Tag Archives: china

4 Top-Rated Global Mutual Funds To Watch For

In a scenario wherein the major central banks are choosing intensive economic stimulus measures and the U.S. benchmarks are rebounding strongly, investing in global mutual funds may provide an excellent opportunity to diversify one’s portfolio. While the U.S. economy has shown some signs of improvement and the key interest rates are expected to remain low for a longer period of time, the central banks of Eurozone, China and Japan opted for economic stimulus measures such as multiple rate cuts, negative interest rates and monetary easing to boost their respective economies. These countries are thus lucrative investment propositions for now. Thus, a portfolio having exposure to both domestic and foreign securities will help in reducing risk and enhancing returns. Also, if selected carefully, global mutual funds have the potential to offer secure and attractive investment opportunities. Below, we share with you four top-rated global mutual funds. Each has earned a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and is expected to outperform its peers in the future. Dreyfus Global Equity Income A (MUTF: DEQAX ) invests the lion’s share of its assets in equity securities of companies located in the developed nations including the U.S., Japan and Western Europe. DEQAX invests primarily in stocks of companies that are expected to pay dividend. The fund may also invest in securities issued in emerging countries. DEQAX allocates its assets in a minimum of three countries. Dreyfus Global Equity Income A returned 4.6% over the past four weeks. As of Jan. 2016, DEQAX held 55 issues with 5.52% of its assets invested in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE: PM ). Eaton Vance Tax-Managed Global Dividend Income A (MUTF: EADIX ) seeks total return after deduction of taxes. EADIX generally invests in dividend-paying securities of companies throughout the globe. The fund invests the majority of its assets in common and preferred stocks. Eaton Vance Tax-Managed Global Dividend Income A returned 5.8% over the past four weeks. EADIX has an expense ratio of 1.18% as compared to the category average of 1.28%. Fidelity Worldwide (MUTF: FWWFX ) invests primarily in common stocks of both domestic and foreign companies. FWWFX focuses on diversifying its investments across various countries and regions. Factors including financial strength and economic conditions are taken into consideration before investing in a company. Fidelity Worldwide returned 6% over the past four weeks. William Kennedy is one of the fund managers of FWWFX since 2006. Oakmark Global Select I (MUTF: OAKWX ) invests in common stocks of companies from a minimum of three countries. OAKWX is believed to maintain a portfolio of around 20 securities. Under normal circumstances, OAKWX invests not less than 40% of its assets in securities of foreign companies. Oakmark Global Select I is a non-diversified fund and returned 7.8% over the past four weeks. Original Post

Will Consumer Staples ETFs Continue To Shine In 2016?

