January 2009

Mutual Funds News and Views

* T. Rowe Price Profit Plunges 87%
... advisory revenue dropped sharply, investors pulled money out of its mutual funds and the market swoon hit the firm's own investments... the impairment of certain of the firm's investments in sponsored mutual funds... Investors pulled a total of $2.2 billion from mutual funds in the fourth quarter, including $1.4 billion from stock funds ...

* Morningstar on the Madoff Scandal
... know that Morningstar.com readers have a special interest in mutual funds and how they might be affected--or not--by the ... So mutual fund analyst David Kathman looked at how mutual funds could, or could not, end up in a similar state, and finds that the rules governing mutual funds do give their shareholders many advantages in this regard--if ...

* 2 Smart Ways to Lose Money
... recently browsed through SmartMoney magazine's list of its top 100 mutual funds... A front-end load is a fee that some mutual funds charge you before you're even invested into the fund, taking ... In fact, mutual fund track records are useless unless they represent the performance of ... Unfortunately, a good portion of mutual fund recommendations are based on facts similar to these -- running a ...

* Mutual Fund Data...Now Available Weekly
The Investment Company Institute, which provides monthly data on mutual-fund assets and flows, is going to start publishing that information on a ... The new weekly report will offer statistics for equity, hybrid, and bond mutual funds for the week ending on the prior Wednesday... David Gaffen Mutual Fund Data.

* Analyzing Mutual Fund Risk
There are a number of attractive mutual funds and fund managers that have performed very well over both ... Sometimes, performance can be attributable to a mutual fund manager's superior stock-picking abilities and/or asset allocation decisions ... In this article, we'll summarize how to analyze a mutual fund's portfolio and determine whether there are specific performance drivers.

* Motley Fool rushes into mutual funds
p> If you wanted to uncover everything wrong with mutual funds in one fell swoop, you might turn to the Motley ... The new mutual fund is one of the seedlings sprouted from the new business ... point, over the past 15 years, some 80 percent of mutual funds have lost to the S&P 500," the company's co ... cjaffe@marketwatch.com (Chuck Jaffe) Motley Fool rushes into mutual funds.

* Study Suggests Manager Bonuses for Better Mutual Fund Performance
... by University of Iowa finance professor Ashish Tiwari suggests that mutual fund performance could be improved if managers were allowed to collect ... be the best time to suggest that federal regulations restricting mutual fund managers from collecting performance-based bonuses be relaxed... current popular criticism of bonuses, Tiwari said bonuses paid to mutual fund and portfolio managers are fundamentally different from most of those ...

* Learning a lesson from a mutual fund 'master of disaster'
Chuck Jaffe talked with Heiko Thieme, nicknamed "Psycho Heiko," the manager of two of the worst mutual funds of all time, and he says that Thieme's tale holds a cautionary note for all fund investors. Learning a lesson from a mutual fund 'master of disaster.

* Some Rules For Picking A Mutual Fund
... may have decided to stow some of your cash in mutual funds. Mutual funds don't move like a winning stock - they're long-term investments ... 14, Investor's Corner discussed how the compounding in a mutual fund can pay off big over the long term: With a ... Medium to small funds have more flexibility: If the mutual fund has billions in assets, it can be harder for it ...

* Global Investing Made Simple
and more funds For starters, you could buy a mutual fund that specializes in international investing. Actively managed mutual funds do have some drawbacks, but some offer consistently strong performance ... exposure to your portfolio, with less hassle than a traditional mutual fund... The best mutual funds and ETFs make acquiring this exposure painless.

Exchange-Traded Funds, ETFs News and Views

* Jan. 27: The Best ETF Articles In The Nation
... those lines, just in time comes a new Claymore Securities exchange-traded fund, the first to focus on global airlines... is editor of IndexUniverse.com and a leading authority on exchange-traded funds, exchange-traded notes and other passive investment products. As editor of IndexUniverse.com and the Exchange-Traded Funds Report, and senior editor of the Journal of Indexes, Hougan ...

* Go Green with Low Cost ETF Funds: EVX
If you see the value in investing in environmental services you can divest your funds by selecting an exchange traded fund ( ETF. Exchange traded funds let you purchase stocks in a particular field but within that stock you own several different companies. One environmental services ETF that may be worth researching is Market Vectors Environmental Services ETF (NYSE: EVX.

