Tag: matt thalman

Will 2020 Be Different For Marijuana ETFs

Posted on by Matt Thalman

At the start of 2019, the marijuana industry was the 'new' hot investment. By the end of the year, no one was bragging about owning shares in the industry. Why did this happen, and is 2020 going to be more of the same, or should you consider buying into the up and coming industry now?

The marijuana industry still showed signs of becoming the next great thing early in 2019. The industry that was going to take the crown away from technology as the 'fastest-growing' sector in the market. In 2019 the 'pumping' of marijuana stocks ended. But that all came to an abrupt halt around July.

At that time, investors stopped believing the narrative that had been pushed for about 3 years prior. Legalized marijuana in a few States and Canada would help pave the way for global legalization and massive profits for all the companies involved. And don't forget about the new 'marijuana-infused beverage category, which spurred investments in all the big marijuana companies by all the big alcohol beverage companies.

No one wanted to miss out on the 'next big thing,' investors and multinational organizations.

Then reality struck when earnings report after earnings report indicated the industry was not profitable and way to segmented. Furthermore, the earnings reports indicated that while most investors and businesses in the marijuana industry wanted more States and countries around the world to legalize the use of marijuana, that the companies operating in the industry couldn't handle their current demand, let alone anything additional. Shortages in Canada plagued the industry in 2019 and highlighted the biggest problem wasn't opening new markets; it was how they would supply them.

Building new grow houses may sound simple. However, the red tape and political maneuvering typically haven't been easy. Also, in most areas that growing marijuana on a large scale is Continue reading "Will 2020 Be Different For Marijuana ETFs" →

Coronavirus - ETFs You Should Avoid

Posted on by Matt Thalman

With the deadly Coronavirus outbreak continuing to spread and countless US companies let alone Chinese firms suspend business in China, even though the true extent of that effect is yet to be known, it’s clear there is going to be some economic effect from this disease.

Like it or not, we all live in a world that is becoming increasingly more interconnected and interdependent. This is the same reason a disease like Coronavirus is so quick to spread around the world and why the impact on stocks is not going to be limited to those firms based solely in China.

This makes it even more difficult for investors to truly determine what is safe and what isn’t in the stock market right now. However, we do have some low hanging fruit in terms of what you should not own at this time.

The first Exchange Traded Funds you should be avoiding right now are going to be the pure-play Chinese equity ETFs. The iShares MSCI China ETF (MCHI) or the SPDR S&P China ETF (GXC) should be on your sell list or high on the list of what not to buy. These funds invest in Chinese equities and don’t favor one sector more than others. The longer the ‘quarantine’ periods last in the different provinces in China, the more these ETFs are going to be hurt, end of story. However, these could be two outstanding options if you are looking to buy back into the Chinese markets once the Coronavirus scare dies off.

Furthermore, ETFs such as the Continue reading "Coronavirus - ETFs You Should Avoid" →

Worst Performing ETFs in 2019

Posted on by Matt Thalman

Earlier in the month, we discussed the Top Performing ETFs of 2019. In this post, we'll discuss the worst performing ETFs of 2019.

After a down year in 2018, the stock market roared back in 2019 despite a number of political headwinds and many market participants calling for a recession to commence during the second half of the year. Fortunately, that never happened and the market shrugged off most of the negative headlines throughout the year since for the most part, economic numbers remained strong and while corporate earnings and revenue growth may be slowing, they are still in positive territory, which is undoubtedly a good sign.

With the S&P 500 (SP500) ending the year up 28.9%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 22.3%, and the NASDAQ (COMP) increased by 35.2% in 2019, one may wonder how anyone could have lost money in 2019, but unfortunately, some Exchange Traded Funds and therefore investor, did actually see negative returns during a year when the major indexes all crushed it.

Most investors who ended the year negative may want to forget about what happened. But those investors who focus on understanding why their investments went south are the ones who will learn from their mistakes and hopefully avoid making them in the future. The start of a new year is an excellent time to review your investing thesis and try to pinpoint why some investments didn’t turn out the way you imagined they would. So let’s take a look at the top five worst performing ETFs of 2019 in a number of different categories the average investor had to choose from in 2019 to see if you owned one or more of them.

The following table shows the performance of the worst five ETFs in 2019, as well as their performance over the last month, the previous three months, the last five and ten years.

ETFs

The following table shows the performance of the worst five Non-Leveraged ETFs in 2019, as well as their performance over the last month, the previous three months, the last five and ten years. Continue reading "Worst Performing ETFs in 2019" →

Top Performing ETFs in 2019

Posted on by Matt Thalman

With the S&P 500 (SPX) ending the year up 28.9%, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) rose 22.3%, and the NASDAQ (IXIC) increased by 35.2% in 2019, much of the year it felt like no matter what you were invested in you were making money. And for the most part, that was true. Some investors made more than others because they had picked what would become the ETF winners of the year.

Did you see market returns, or were you invested in the ETFs that beat the averages and in some cases by a lot? Let’s take a look at the top five best performing ETFs of 2019 in several different categories the average investor has to choose from.

The following table shows the performance of the top five best performing ETFs in 2019, as well as their performance over the last month, the previous three months, the last five and ten years.

ETFs

The following table shows the performance of the top five Non-Leveraged ETFs in 2019, as well as their performance over the last month, the previous three months, the last five and ten years.

ETFs

The following table shows the performance of the top five Equity Non-Leveraged ETFs in 2019, as well as their performance over the last month, the last three months, the last five and ten years. Continue reading "Top Performing ETFs in 2019" →

Top 25 ETFs To Have Owned Over The Last Decade

Posted on by Matt Thalman

The table below is a list of the 25-top performing ETFs over the last ten years. As you will see, the majority of the Exchange Traded Funds on this list produced returns of 15% or more on an annualized basis, with the top ETF returning more than 19% a year on average over the past decade. That would equate to roughly a 250% return before any dividends or fees.

ETFs
Continue reading "Top 25 ETFs To Have Owned Over The Last Decade" →