Tag: ETF (Exchange Traded Fund)

As we look back at yet another pandemic year and yet another tough 12 months for many reasons, overall, the markets have learned to deal with the pandemic and the headline news stories about new variants and new covid restrictions. This is proven by the fact that the major indexes all performed very well in terms of a historical perspective. The S&P 500 (SP500) ended the year up 26.89%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 18.73%, and the NASDAQ (COMP) increased by 21.39% in 2021.

Two of the three, the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones, outperformed their 2020 results in 2021, while the NASDAQ did well in 2021, but about half as well as it did in 2020. With those sorts of results, people may wonder how anyone could have lost money over the past 12 months, but depending on where and how you invested, you may be one of the unfortunate individuals who find yourself in that situation.

The start of a new year is a good time to review your investing thesis and try to pinpoint why some investments didn’t turn out the way you imagined they would. With that thinking in mind, let’s take a look at the top five worst performing ETFs of 2021 in a number of different categories that the average investor could have chosen from in 2021 to see if you owned any of them or if there was some sort of trend that we can learn from. Continue reading "Worst Performing ETFs Of 2021" →

Despite the major market crash in March, all of the major indexes ended 2020 in the green. The S&P 500 (SP500) ended the year up 26.89%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 18.73%, and the NASDAQ (COMP) increased by 21.39% in 2021. Despite what felt like a discount between technology stocks, the NASDAQ, and the market as a whole, the S&P 500, the technology-focused index, lagged the overall market.

While in 2020, it seems that no matter what you had invested in, you did well, 2021 was a bit different. 2021 was a little sector or momentum-driven as we saw the rise and fall of the meme stocks, the ever-fluctuating battle between the ‘stay at home’ stocks and the ‘re-opening trade’ stocks. So, depending on when you bought or sold stocks or funds, unfortunately, really dictated how well your portfolio did over the past year.

When you look back at the year now, did you match market returns, fall behind, or were you invested in stocks and ETFs that beat the averages? Let’s take a look at the top five best performing ETFs of 2021 in a number of different categories the average investor has to choose from.

The following table shows the performance of the top five best performing ETFs in 2021, as well as their performance over the last month, the last three months, the last five and ten years. Continue reading "Top Performing ETFs Of 2021" →

If you thought lumber prices were high in 2021 or that the US housing market was hot, you might be missing the hottest market and the industry that is seeing the highest price increases; the gun and ammunition industry. In 2020 the US saw record levels of gun purchases halfway through 2021, and there is no slowing down.

In 2020, more than 21 million guns were sold in the US; that’s more than double the number of guns sold 20 years ago. And according to the FBI background checks done thus far in 2021, we are likely to see more than 21 million guns sold this year.

With that many guns being sold, it's not hard to see why ammunition is not only in short supply but why prices are up more than 100% when compared to just two years ago. However, despite ammunition prices rising, some people being interviewed say they would buy more if they could get it. Some gun owners have said it's not uncommon to own thousands of rounds for each different type of gun they own.

So, when you add the two factors together, 21 million new guns sold in 2020, and we are well on our way to see close to, if not more than that, sold in 2021, and of course you need bullets for these millions of guns being sold, maybe not thousands, but at least some. Well then, it makes perfect sense why ammunition is in low supply, high demand, and prices are soaring.
As an investor, how can you benefit from this gun-crazy situation? Continue reading "Investing In The Guns And Ammo Boom" →

ETFs, like Mutual Funds and Index Funds, are often praised for their ability to offer exposure to ‘risky’ equities while offering portfolio protection and reducing single stock exposure issues.

The basic idea is that instead of trying to ‘cherry-pick’ a specific winner or loser in a particular industry or sector, you can just buy a sector-based exchange traded fund and reduce your risk that you chose the wrong company to be the dominant player in that industry. Furthermore, as long as the industry itself performs well, your industry-focused ETF should follow suit, and your investment will benefit.

As the demand for ETFs increases, the vast array of offerings has also been increasing. As an investor, you are no longer constrained to just buying industry or sector-focused funds. You can now buy funds that focus on pretty much any correlating data point imaginable. Those are the ones that have strict investment guidelines, unlike some ETFs that are actively managed and give the fund managers complete control and leeway to invest wherever and however they want.

Currently, there are over 2,500 actively traded Exchange Traded Funds in the US alone. There were 32 new ETFs offered to investors in May 2021 alone. Let’s think about that for a moment. Outside of the OTC or Over the counter equities available to investors with about 11,500 stocks in 2020, roughly around 6,000 companies’ investors can buy and sell stock in which are traded on the major US exchanges, the NYSE and the NASDAQ. Yes, that is correct, 6,000 US stocks and nearly half that in US ETFs. Continue reading "The Ever-Growing Number Of ETFs and Their Power Over The Markets" →