* Exchange-traded commodities boom
LONDON, Jan 26 - Exchange-traded commodities (ETCs) -- securities that rise and fall with oil, gold ... McNeil, managing partner of the unlisted company which manages popular exchange-traded funds (ETFs) such as Physical Gold and Brent 1-Month, said ... about $2-3 billion traded across Europe each week on exchange-traded commodities, of which 33-40 percent is energy, mainly oil ...

* Beware The Dividend ETF
... way to play: There are now some three dozen dividend ETFs, with a total of $8 billion in assets. That’s more than double the $3.8 billion in utilities ETFs, another safe-haven category... to pick up a batch of dividend payers through an ETF could be in for an unpleasant surprise.

* 2008 Leaves A Dent In ETF Asset Growth
The total amount of money invested in ETFs has quadrupled in the past five years to $533.5 billion, according to State Street Global Advisors' ETF Snapshot for December 2008 ... of the end of last year, a total of 747 ETFs traded in the U.S. ETF assets surged by $56.6 billion last month, or 11.9.

* ETF Watch: January 9 – January 21
NEW LISTINGS Market Vectors Family Adds Indonesia ETF The largest economy in Southeast Asia now has its first ... with the January launch of the Market Vectors Indonesia Index ETF (NYSE Arca: IDX... Grail Files For More-Active ETFs Grail Advisors has requested approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission to launch two new ETFs, both of which are designed to press a more active ... New iShares ETF tracks Asia ex-Japan, and a new ETF provider files for a Nordic ETF ...

* Four Ways To Handle A Down Market With ETFs
... investing, whether it’s with single stocks or exchange traded funds (ETFs. There are four strategies that can help ETF investors protect their capital even when the market is not ... The strategies that can help ETF investors protect their money in a down market are also useful with single stocks, as ETFs are simply a basket of stocks ...

* Why New Leveraged ETFs Are An Overnight Sensation
Although many have criticized leveraged and inverse exchange traded funds (ETFs), these types of funds offered by Direxion have been a ... on a daily basis, rendering it competitive in the leveraged ETF market space. In fact, Morningstar reports that Direxion’s largest ETF, the Large Cap Bull 3X Shares ( BGU ) has $237 million ...

Mutual Funds ETFs Weekend Reading

How Do I Find The Top Mutual Funds? | BlogContestSite.com
All investors are looking to find the top mutual funds for investing their money. We all want to know where our money will grow the fastest and be the safest.

Top 10 ETF’s They Haven’t Created Yet «
With over 400 Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) on the market right now and new ones being issued each week, we may be reaching the point of ETF overload. Below are some ETFs that have not yet been created:. Top 10 ETFs They Haven’t Created ...

ETF Innovators: Create Your Own Highly Defensive ETF
ETF Innovators is an investment weblog with a focus on exchange-traded funds and the healthcare industry. Global sector funds are designed, compared with current ETFs, and offered for licensing. ...

Tips For Choosing High-Performance Mutual Fund
Most people who invest in mutual funds don't know what they are doing. They take advice from someone at a bank or perhaps a friend and plunk down money into a fund. Sometimes this strategy works, but most of the time, it doesn't.

ETF Investing » Blog Archive » ETF winners and losers so far in 2009
About John Spence. John Spence is a MarketWatch columnist and lead writer on exchange traded funds. His column, ETF Investing, is published each Monday on MarketWatch.com. Search this blog. Subscribe to RSS. Recent posts ...

ETF makers continued to gain assets in 2008, while mutual funds ...
In the titanic struggle between mutual funds and the newer exchange-traded funds (ETFs), 2008 may have been a watershed year, according to ETF-maker Barclays Global Investors Canada Ltd. On Monday, Barclays Canada issued a press release ...

What Can We Learn From the 2008 Leveraged ETF Collapse? Part 2
When the index fund rises, the position is trimmed and more funds moved into cash. Then when the index falls, the reverse happens, and funds are returned to the market. By rebalancing, the portfolio manager is more likely to enter a ...

HowtoInvestOnline: ETFs and Mutual Funds - Calculating Capital Gains
ETFs and Mutual Funds - Calculating Capital Gains. The previous post on this blog explained that an investor must calculate the capital gain when he/she sells a mutual fund or ETF and must report that gain on his/her ...

