Specialty ETFs

Exchange-traded funds tracking ex-U.S. developed market equities are among the hottest corners of the ETF space this year. Investors are pouring billions of dollars of new assets into these ETFs in search of value plays not involving pricey U.S. equities. As is the case with U.S. equity ETFs,...

In recent years, the ETF of ETFs has been increasingly popular with issuers of new exchange-traded funds. The latest entrant to that arena is the ClearShares OCIO ETF (NYSE: OCIO), which debuted Tuesday. The new ETF was launched by ClearShares LLC, a unit of Clearbrook Global Advisors. “OCIO...

Over the past several years, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has received plenty of credit when Japanese equities rise and the yen falters. Likewise, when the yen rises, weighing on Japanese stocks, some market observers are quick to chide Abe. This year, the yen has traded higher against the...

Helped in part by the disappointing dollar, some emerging-market currencies have been solid performers this year, providing support for bonds denominated in those currencies. For example, the Market Vectors Emerging Mkts Local ETF (NYSE: EMLC) is up 8 percent year to date compared to a gain of less...

First Trust, one of the largest issuers of smart beta exchange-traded funds, last week introduced six ETFs based on the Nasdaq Riskalyze indexes. Those benchmarks “are designed to provide diversified, value-added exposure to broad equity market categories. The indexes seek to outperform their...

The exchange-traded fund landscape is home to increasing number of funds that adhere to environmental, social and governance themes. That includes some ETFs rooted in religion, such as the Global X S&P 500 Catholic Values ETF (NASDAQ: CATH). The Global X S&P 500 Catholic Values Index ETF...

Blame it on bottom-fishing or bullish biases, but one of this year's worst-performing commodities still has supporters in the world of exchange traded products where the slumping United States Oil Fund (NYSE: USO) has been attracting new money. Bear Territory "In spite of the sell-off...

Pacer ETFs, the exchange-traded funds issuer behind the cash cows series of ETFs, added to that lineup Monday with the debuts of new funds. The new ETFs are the Pacer US Small Cap Cash Cows 100 ETF (BATS: CALF) and the Pacer Developed Markets International Cash Cows 100 ETF (BATS: ICOW). CALF...

Momentum is one of the most widely followed investment factors, a status indulged by a slew of exchange traded funds. There are even some actively managed ETFs emphasizing momentum, including the MomentumShares U.S. Quantitative Momentum ETF (BATS: QMOM). QMOM is part of the Alpha Architect family...

With few exceptions, the commodities complex is being taken to task this year. Even diversified commodities exchange-traded products are not offering much shelter from the storm in the face of slumping oil prices. For example, the WisdomTree Continuous Commodity ETF (NYSE: GCC) is down 4.3 percent...

The United States Oil Fund (NYSE: USO) is down nearly 2.7 percent over the past week, bringing the heavily traded oil exchange-traded product's year-to-date loss to nearly 22 percent. Those data points, among others, highlight oil's status as one of 2017's worst-performing commodities....

The U.S. dollar is one of this year's most disappointing developed market currencies, but that is not helping the commodities complex. Most commodities, an asset class denominated in dollars, are sagging, but some precious metals have been notable exceptions. Among exchange-traded products, the...

Nearly halfway through 2017, one thing investors have heard plenty of is how poorly oil is performing. Crude is one of this year's worst-performing commodities, a theme reflected by a batch of exchange traded products. Just look at the PowerShares DB Oil Fund (NYSE: DBO), which is down 16.4...

For U.S. natural gas investors, Qatar’s problems may be the American natural gas industry’s opportunity. Diplomatic tensions between Qatar, the world’s largest natural gas exporter, and six Arab countries, including the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, recently came to a head over...

Exchange-traded funds tracking European equities are popular destinations this year for U.S. investors in search of value. Data confirm as much. “But the big take-away from the May data comes from looking under the hood, which shows that foreign assets are capturing an outsized share of...