Tag Archives: etf-hub

Global And Short-Term Treasury: 2 ETFs To Watch On Outsized Volume

In the last trading session, the U.S. stocks ended their five-day losing stretch on strong earnings reports and stabilization in the Chinese market. Among the top ETFs, investors saw the SPDR S&P 500 Trust ETF (NYSEARCA: SPY ) gain 1.2%, the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (NYSEARCA: DIA ) move higher by 1.1% and the PowerShares QQQ Trust ETF (NASDAQ: QQQ ) gain 0.9% on the day. Two more specialized ETFs are worth noting as both saw trading volume that was far outside of normal. In fact, both these funds experienced volume levels that were more than double their average for the most recent trading session. This could make these ETFs ones to watch out for in the days ahead to see if this trend of extra-interest continues: iShares MSCI ACWI (All Country World Index) Index ETF (NASDAQ: ACWI ) : Volume 4.9 times average This global ETF was in focus yesterday as about 5.6 million shares moved hands compared to an average of roughly 1.2 million shares. We also saw some price movement as ACWI gained 1.2% in the past session. The movement can largely be blamed on lower oil prices, uncertain economic growth worldwide, and a possible interest rate hike, which can have a huge impact on global stocks like the ones we find in this ETF portfolio. For the past one-month period, ACWI was down nearly 2.2%. The fund currently has a Zacks ETF Rank #3 (Hold). S chwab Short-Term U.S. Treasury ETF (NYSEARCA: SCHO ) : Volume 4.0 times average This short-term treasury ETF was under the microscope yesterday as more than 693,000 shares moved hands. This compares to an average trading day of around 181,000 shares and came as SCHO lost 0.4% in the session. The big move was largely the result of the uncertainty over the Fed’s interest rate outlook ahead of its meeting. SCHO added 0.2% in the past month and currently has a Zacks ETF Rank #3. Link to the original article on Zacks.com Share this article with a colleague

U.S. Infrastructure Is Aging And In Dire Need Of A Refresh

By Mary-Lynn Cesar New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and Vice President Joe Biden made a joint appearance Monday afternoon to announce major infrastructure upgrades to LaGuardia Airport. Adding to Biden’s ” third-world country ” description of LaGuardia, Cuomo said the airport was ” un-New York ” and revealed that construction on a new LaGuardia airport will begin next year. The project is expected to cost the Port Authority of NY & NJ $4 billion . LaGuardia is but one example of US infrastructure that badly needs an update. There are the Hudson River rail tunnels -which service Amtrak and NJ Transit trains between New York and New Jersey-the Albion River Bridge in coastal California and the nation’s wastewater and drinking water systems , to name a few. According to the American Society of Civil Engineers’ 2013 report card , which assesses and grades all segments of US infrastructure, things are in poor shape. The overall grade was a D+, and an estimated $3.6 trillion would need to be invested in infrastructure by 2020 to improve the situation. Per Governing.com, the five largest infrastructure projects currently underway in the US are the Dulles International Airport Corridor Metrorail Project, Otay Mesa East port facility construction, modernization of O’Hare International Airport, expansion of the Crescent Corridor freight rail network and replacing the Alaskan Way Viaduct. Combined the projects will cost $21.4 billion. While there are trillions that need to be invested in US infrastructure, the fact remains that they haven’t been yet. Perhaps this is why infrastructure ETFs with exposure to potential US projects haven’t been performing well. In fact, all of the following funds have underperformed the market on a monthly quarterly and year-to-date basis. Could the LaGuardia airport project help some of these ETFs turn things around? Deutsche X-trackers S&P Hedged Global Infrastructure ETF (NYSEARCA: DBIF ) ( Earnings , Analysts , Financials ): Seeks to track the performance of equity securities of infrastructure issuers in developed markets. Net assets under management: $3.53M, most recent closing price: $23.77. The fund has underperformed the market by -3.22% over the last month, -5.54% over the last quarter and -4.66% since the beginning of the year. SPDR S&P Global Infrastructure ETF (NYSEARCA: GII ) ( Earnings , Analysts , Financials ): Seeks to reflect the stock performance of companies within the infrastructure industry, principally those engaged in management, ownership and operation of infrastructure and utility assets. Net assets under management: $97.83M, most recent closing price: $46.08. The fund has underperformed the market by -4.46% over the last month, -8.40% over the last quarter and -3.64% since the beginning of the year. iShares Global Infrastructure ETF (NYSEARCA: IGF ) ( Earnings , Analysts , Financials ): Seeks to replicate the S&P Global Infrastructure Index. Net assets under management: $1.20B, most recent closing price: $40.05. The fund has underperformed the market by -4.09% over the last month, -8.00% over the last quarter and -3.79% since the beginning of the year. ProShares DJ Brookfield Global Infrastructure ET (NYSEARCA: TOLZ ) ( Earnings , Analysts , Financials ): Seeks to replicate Dow Jones Brookfield Global Infrastructure Composite Index. Net assets under management: $25.99M, most recent closing price: $40.55. The fund has underperformed the market by -5.60% over the last month, -10.04% over the last quarter and -7.10% since the beginning of the year. (Monthly return data sourced from Zacks Investment Research. Assets data sourced from Yahoo! Finance. All other data sourced from FINVIZ.) Share this article with a colleague