Despite a moderate recovery in the U.S. economy, investors are skeptical about the global issues that have been haunting the markets lately. The global economic slowdown and financial mayhem in China are the main reasons behind the stock market volatility and the decline in the global commodity complex. Also, stronger U.S. dollar, lower traffic and weakness in oil and other commodity sectors are adding to the woes. In fact, consumer confidence – a key determinant of the economy’s health – declined drastically in February, marking the lowest in seven months, signaling that the overseas turmoil is taking a toll on the U.S. economy. According to recent Conference Board data , the Consumer Confidence Index dipped to 92.2 in February from January’s revised reading of 97.8. This indicates the lowest level since July 2015. A slump in consumer confidence would definitely impact consumer spending, which accounts for over two-thirds of U.S. economic activity. The overall tone of the global market remains soft, as we can estimate from the GDP figures, according to the advance estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis . GDP struggled at 1%, after advancing 1.9% and 3.8% in the third and second quarter of 2015, respectively. Nevertheless, market experts anticipate GDP growth of 2% for the January-March quarter on the back of an improving job scenario – with the unemployment rate hovering around 4.9% – and low gas prices that will help increase household wealth and eventually boost consumer spending. In addition to this, improving home sales, higher business and government spending and a buildup in inventories are some favorable economic indicators that play a key role in raising buyers’ confidence. We expect this positive sentiment to translate into higher consumer spending in 2016. Needless to say, the equity markets have become extremely volatile and the overall economic picture is quite bleak. However, we expect to witness a slow but steady recovery in the consumer staples industry, owing to the gradual improvement in consumer spending. Playing the Sector through ETFs Owing to its defensive nature, this sector is likely to outperform when equity markets are bearish and underperform when bullish. The instability in the sector due to factors like U.S. and global exposure can be countered with a wide array of ETFs. The ETFs can act as an excellent investment medium for those who are interested in a long-term exposure within the consumer staples sector. For those interested in taking a look at consumer staples, we have highlighted a few ETFs tracking the industry, any of which could be an attractive pick: Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR ETF (NYSEARCA: XLP ): Launched on Dec. 16, 1998, XLP is an ETF that seeks investment results corresponding to the S&P Consumer Staples Select Sector Index. This fund consists of 40 stocks of companies that manufacture and sell a range of branded consumer packaged goods. The top holdings include The Procter & Gamble Co. (NYSE: PG ), The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO ) and Philip Morris International, Inc. (NYSE: PM ). The fund’s expense ratio is 0.14% and it pays out a dividend yield of 2.50%. XLP had about $9.345 billion in assets under management as of March 1, 2016. Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF (NYSEARCA: VDC ): Initiated on Jan. 26, 2004, VDC is an ETF that tracks the performance of the MSCI US Investable Market Consumer Staples 25/50 Index. It measures the investment return of large, mid, and small-cap U.S. stocks in the consumer staples sector. The fund has a total of 100 stocks, with the top three holdings being Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE: PEP ). It charges 0.12% in expense ratio, while the yield is 2.53% as of now. VDC managed to attract $3.1 billion in assets under management till Jan. 31, 2016. First Trust Consumer Staples AlphaDEX (NYSEARCA: FXG ): FXG, launched on May 8, 2007, follows the equity index called StrataQuant Consumer Staples Index. FXG is made up of 41 consumer staples securities, with the top holdings being Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE: TSN ), Hormel Foods Corp. (NYSE: HRL ) and Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE: STZ ). The fund’s expense ratio is 0.62% and the dividend yield is 1.67%. It had $2.44 billion in assets under management as of March 1, 2016. Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight Consumer Staples (NYSEARCA: RHS ): Launched on Nov. 1, 2006, RHS is an ETF that seeks investment results corresponding to the S&P 500 Equal Weight Index Consumer Staples. This is an equal-weighted fund and constitutes 38 stocks, with the top holdings being Tyson Foods, Campbell Soup Company (NYSE: CPB ) and Reynolds American, Inc. (NYSE: RAI ). The fund’s expense ratio is 0.40% and dividend payout 1.75%. RHS had about $622.9 million in assets under management as of March 2, 2016. Fidelity MSCI Consumer Staples ETF (NYSEARCA: FSTA ): FSTA, launched on Oct. 21, 2013, is an ETF that seeks investment results corresponding to MSCI USA IMI Consumer Staples Index. This is a cap-weighted fund and constitutes 102 stocks, with the top holdings being Procter & Gamble, Coca-Cola and PepsiCo. The fund’s expense ratio is 0.12% and the dividend yield is 2.84%. FSTA had about $257.6 million in assets under management as of Jan. 31, 2016. Original Post

ETF Update: March Came In Like A Lion, Will It End Like A Lamb?

