Volatility

The Volatility Index and its corresponding exchange-traded note iPath S&P 500 VIX Short Term Futures TM ETN (NYSE: VXX) is sitting near a multi-decade low at a time when political tensions both domestically and internationally are at a worrisome level. How is this even possible? According to...

A few months ago, Benzinga published an article explaining the difference between risk-on and risk-off investing and how each strategy correlates to a particular economic, financial and geopolitical context. Put simply, when uncertainty reigns either in the world or in the markets — or in...

An increasingly popular niche within the expansive universe of smart beta exchange-traded funds is the low volatility/high dividend concept. SPHD And 2 New ETFs The PowerShares S&P 500 High Dividend Low Volatility Portfolio (PowerShares Exchange-Traded Fund Trust II (NYSE: SPHD)) pioneered the...

Earlier this year, the low volatility factor was the object of much attention and adulation, and that affection was not limited to U.S.-focused exchange-traded funds. iShares EEMV The iShares Edge MSCI Min Vol Emerging Markets ETF, iShares Inc. (NYSE: EEMV) also caught investors' attention, as...

Plenty of bloom has come off the low volatility rose. That was especially true during the third quarter when high beta offered significant out-performance over the low volatility factor, but low volatility could have its day again. Looking To China A familiar catalyst, China, could be the reason...

Timing individual investment factors, such as low volatility, is difficult. Entering 2016, who knew that exchange-traded funds such as the PowerShares S&P 500 Low Volatility Portfolio (PowerShares Exchange-Traded Fund Trust II (NYSE: SPLV)) would outperform traditionally-weighted benchmarks...

A common knock on low volatility exchange-traded funds is that these products are often heavily allocated to the consumer staples or utilities sectors or both. A common knock on those sectors, aside from criticisms regarding frothy valuations, is that those groups are inversely correlated to rising...

Interested in participating in the market but worried about wild swings in the market? A new mutual fund has launched that utilizes a buffer strategy that may be attractive for investors who want to buy, but are worried about market volatility or the uncertainty surrounding the upcoming election...

Regarding volatility exchange-traded funds, it is those of the low volatility variety that are garnering all the attention this year. That includes the ultra-popular PowerShares S&P 500 Low Volatility Portfolio (PowerShares Exchange-Traded Fund Trust II (NYSE: SPLV)). Amid all the fervor over...

Low volatility exchange-traded funds, for positive and negative reasons, have been the talk of the ETF universe this year, but all that attention is not exclusively reserved for large-cap funds such as the iShares Edge MSCI Min Vol USA ETF (iShares Trust (NYSE: USMV). Some low volatility ETFs...