‘Insurance’ For A Declining Market?

It isn’t only US insurers that are in a sweet spot right now. These three European insurers / financial services providers are worth a look, too! They are big and liquid, making your due diligence easier. If world markets take it on the chin in the coming weeks I would consider it an intermediate-term buying opportunity – for some sectors. If Europe, in particular, is hit hard enough to provide great opportunities, we’ll be at least selective buyers. If we can buy cheaply enough, I’m OK holding even if we didn’t get the lows. We buy in a range of value ; we aren’t trying to get the exact low! One possibility many are considering is the Global X FTSE Greece ETF (NYSEARCA: GREK ). Let them. Me? I won’t touch it. Yes, it closed cheap on Thursday and is likely to open even cheaper on Monday. And it sells at a 3% discount to its NAV. But it’s the composition of the fund that makes it uninteresting to me. Rather than being comprised of Greek consumer staples, infrastructure, shipping, food companies etc., firms that are needed by the Greek people whether they are in the EZ or not, 22% of the ETF is in one stock: Coca-Cola HBC ( OTCPK:CCHGY ) – which is a Swiss company now, no longer Greek. I can buy 22% of GREK just by buying one Swiss stock. Another 25% is in Greek banks, which may or may not remain solvent, and nearly 10% more is in a lottery and sports betting firm in Greece. Maybe if it goes to a deeper discount and the banks look like they’ll make it… Otherwise, no way. Ironically, the Greek fiasco will most likely weaken the euro yet again. A weaker Euro means European companies like Daimler ( OTCPK:DDAIF ), VW ( OTCQX:VLKAY ), Unilever (NYSE: UL ), Roche ( OTCQX:RHHBY ), Coca Cola HBC, and others that exports to other nations, will be selling at a favorable exchange rate and are likely to, at least temporarily, be able to under-cut their competition in the US, Asia and elsewhere. Which means opportunity. We already own 1000 shares of Allianz SE ( OTCQX:AZSEY ), the giant Germany-based insurance and financial services giant that is, among other things, the parent of PIMCO, which all by itself has $1.6 trillion in assets under management. Two of Allianz’s competitors look good to me today, as well. France’s AXA SA ( OTCQX:AXAHY ) was founded in 1852 and Switzerland’s Zurich Insurance ( OTCQX:ZURVY ) in 1872. They’ve both seen far bigger calamities than the current one and survived, including bank panics, the Great Depression and two world wars. This? Poof! This is nothing! Both are global insurance companies that offer just about every kind of insurance imaginable. They also offer investment advice, mutual funds and other products to extend their reach in the financial services arena. They are depressed right now because they have had exposure to Greek headlines, eurozone turmoil, Italian bonds, etc. But both have credibly marked their portfolios to market and both are writing huge amounts of business well beyond Europe. AXA is the parent, for instance, of both Equitably Life and MONY here in the US. It trades at a PE of 11, a Price/Sales ratio of 0.50, a Price/Book of 0.80, and pays a yield of 4.26%. Zurich has a typically bulletproof Swiss balance sheet, has hedged a large part of its equity exposure, and is actively delivering products and services in more than 170 countries. The stock has a 12 P/E, a Price/Sales of 0.6, a Price/Book of 1.3, and yields just over 6%. Please note that, in the European tradition, both firms pay their dividend just once per year! Editor’s Note: This article discusses one or more securities that do not trade on a major U.S. exchange. Please be aware of the risks associated with these stocks. Disclosure: I am/we are long AZSEY, ZURVY. (More…) 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.