ETFs hold a basket of securities that mimic the results of various indices including broad stock and bond market, industry sectors, and international securities. New niche funds are being created regularly. Recent introductions include gold and China funds, and there are rumors that a silver ETF will soon be available.
The most popular ETF is the NASDAQ 100 Tracking Stock (QQQQ) trading 50 million shares a day on the NASDAQ Stock Market. The volume leaders on the American Stock Exchange are the SPDRS (SPY) tracking the S&P 500 trading 25 million shares per day, the Energy SPDR (XLE), Japan iShares (EWJ), Russell 2000 iShares (IWM), and the Financial SPDR (XLF).
ETFs are widely used by institutional and individual investors as a tool for diversification, risk reduction, hedging, and an efficient way to acquire a basket of securities providing partial ownership in all holdings with only a single commission and small administration fees. ETFs are also transparent, meaning that investors know at all times what securities they are invested in.
There are now also options and futures contracts trading on of ETFs. The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) lists 43 options on ETFs, while the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) offers futures contracts on the S&P 500 Depository Receipts, NASDAQ 100 Tracking Stock, and Russell 2000 Index Fund. And One Chicago, a joint venture between the CBOE, CME, and Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), offers an electronically traded futures contract on the DIAMONDS Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF.
There are also a number of web sites offering information on Exchange Traded Funds. Check out Amex.com, Yahoo! Finances ETF Center, ETFConnect, or ETFera.com. Meanwhile, investment research firm Morningstar compares the fair value estimates to market prices of exchange traded funds holdings to determine whether a fund is over or undervalued.
Exchange Traded Funds low costs, liquidity, and diversification make them an excellent alternative to mutual funds, broad based index investments, and individual stocks in niche sectors.
Forex Trading - Opportunities for Individuals
Forex TradingHow Can Individual Investors Benefit?
Indeed large multinational and individual banks and other major financial institutions have dominated FX trading (also known as Forex trading), but there is a paradigm change in the nature and type of investing. According to one estimate, in the new millennium, there are over 6 million online investment accounts, up from 1.5 million in 1997. As a result, start-up firms now compete directly with financial institutions to serve investors in the new technologically driven economy, and the clear winner is the customer. The competition between ..
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mark Mahorney is a freelance financial writer. Mark inks The Market Speculator newsletter. You can also read his scrawls, scribbles, rambles, and rants on the markets and whatever other ilk gets his ire at BlogginWallStreet.com and Marketblog.com.
Five Reasons You Have to Start Forex Trading
Why should you consider foreign exchange, or forex trading? One compelling reason is that it is a huge business, trading nearly two trillion U.S. dollars on a daily basis. The potential to make money is out there for the well-informed trader. The forex market is the largest in the world. It is larger than the U.S. stock market, and has a daily trading volume larger than all the world s stock markets combined. The following list provides a few reasons why forex trading is a smart move.
It s Easy
If the idea of trading on the stock market is intimidating, you re not alone. There is no way th ..
