Egyptian Market Reopens – EGPT NAV Plunges
After many delays, the Egyptian Stock Exchange reopened yesterday. A 10% drop within minutes of the opening triggered circuit breakers and suspended trading for the day. During the nearly two-month closure, many investors mistakenly assumed the Market Vectors Egypt ETF (EGPT) was a good proxy for the...
QQQQ Becomes QQQ Again
PowerShares is changing the ticker symbols for 10 of its ETFs starting with tomorrow’s (3/23/2011) opening of trading. Included in the changes are the PowerShares QQQ Trust along with the nine small cap sector ETFs that were the subject of a lawsuit filed by the Select Sector SPDR Trust. I never...
ETF FONE Home
First Trust today (2/18/11) introduced a new ETF targeting the rapidly growing global smartphone industry. First Trust NASDAQ CEA Smartphone Index Fund (FONE) includes stocks of companies primarily involved in design, fabrication, and distribution of handsets, along with hardware, software, and mobile...
New ETF Targets 5 of 10 ASEAN Countries
Global X today (2/17/11) introduced the newest member of its regional ETF offerings with the launch of Global X FTSE ASEAN 40 ETF (ASEA). There are 10 countries that currently comprise the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), but ASEA holds the 40 largest companies from just five of them. The...
Fidelity Increases Commission-Free ETFs to 31
Consumers everywhere agree – price wars are the best wars on the planet. The ETF trading commission price war makes ETF investors happy and their wallets a little thicker. Fidelity today (2/16/11) announced the addition of five more iShares ETFs to its $0 commission lineup. This brings the total...
The Impending Collapse of the 30% Premium for EGPT
Note: The Egyptian Exchange extended the closure multiple time. Therefore, the timeline for the collapse scenario outlined below has been delayed. The premium for EGPT will disappear once share creation resumes, which is estimated to be one or two market days after the Egyptian Exchange reopens. Many...
EGPT Now 50% Cash With A Hefty Premium For That Cash
Van Eck has created a problem for itself and for shareholders of the Market Vectors Egypt ETF (EGPT) launched last February. From the prospectus (pdf): Risk of Cash Transactions: Unlike most other ETFs, the Fund expects to effect creations and redemptions for cash, rather than in-kind securities. Index...
Vanguard Launches Its 2nd All World Ex-US ETF
Vanguard last Friday (1/28/11) introduced the Vanguard Total International Stock ETF (VXUS), which seeks to track the MSCI All Country World ex USA Investable Market Index. The VXUS expense ratio is 0.20%, making it the lowest priced offering in its category. The snapshot page does not offer much additional...
Socially Responsible Developed Markets ETF Launched
ESG Shares Pax MSCI EAFE ESG Index ETF (EAPS) began trading last Friday (1/28/11) and seeks to track a socially responsible index from MSCI. The underlying index consists of equity securities from companies that have high environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) ratings from MSCI. Like other...
HDGE: The First Actively-Managed Short Selling ETF
Retail investors seeking an actively-managed short selling solution have traditionally had very few choices. The menu expanded last Thursday (1/27/11) with the introduction of AdvisorShares Active Bear ETF (HDGE), the first actively-managed short selling fund in an ETF format. HDGE seeks capital appreciation...