Welcome back to the SA ETF Update. My goal is to keep Seeking Alpha readers up to date on the ETF universe and to gain some visibility, both for the ETF community and for me as its editor (so users know who to approach with issues, article ideas, to become a contributor, etc.). Every weekend, or every other weekend (depending on the reader response and submission volumes), we will highlight fund launches and closures for the week, as well as any news items that could impact ETF investors. This was a relatively slow couple of week for launches, or maybe it was just the first time in a while that closures outnumbered launches. I’m starting to worry that my prediction from October of 2000 trading ETFs by June was maybe a bit of a reach. My March Madness bracket is already shot as well, so it wouldn’t be the first time I made an outlandish call. There is still time, but if we are going to have more than a 100 launches in the next two months, I might need to start stockpiling coffee. Fund launches for the week of March 7th, 2016 SSgA launches a gender diversity fund (3/8): On International Women’s Day, we saw the launch of the SPDR SSgA Gender Diversity Index ETF (NYSEARCA: SHE ), a well-timed launch if ever there was. This fund the largest 1,000 U.S. listed companies that have significant gender diversity in the ranks of their senior leadership. “This fund empowers investors to encourage more gender diverse leadership and support better long-term social and economic outcomes in support of gender diversity,” said Kristi Mitchem, executive vice president and head of the Americas Institutional Client Group for SSGA in a press release . PureFunds introduces 2 niche technology funds (3/9): The PureFunds Drone Economy Strategy ETF (NYSEARCA: IFLY ) tracks the Reality Shares Drone Index, which includes companies that manufacture, supply and/or utilize drone technology. The PureFunds Video Game Tech ETF (NYSEARCA: GAMR ) will focus on tracking companies that provide the software and hardware for the video gaming industry, including firms that are not directly related to the industry, but do play a role in its success. This is not PureFunds’ first step into a sub-sector technology fund, as the PureFunds ISE Cyber Security ETF (NYSEARCA: HACK ) has gained 733.96M in assets under management since its launch in November 2014. Invesco PowerShares rolls out a new fund of funds ETF (3/10): The PowerShares DWA Tactical Multi-Asset Income Portfolio (NASDAQ: DWIN ) is an income-focused fund that will track other ETFs (mainly PowerShares funds) utilizing an index from Dorsey Wright. According to the DWIN homepage, “the Index is designed to select investments from a universe of income strategies with the criteria for inclusion based on a combination of relative strength and current yield.” The current holdings are the PowerShares High Yield Equity Dividend Achievers Portfolio (NYSEARCA: PEY ), the PowerShares Preferred Portfolio (NYSEARCA: PGX ), the PowerShares Build America Bond Portfolio (NYSEARCA: BAB ), the PowerShares Global Short Term High Yield Bond Portfolio and the PowerShares Emerging Markets Sovereign Debt Portfolio (NYSEARCA: PCY ). Fund launches for the week of March 14th, 2016 First Trust launches a follow-up fund for FV (3/18): The First Trust Dorsey Wright Focus 5 ETF (NASDAQ: FV ) has gained over $4.5B in assets under management since launching in March 2014, so it comes as no surprise that First Trust decided to launch a similar fund with a twist. Like the first fund, the First Trust Dorsey Wright Dynamic Focus 5 ETF (NASDAQ: FVC ) is designed to provide targeted exposure to the five First Trust sector and industry-based ETFs that DWA believes offer the greatest potential to outperform the other ETFs in the selection universe. However, the fund also has the option for risk management via cash equivalents represented by 1- to 3-month U.S. At its launch, roughly 50% of the fund was made of equity ETF holdings. Fund closures for the weeks of March 7th and 14th, 2016 Recon Capital FTSE 100 ETF (NASDAQ: UK ) Precidian MAXIS Nikkei 225 Index ETF (NYSEARCA: NKY ) ProShares Managed Futures Strategy ETF (NYSEARCA: FUTS ) PowerShares KBW Capital Markets Portfolio ETF (NYSEARCA: KBWC ) PowerShares KBW Insurance Portfolio ETF (NYSEARCA: KBWI ) PowerShares China A – Share Portfolio ETF (NYSEARCA: CHNA ) PowerShares Fundamental Emerging Markets Local Debt Portfolio ETF (NYSEARCA: PFEM ) Have any other questions on ETFs or ETNs? Please comment below and I will try to clear things up. As an author and editor, I have found that constructive feedback is the best way to grow. What you would like to see discussed in the future? How can I improve this series to meet reader needs? Please share your thoughts on this first edition of the ETF Update series in the comments section below. Have a view on something that’s coming up or a new fund? Submit an article. Disclosure: I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours. I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it. I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.