN - the US Heating Oil ETF
The United States Heating Oil ETF (UHN) tracks the price of heating oil and is made up of heating oil futures related contracts.
RevenueShares ETF Provider
RevenueShares provides index driven ETFs to investors with a focus on investment methodology of weighting an index by company revenue instead of market capitalization.

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