Actively Managed Funds vs. Vanguard Index Funds Update
It has been more than a year since I last ran a comparison between my actively managed funds and low-cost Vanguard index funds. After the huge losses in stock markets last year, I am more interested in seeing how my funds have performed ...

Advantages of ETF Wraps
Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) wrap is growing in popularity. There are a number of reasons for it. Below are some advantages that ETF wraps offer over mutual fund wraps and other trading instruments.Expense ratio: ETFs has lesser expense ratio (an ...

Mutual Funds and ETFs News

Actively Managed Funds vs. Vanguard Index Funds Update
It has been more than a year since I last ran a comparison between my actively managed funds and low-cost Vanguard index funds. After the huge losses in stock markets last year, I am more interested in seeing how my funds have performed ...

10 Potential ETF Surprises In 2009 | Daily Markets
Now that 2009 is off and rolling, many strategists have thrown in their two cents on what is going to happen with the markets, stocks and exchange traded funds (ETFs). Byron R. Wien, Chief Investment Strategist of Pequot ...

Pick The Right Mutual Fund(s)
Investing is tough enough nowadays. A little help for the mutual fundinvestor. ... If you are in mutual funds, and understand "risk profiles" I would suggest not working with a broker. I am a former investment broker. If you want a broker I would ...

Mutual Fund Honor Roll (Forbes)
Mutual Fund Honor Roll (Forbes). Filed Under Main Content. Bloodied but resilient, these long-term investing standouts keep up with the pack in bull markets and lose less than their peers in bear markets. ...

Target-date mutual funds aren’t created equal (Austin American ...
Bracing for their year-end 401(k) statements, many investors who put money in 2010 target-date mutual funds might discover they face a delayed retirement.

Mutual fund fee
I sold shares in a Vanguard fund that charges a fee when shares are sold less than 5 years after purchase. I received the NAV of the shares, less the fee. Vanguard's 1099-B gives the NAV as Gross Proceeds and does not ...

ETF Strategies | Investing in Exchange Traded Funds | ETF ...
ETF Strategies | Investing in Exchange Traded Funds | ETF ... - ETFCENTER ETF Strategies ETFs offer an ever-increasing array of investing opportunities -- they can be optioned, shorted, hedged, and bundled. ...But for the average investor , ...

Are big mutual fund firms such as Vanguard and American Funds in ...
Are big mutual fund firms such as Vanguard and American Funds in any trouble? Saturday Jan 17,2009 10:42 PM; By diddy; In Others. I have most of my money in Vanguard and American Funds. I know they are taking a big loss in this bear ...

Creating a Mutual Fund Portfolio
When choosing mutual funds, you should consider diversifying your portfolio. Use your best judgment and try not to put all of your eggs in one basket, so to speak. There are a few basic categories of mutual funds you ...

Mutual Funds, ETfs News

2008's ETF Winners - Morningstar Specialists
Scott Burns, director of ETF Analysis wrote an article at the end of September discussing some theories as to why there has been such a divergence in asset flows between ETFs and their open-end mutual fundbrethren. ...

Mutual Funds — Down, Down, Down | The Big Picture
Average decline in diversified mutual funds in 2008 was 40% and the outlook for 2009 is unclear.

100 Great Mutual Funds (Magazine Cover) | Wall Street
SmartMoney.com – Some mutual funds belong to an exclusive club these days—call them the crisis survivors. They have a variety of investment styles, and.

2008's ETF Winners--Page 2 - Morningstar Specialists
BloggingStocks. Specialists 2008's ETF Winners--Page 2 John Gabriel is an ETF analyst with Morningstar and contributor to Morningstar ETFInvestor. http://news.morningstar.com/articlenet/article.aspx?id=270645 john_gabriel@morningstar.com;

Wall Street Diary: ETFs edge mutual funds as investors minimize risk
Exchange-traded funds are gaining favor over risky stock strategies with investors. The funds had inflows of $138 billion for 2008 through November. During the same time period, mutual funds had outflows of $185 billion. ...

Considering dumping a mutual fund?
Fiscal fitness is knocking weight loss off the top of many New Year's resolution lists, thanks to 2008's market drubbing. That often means casting off last year's worst-performing mutual funds for more promising alternatives.

Patterns in Mutual Fund Redemptions | Yes and Not Yes
When a mutual fund hits a bump in the road, will investors quickly bail out? The answer can be important to operators of open-end mutual funds, which allow investors to redeem their shares at the close of trading on any given day. ...

