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When it comes to fee battles in the world of exchange-traded funds, such tussles usually take place among issuers. Several major brokerage firms have made it cheaper for investors to trade ETFs by offering commission-free programs, an arena that's proving to be a new frontier of cost tussles....

The U.S. consumer staples sector is modestly higher on a year-to-date basis, though the group trails the S&P 500 by a wide margin. However, with the group retreating from some recently elevated valuations, investors may want to consider exchange-traded funds offering a global approach to...

The Technology Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLK), the largest technology exchange-traded fund by assets, is up more than 22 percent year to date, underscoring the point that technology is the best performing group in the S&P 500 this year. While technology's bullish performance through the...

Investors are flocking to ex-U.S. equity exchange-traded funds this year. The enthusiasm for stocks outside the U.S. is spread around to developed and emerging markets, with ETF investors largely preferring low-cost funds. Not surprisingly, many of the least expensive international ETFs are also...

Home to $18.9 billion in assets under management as of the end of August, the Vanguard High Yield Dividend ETF (NYSE: VYM) is one of the largest U.S. dividend exchange-traded funds. While size does matter to some extent with ETFs, there is more to VYM's story. VYM tracks the FTSE High Dividend...

As has been widely documented, an interesting phenomenon with small-cap stocks this year is not just the smaller U.S. stocks lagging their large-cap counterparts, but that U.S. small-caps are getting trounced by their international equivalents. Just focusing on ex-U.S. developed market small-caps,...

International equity exchange-traded funds have been popular destinations for investors. With the widely followed MSCI EAFE Index up about 16 percent year to date, investors' enthusiasm for ex-US developed market equities is understandable. Dividends should not be overlooked in this equation....

As has been widely documented, the technology sector is the best-performing group in the S&P 500 this year. Stocks with exposure to the booming cloud computing theme are a big reason why technology is soaring. Just look at the First Trust Cloud Computing ETF (NASDAQ: SKYY). The only exchange-...

Investors looking for wide-ranging exposure to U.S. stocks on a cost-effective basis have a wide array of index funds and exchange-traded funds to choose from. One of the most popular is the Vanguard Total Market ETF (NYSE: VTI). When the just over 500 stocks found in the S&P 500 and the...

Investors frustrated with the laggard performances turned in by U.S. small-caps and the related exchange-traded funds this year have been able to that frustration into profits with international small-cap ETFs. That has not meant taking on excessive risk, either. The iShares MSCI EAFE Small-Cap ETF...