US Gets Sharia ETF

US Gets Sharia ETF

The United States will finally have a listed ETF whose investment strategy conforms to Islamic law. Such sharia funds are wildly popular elsewhere in the world, and are a rapidly growing niche product for major Western banks and asset mangers. The JETS Dow Jones Islamic Market International Index Fund (JVS) will track a special version […]

New Short Oil Fund

US Commodity Funds, the same group behind the largest US listed oil ETFs – the USO and USL – will launch a new fund to short crude futures. Bloomberg reports that the United States Short Oil Fund (DNO) will begin trading in July on the NYSE Arca. It will be the only single leverage short […]

A One-Company ETF?

Japanese investors will have a unique ETF option coming in mid-July: a fund that invests only in one conglomerate. The fund will hold each of the 26 separately-listed Japanese companies owned or part-owned by the Mitsubishi Group, including Mitsubishi Motors (TYO:7211), Nippon Oil Corporation (TYO:5001), and Nikon (TYO:7731). This rare niche product is made possible […]

5 Patriotic ETFs for Your Portfolio

The global financial crisis started in the United States, and the US economy has consequently suffered more than most. Although total output has fallen less than the global average, the rise in America’s unemployment rate has been the steepest in the OECD. It has the world’s largest budget deficit as a percentage of GDP, save […]

Van Eck Vietnam Fund Launches

Van Eck has launched the first US traded ETF to focus on the Vietnamese market, adding to its impressive lineup of emerging market single country funds. The Van Eck Market Vectors Vietnam (VNM) tracks a custom index of equities from firms that generate more than 50% of their revenues in Vietnam. The current 28 holdings […]

Game Over for USO, UNG

Commodity ETFs have been criticized from all corners. Investors have pilloried their inability to accurately track the price of their underlying asset. Industry watchdogs have assailed their inadequate disclosure of risks. And regulators have fretted over their ability to unduly manipulate futures markets. Yet ETFs like the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) and the […]

10 Best ETFs for Decoupling 2.0

When in 2007 it became clear the recession in the rich word was inevitable, many economic commentators predicted that major emerging markets would “decouple” from their export markets and continue growing on the backs of increased domestic demand. By 2008 it was clear that decoupling wasn’t going as planned as exports, industrial production, output, and […]

Complete Guide to Emerging Market ETFs

If you’ve kept your money in the US this year, you’ve missed out. Despite the recent uptick in US equities, the major American averages are barely up for the year. Meanwhile emerging market shares have seen a heroic rally from the depths of last year, with the benchmark MSCI Emerging Market Index up 38% ytd. […]

Complete Guide to CleanTech ETFs

If there is one sure long-term sectoral bet, it should be cleantech. Governments around the world are determined to wean the world off of carbon based fuels, some of which will run out soon anyway. Many nations and most US states now require utilities to purchase a certain percentage of their energy from renewable sources, […]