Funds, ETFs News and Views

Standout 2008 mutual-fund managers staying defensive | Mutual Funds
The Seattle Times: Business & Technology – If the economy is poised to turn around, two top mutual-fund managers might do well to heed the contrarian.

First, an Awful Year for Mutual Funds. Now, the Tax Bill ...
For taxable accounts, she suggested index funds — which typically have very low turnover and thus aren’t likely to spring gains surprises — or tax-managed funds. The Vanguard 500 Index fund had turnover of less than 5 percent last year. ...

2008’s ETF Dogs Could Be 2009’s Opportunities | ETF Trends
ETF Winners Losers 2008 While most sectors of the market meandered off the upward climb with a steep plunge in 2008, there were a few exchange traded funds (ETFs) that persevered and rose to new heights. ...

4 Reasons 2009 May Be Looking Up for Economy and ETFs | ETF Trends
exchange traded funds (etfs) 2008 was a devastating year and many believe that it is virtually impossible for things to get any worse for stocks, exchange traded funds (ETFs) and other investment tools. ...

Mutual Funds: Bleak Year Brought Almost No Winners | Mutual Funds
Mutual Funds: Bleak Year Brought Almost No Winners. Sat, Jan 10th. washingtonpost.com - Business –. Here’s how brutal 2008 was for mutual fund investors: The worst performing fund was down nearly 60 percent, the average financial fund ...

How to Build a Retirement Portfolio with ETFs | ETF Trends
Exchange traded funds (ETFs) have yet to fully ingratiate themselves into the retirement plan market, but the recent meltdown with the markets and mutual funds may provide the necessary entry point for these funds to get their big break ...

2 Big Problems With 401(k)s, and Why ETFs May Be the Answer | ETF ...
November 20, 2008 – The exchange traded fund (ETF) industry is continuing to fight for the assets within the 401(k) retirement area, and the time is opportune as ever. Barclays Globlal Investors has. ...

ETF Expert: ETF Reading List - January 9, 2009
5 Steps to Set Up a Retirement ETF Portfolio - Katy Marquardt, US NewsNational Stock Exchange Reports 19 Per Cent Growth In US ETF Cash Flow – ETF ExpressTop 2009 ETF Picks From The Pros – Trang Ho, Investor’s Business Daily...

Pros and cons of exchange-traded funds - Norwalk News - The Hour
Only use them if you're a more-advanced investor who understands index funds and you have found a superior ETF to an index fund you're interested in. Be sure to check whether the ETF you're considering is selling at a premium or ...

Considering dumping a mutual fund? Think twice | Business Finance ...
5 reasons to consider dumping a mutual fund. While there are plenty of reasons to stick with a mutual fund even if it's had one bad year, sometimes it makes sense to bail. Here's some advice from experts on what to look for: ...

Fund Expert's Top ETF Duo
In his Marketwatch ETF Trader, the advisor explains, "iShares Dow Jones U.S. Total Market (ASE: IYY) covers the market broadly, while WisdomTree International Small Cap Dividend Fund (NYSE: DLS) has a more focused manner." ...

Pimco Tops Closed-End Fund Rankings | Mutual Funds Update ...
Market Data provided by Interactive Data. Company fundamental data provided by Hemscott. Earnings and ratings provided by Zacks. Mutual fund data provided by Valueline. ETF data provided by Lipper. Terms & Conditions. ...

The Four Best Mutual Funds For Your IRA - Amateur Asset Allocator
The Four Best Mutual Funds For Your IRA. Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund (VBMFX) - Here’s your one-stop intermediate-term bond fund. It invests about half its portfolio in Treasury and agency bonds and the rest in corporate bonds. ...

Mutual Funds, ETFs, News and Views

Jan. 6: The Best ETF Articles In The National Media - News In Focus
ETF Deathwatch In '09. Tom Petruno of the Los Angeles Times notes that about 60 exchange-traded funds were closed in 2008, a big increase from past years. The articles says that only five ETFs were shuttered from 2003-2007. ...

Mutual fund industry suffering | OSHedge Blog
But mutual funds have fared much worse on a performance basis. By some measures, on average, the losses wracked up by equity mutual funds are about double the losses of hedge funds. And who can forget that one money market mutual fund ...

