Author Archives: Scalper1

ETF Deathwatch For February 2016: Here Come The Currency-Hedged ETFs

Last year, hedging was a popular strategy employed by new ETFs coming to market. I referred to it as a “land rush,” with sponsors throwing caution to the wind in their quest to achieve first-mover status. In my year-end summary , I identified 74 new ETFs following this theme. Of these, 57 have currency hedges, 12 use various equity hedges (mostly long/short portfolios), and five use interest-rate hedging to help mitigate the impact of rising interest rates on bond holdings. With no real investor demand for many of these funds, I predicted many would end up here on ETF Deathwatch. This month, more than half of the 25 products added to ETF Deathwatch are hedged ETFs. Two of the additions are interest-rate hedged, one is an equity-hedged fund, and ten use currency hedging. Additionally, two others are based on currency themes (strong U.S. dollar and weak U.S. dollar), although they do not use any direct currency hedging. At the end of 2015, there were 87 currency-hedged ETFs with a median asset level of just $5.25 million, well below the level required for profitability. If this supply glut wasn’t enough, funds using currency hedging 2.0 are now coming on stream. These second-generation currency-hedged ETFs automatically adjust their currency exposure based on market conditions. This is a feature I believe many investors will appreciate, and it will further reduce demand for funds using the old first-generation static approach to hedging. Thirteen products came off of ETF Deathwatch this month. Nine were the result of improved health, and four are no longer with us. The net increase of 12 puts the total count at 398, consisting of 295 ETFs and 103 ETNs. The average asset level of products on ETF Deathwatch dropped from $6.9 million to $6.3 million, and the quantity of products with less than $2 million jumped from 83 to 91. The average age decreased from 48.8 to 47.8 months, and the number of products more than five years old decreased from 137 to 134.Here is the Complete List of 398 ETFs and ETNs on ETF Deathwatch for February 2016 compiled using the objective ETF Deathwatch Criteria . The 25 ETFs and ETNs added to ETF Deathwatch for February: ALPS Enhanced Put Write Strategy (NYSEARCA: PUTX ) ALPS Sector Leaders (NYSEARCA: SLDR ) ALPS Sector Low Volatility (NYSEARCA: SLOW ) Deutsche X-trackers MSCI ACAP x-Japan Hedged (NYSEARCA: DBAP ) ELEMENTS S&P Commodity Trends Indicator ETN (NYSEARCA: LSC ) ETRACS ISE Exclusively Homebuilders ETN (NYSEARCA: HOMX ) GaveKal Knowledge Leaders Developed World (NYSEARCA: KLDW ) GaveKal Knowledge Leaders Emerging Markets (NYSEARCA: KLEM ) Global X SuperDividend Alternatives (NASDAQ: ALTY ) iShares Currency Hedged MSCI ACWI (NYSEARCA: HACW ) iShares Currency Hedged MSCI ACWI ex U.S. (NYSEARCA: HAWX ) iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Australia (NYSEARCA: HAUD ) iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Canada (NYSEARCA: HEWC ) iShares Currency Hedged MSCI EAFE Small-Cap (NYSEARCA: HSCZ ) iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Mexico (NYSEARCA: HEWW ) iShares Currency Hedged MSCI United Kingdom (NYSEARCA: HEWU ) iShares Interest Rate Hedged 10+ Year Credit Bond (NYSEARCA: CLYH ) iShares Interest Rate Hedged Emerging Market Bond (NYSEARCA: EMBH ) Market Vectors Morningstar International Moat (NYSEARCA: MOTI ) PureFunds ISE Big Data ( BDAT ) SPDR BofA Merrill Lynch Emerging Markets Corp Bond (NYSEARCA: EMCD ) WisdomTree Global ex-U.S. Hedged Dividend (NYSEARCA: DXUS ) WisdomTree International Hedged Equity (HDWM) WisdomTree Strong Dollar U.S. Equity (NYSEARCA: USSD ) WisdomTree Weak Dollar U.S. Equity (NYSEARCA: USWD ) The 9 ETPs removed from ETF Deathwatch due to improved health: Deutsche X-trackers Muni Infrastructure Revenue Bond (NYSEARCA: RVNU ) First Trust International Multi-Asset Diversified Income (NASDAQ: YDIV ) First Trust Low Duration Mortgage Opportunities (NASDAQ: LMBS ) FlexShares Credit-Scored US Corporate Bond (NASDAQ: SKOR ) iShares MSCI International Developed Value Factor (NYSEARCA: IVLU ) Oppenheimer ADR Revenue (NYSEARCA: RTR ) Sit Rising Rate ETF (NYSEARCA: RISE ) SPDR S&P 1500 Momentum Tilt (NYSEARCA: MMTM ) WisdomTree Europe Quality Dividend Growth (NYSEARCA: EUDG ) The 4 ETPs removed from ETF Deathwatch due to delisting: CS X-Links Commodity Benchmark ETN (NYSEARCA: CSCB ) Columbia Large Cap Growth (NYSEARCA: RPX ) Columbia Select Large Cap Growth (NYSEARCA: RWG ) Columbia Select Large Cap Value (NYSEARCA: GVT ) ETF Deathwatch Archives Disclosure: Author has no positions in any of the securities mentioned and no positions in any of the companies or ETF sponsors mentioned. No income, revenue, or other compensation (either directly or indirectly) is received from, or on behalf of, any of the companies or ETF sponsors mentioned. Original Post

Facebook And Amazon Lead 5 Top Tech Stocks On The Move

Loading the player… Let’s take a look at five standout tech stocks on IBD’s Stocks on the Move screen, which are trading in big volume: Facebook ( FB ),  Amazon ( AMZN ), NetEase ( NTES ), Activision Blizzard ( ATVI ) and Cray ( CRAY ). Internet Giants On The Rise Facebook is on the IBD 50 list with a highest-possible IBD Composite Rating of 99. That means its shares outperform 99% of all stocks in the market as measured by fundamental and technical factors, including earnings and sales growth, profit margins, return on equity and relative share-price performance. The stock has tried to retake the 50-day line this week, but has yet to close above that level. It’s attempted to retake the line again today, but gains faded to just 0.1% near midday. Facebook is trading about 12% below its all-time high reached on Feb. 2. Amazon has a 71 Composite Rating. The stock has suffered since the e-commerce company missed quarterly earnings estimates late last month. Shares breached the 200-day line in the days following the report and continued lower. But Amazon is now on track for its third up-day in a row, climbing 1.6% Friday. Top Gaming Stocks Move In Different Directions NetEase earns a 99 Composite Rating. When the Chinese gaming company reports quarterly results on Feb. 24, analysts expect the bottom line to grow 30%. Shares jumped in quick turnover, retaking the 200-day line in intraday trade. But the stock pared its gains to just a 1% rise and fell back below that level. NetEase is trading 24% off of its high reached in late December. Activision has a 93 Composite Rating. The video game publisher missed quarterly earnings and sales estimates late Thursday and gave conservative guidance. Shares dropped below the 200-day line last week and got close to retaking that level in Thursday’s session. Today the stock plunged 9.5% in huge volume, hitting a five and a half month low in intraday trade. Activision is now trading 30% below its late December peak. Supercomputer Maker Stages Downside Reversal And Cray beat quarterly estimates late Thursday, but its guidance was light. The supercomputer maker staged a big downside reversal and fell back below its 50-day line, dropping almost 3%. It’s trading about 17% below its recent high. Cray has a Composite Rating of 95. Image provided by Shutterstock .