An Article on FundFlows From IndexUniverse

http://www.indexuniverse.com/sections/features/8626-2010-etf-fund-flows-vanguard-leads-all-firms.html

An Interesting Article on Factor Models

Below find an interesting article on the use of Factor Models applied to ETF's from seeking alpha
http://seekingalpha.com/article/261570-a-simple-macro-factor-relative-strength-model?source=email_etf_daily.

An interesting article on the global Economy

I am posting the following link to seeking alpha
http://seekingalpha.com/article/261001-2-resources-related-etfs-signal-caution-for-the-global-economy

A New Study on Hedge Fund Performance

Sometimes in this blog I will provide links to articles from other blogs that I thought looked fairly compelling.  This piece was written by Gary Kaminsky who is a frequent guest on CNBC and was previewed on the oxtones blog.  http://oxstones.com/kaminskys-call-hedge-funds-do-worse-than-market/

The iShares MSCI New Zealand Market Investable Index Fund

                     The iShares MSCI New Zealand Market Investable Index Fund

In this note I want to review a relatively new ETF the iShares MSCI New Zealand Market Investable Index Fund (ENZL).   This is a small ETF with just over $80 million dollars in investable assets.  The largest holdings are Fletcher Building Ltd (21.86%) which is a conglomerate that has five divisions namely building products, distribution, infrastructure, laminates and panels and steel that does business not only domestically but across throughout Asia, the Middle East and Europe.  Telecom Corp of New Zealand (16.29%) which is New Zealands largest telecommunications company. 

In terms of sector distribution the largest are Materials (24.77%), Telecommunications (16.29%), Consumer Discretionary (12.91%),  Financials (12.30%), Utilities (11.52%), and Industrials (11.03%).   Its nearest neighbor the iShares MSCI Australia Index Fund (EWA) has the following sector breakdown Financials (42.20%), Materials (29.09%), Consumer Staples (9.21%), Energy (6.59%), Industrials (4.22%).  Note that the financial sector is a much smaller component of (ENZL) while Materials and Industrials are well represented in (ENZL).  Since March 1996 (EWA) has increased 329%.  So far since its inception six months ago (ENZL) has increased 16.4%.  It remains to be seen whether (ENZL) will be popular with institutions who may want to use this as an indirect way to get exposure to the Pacific region but does not have a large exposure to the financial sector.    

 Disclaimer:  This is not a recommendation to buy or sell securities. Etftrendanalyzer is not a registered investment advisor and hence we do not recommend any securities or other investments.   Our readers should not rely on the accuracy or completeness of the information contained herein and should not be rely upon it in  making any investment decisions

Examining VIX ETF Performance During A Sell-Off | ETF Database

I would like to share the article below which examines the performance of the volatility ETF's vs the actual spot VIX. This is a very good article
which illustrates why great care must be taken when using these products

Examining VIX ETF Performance During A Sell-Off ETF Database

A High Octane ETF

One ETF that exploded today is a relatively new product introduced last year namely the TVIX VelocityShares Daily 2x VIX Short Term ETN.  The ETNs are issued by Credit Suisse AG via its Nassau Branch and is an  unsecured obligation of Credit Suisse.  It does not pay interest and there is no guarantee of return of principal.   The return performance is linked to (2x) the daily performance of the S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures Index (less the investor fee which is subtracted daily (1.65%/365) ) .    This product allows the end user to express a view on the direction of volatility.  Today TVIX has increased by 8.64% to 50.45  so this is an extremely high octane product and is up substantially from its most recent low of 33.56 but still way off the highs at 112.35 in mid december 2010.  No doubt the explosion in volatility is due to the recent tsunami and nuclear crisis in Japan which could be classified as a black swan event.   Once again today the Nuclear and Uranium ETF (NLR) is down almost 4.5% and the iShares MSCI Japan Index (EWJ) is down over 0.45%.  Recall from yesterdays note that during the last earthquake in Kobe in January 1995 that the Nikkei fell almost 30% through the first half of 2005.

Disclaimer:  This is not a recommendation to buy or sell securities. Etftrendanalyzer is not a registered investment advisor and hence we do not recommend any securities or other investments.   Our readers should not rely on the accuracy or completeness of the information contained herein and should not be rely upon it in  making any investment decisions