The Mess That Greenspan Made: Mutual fund performance in 2008
Of the mutual funds with more than $100 million, the Gabelli ABC Fund (GABCX) fell the least in 2008, down 2.6 percent (apparently not a single long stock mutual fund posted a gain). Over the last four years, it sports a modest 20 ...

Mutual fund investors head for the exists — Don’t follow them ...
WalletPop Blog – Filed under: InvestingInvestors withdrew a net of $320 billion from mutual funds in 2008. The Financial Times calls it a record in both.

For most investors, 2008 offered no places to hide | Mutual Funds
Boston Globe -- Business – NEW YORK - There was one safe bet that mutual fund investors could make in 2008 - that the stock market was a place to lose a lot.

Charles A. Jaffe: Fund-world predictions for 2009 | Mutual Funds
Philly.com Business – The big stories in the mutual-fund world are always taking shape, but the new year gives us a chance to gaze into the crystal ball and.

Wall Street Diary: Worst performing mutual funds of 2008
Worst performing mutual funds of 2008. Three of the worst mutual fundsof 2008 have racked up losses of more than 60%. Among non-leveraged U.S. stock funds with at least $100 million in assets, none did worse than Bill Miller's Legg ...

The Active vs. Passive Fund Debate: Who Wins? | ETF Trends
December 4, 2008 – Most investors own a portfolio of mutual funds, but why not consider one built solely from exchange traded funds (ETFs)? If that idea sounds too radical for now, consider that... Continue Reading » ...

Update: ETF Correlation Tracker « Skill Analytics
I’ve updated the ETF correlation tracker tool today. I’m moving this to a dedicated page under Strategies from now on - I’ll continue to let everyone know when it is updated - the goal is weekly. Questions comments welcome. ...

United States Economic Downfall? Reality Check | Mutual Funds ...
http://www.getoutofjobfree.com/kph001.html Master Entrepreneur Jim Piccolo inspires our country's adults to take control of their lives through.

Mutual Funds, ETFs News and Views

Mutual funds see 2009 as year of active money management - Money ...
Mutual funds see 2009 as year of active money management, Every equity scheme from every fund house took a beating in 2008; fund managers hope new year will be better, Money Matters.

Chuck Jaffe: Watch for these 7 mutual fund stories to make ...
MarketWatch.com - Mutual Funds – The big stories in the mutual fundworld are always taking shape, but the new year gives us a chance to gaze into the crystal.

Final ETF Death Toll for 2008 = 58 | Invest With An Edge
ETF closures, liquidations, and delistings surged to a new record of 58 in 2008. The complete list is here. There will be more in 2009.

A look at 2 standout mutual funds for 2008 (AP)
Mutual funds show heavy losses for 2008 (AP) AP - There was one safe bet that mutual fund... Stock Funds Shed $21.7 Billion In Nov. (Investor’s Business Daily) Investor's Business Daily - October's panicky stampede out of mutual. ...

Investor's Business Daily: 2008 Mutual Fund 'Highlights': Little ...
2008 Mutual Fund 'Highlights': Little To Brag About. BY STAFF. INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY. It was a year in which those that lost least won, if you can call it that. International bond funds were a top sector, ...

Mutual Funds: Happy new year from Marketwatch’s mutual-funds ...
MarketWatch.com - All MarketWatch News – From our mutual-funds reporting team to you, all best wishes for a productive and prosperous 2009.

Assets in mutual funds fall 3% in November - Dec. 30, 2008
Mutual fund assets fall nearly 3% in November. The nation's mutual fundssaw holdings shrank by $262 billion last month, falling at a slower pace than they did in October. DEL.ICIO. ...

2008 Edgy Award for Best New ETF Goes to DTO | Invest With An Edge
Sometimes it’s all about the product. Sometimes it’s all about timing. For DTO, the Best New ETF of 2008, it’s the right product at the right time.

Mutual funds showed big losses in 2008 - Business - Starbulletin.com
Mutual funds showed big losses in 2008. By Tim Paradis, Associated Press. NEW YORK » There was one safe bet that mutual fund investors could make in 2008 - that the stock market was a place to lose ...

Commodities Mutual Funds Article
Professionally managed commodities mutual funds offer more diversity and potentially higher yields than solo investing in a single market. A mutual fund is an investment company which invests pooled assets from a group of shareholders ...