Lowest Cost ETFs On The Horizon

Ulli Low Cost ETFs Contact

Schwab threw down the gauntlet last year by offering their suite of no transaction fee ETFs. Scottrade now picked it up as the WSJ reported (subscription required) in “Scottrade ETF Plan: Lowest Cost:”

Discount brokerage Scottrade Inc. is launching a suite of low-cost exchange-traded funds, a move that could put further pressure on fees.

On Wednesday, the closely held firm will introduce proprietary domestic-equity ETFs that will track 15 Morningstar Inc. indexes, covering the U.S. broad market, small-, mid- and large-cap stocks and 11 separate sectors. The firm, which says it aims to offer the lowest-cost ETFs in the industry, will also offer commission-free trades to its clients as well as investment advisers who custody their assets at the firm.

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ETFs Rally In The Face Of Weak Economic News

Ulli Uncategorized Contact

No sense in figuring out yesterday’s market behavior. All major market ETFs rallied all of a sudden at mid morning for no obvious reason other than that the S&P 500 bounced off its 50-day moving average; a bullish sign.

Let’s face it, economic news was miserable.

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ETF Tracker StatSheet Improvement

Ulli ETF Tracker Contact

Something that’s been bugging me for a long time is the fact that I have only been able to publish the weekly StatSheet data in PDF format.

Over the past weekend, I finally figured out a way to extract the numbers for use in a spreadsheet. As a result, starting with this week’s publication, you will now have access to both, the PDF and spreadsheet version.

If you are afflicted with the number crunching disease, this could very well create feelings of irrational exuberance. Be that as it may, I know that this will help you in your efforts to better evaluate the numbers presented, and I am glad I finally found a way to resolve this long-term issue.

Hope you find it of value.

India ETFs In The Pipeline

Ulli India ETFs Contact

Several readers have emailed wanting to know if there are more ETFs scheduled to come on the market that better cover the India region.

Good news here, as reported in “Emerging Global Plans Sector-Specific India ETFs:”

Emerging Global Advisors, the only ETF issuer focusing exclusively on emerging markets, has filed details on a suite of products that would offer more targeted exposure to India’s stock market. In a recent SEC filing, the firm detailed plans for nine ETFs focusing on specific sectors of the Indian economy:

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Sunday Musings: Reader Feedback Requested

Ulli Reader feedback Contact

As you have certainly noticed, I have changed my blog platform in order to have better control over design and display along with the ability to accommodate content relevant sponsors in the future.

The weekly market commentary, along with the all important ETF/No Load Fund StatSheet, is now being posted to the blog and a reminder notice to that effect is being mailed to all subscribers of the newsletter.

I have made additional resources available in an attempt to bring you more ETF/mutual fund data designed to assist you in making not only better but also more timely investment decisions.

Two projects in the pipeline coming your way are:

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Reader Q & A: How Do I Re-enter After Getting Stopped Out Of An ETF/Mutual Fund?

Ulli Sell Stops Contact

During the recent correction, reader Kathy was stopped out of her international position based on her 7% trailing sell stop. With the markets having rebounded, she obviously experienced a whipsaw signal. This was her comment:

I was sell-stopped out of my 403B International Fund last week.  My high was 21.27 so 7% would be 19.78.  Since I can only commit to buy/sell before noon, I did so on 3/16 and sold at 19.55 (I paid 19.33).

So, once again I am at a loss as to when I get back in when you have not set a sell signal on the international. In the future, I could wait till you set the signal but I could be down 10% of more.  Is there a reason to do one or other or just a personal risk tolerance? I could be out of international for years depending on what happens and that does not seem like the right approach.

The use of stop losses is not an exact science. You did everything by the book and simply experienced a whip-saw signal. There are 3 things you can do:

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