One Man’s Opinion: Should Investors Prepare For A Higher-Rate Environment Next Year?

Ulli Market Review Contact

92835431Black-Friday might be an interesting event to measure consumer confidence in the US and increasingly in Europe, but it’s the central banks that investors really need to watch, said Niall Quinn, managing director at Eaton Vance Management.

The strong consumer confidence in the US shows the US economy is improving, despite the Federal Reserve moving toward normalization of interest rates. Higher sales of durable goods in the US during the holidays show consumers are witnessing a genuine recovery, and the US economy is set for strong growth next year, he noted.

Asked if lower gas prices are good for the US economy, because consumers get to spend more on other items, Quinn answered in affirmative. However, with inflation weakening across Europe and in Japan, lower energy prices may not be a relief for the European Central Bank or the Bank of Japan. So, while it’s good for US consumers and good for the global economy overall, it’s a mixed picture out there, he explained.

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New ETFs On The Block: Vident Core US Bond Strategy ETF (VBND)

Ulli Bond ETFs Contact

104394781Vident Financial, the Atlanta, Georgia-based issuer behind the two fairly successful equity products, recently launched its first bond focused exchange-traded fund. The Vident Core US Bond Strategy ETF (VBND) aims to protect investors’ capital through a transparent and systematic investment methodology.

The passively-managed VBND tracks the performance of the Vident Core US Strategy Index, a rules-based fixed-income index that seeks to provide current income while minimizing risks associated with this asset class including, inflation, counter-party default, star-manager and credit-migration risk.

The portfolio consists of US Treasuries, Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS), agency securities, investment-grade corporate bonds, mortgage-backed securities and high-yield corporate bonds.

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11-28-2014

Ulli Newsletter Archives Contact

ETF/No Load Fund Tracker Newsletter For November 28, 2014

ETF/No Load Fund Tracker StatSheet

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THE LINK TO OUR CURRENT ETF/MUTUAL FUND STATSHEET IS:

https://theetfbully.com/2014/11/weekly-statsheet-for-the-etfno-load-fund-tracker-newsletter-updated-through-11262014/?preview=true

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Market Commentary

Friday, November 28, 2014

STOCKS EDGE OUT SIXTH STRAIGHT WEEK OF GAINS

Fri pic

[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com]

1. Moving the Markets

Stocks finished higher on the week, marking a sixth straight week of gains. Wall Street has been keeping a close watch on retail stocks as we head into the holiday season, while trying to deal with falling oil prices. For the week, the major indexes gained slightly.

Oil prices continue moving downward. A barrel of Texas Intermediate crude was trading for $67.17 Friday. Today, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) announced it decided to leave its production quota (supply of oil) unchanged. Oil is off more than 30% since this summer as slowing global growth has reduced demand and as domestic production has increased significantly in the past several years.

On the other hand, the drop in oil prices may actual signal The True State Of The Economy, as this article so eloquently explains.

Next week, investors will be anxiously awaiting an updated jobs report. According to Bloomberg, expectations are for 228,000 jobs to have been added in November. That would make the 10th consecutive month of more than 200,000 jobs created, which would be the longest streak since 1995. Also, we’ll be keeping an eye on major retailer stocks like Wal-mart (WMT) and Macy’s (M).

6 of our 10 ETFs in the Spotlight inched higher today; 5 of them made new highs as the YTD table below shows.

2. ETFs in the Spotlight

In case you missed the announcement and description of this section, you can read it here again.

It features 10 broadly diversified ETFs from my HighVolume list as posted every Monday. Furthermore, they are screened for the lowest MaxDD% number meaning they have been showing better resistance to temporary sell offs than all others over the past year.

Here are the 10 candidates:

MaxDD

The above table simply demonstrates the magnitude with which some of the ETFs are fluctuating in regards to their positions above or below their respective individual trend lines (%M/A). A break below, represented by a negative number, shows weakness, while a break above, represented by a positive percentage, shows strength.

Year to date, here’s how the above candidates have fared so far:

YTD

Again, the first table above shows the position of the various ETFs in relation to their respective long term trend lines (%M/A), while the second one tracks their trailing sell stops in the “Off High” column. The “Action” column will signal a “Sell” once the -7.5% point has been taken out in the “Off High” column.

3. Trend Tracking Indexes (TTIs)

Our Trend Tracking Indexes (TTIs) continued their run deeper into bullish territory and closed the week as follows:

Domestic TTI: +3.70% (last Friday +3.47%)—Buy signal since 10/22/2014

International TTI: +1.54% (last Friday +1.24%)—New Buy signal effective 11/24/14

Have a nice weekend.

Ulli…

Disclosure: I am obliged to inform you that I, as well as advisory clients of mine, own some of these listed ETFs. Furthermore, they do not represent a specific investment recommendation for you, they merely show which ETFs from the universe I track are falling within the guidelines specified.

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READER Q & A FOR THE WEEK

All Reader Q & A’s are listed at our web site!
Check it out at:

http://www.successful-investment.com/q&a.php

Reader Ira:

Q: Ulli: I know we got whipsawed a bit earlier last month. I pulled out and stayed out up to now. I was wondering… when you go back in after that kind of buy-sell-buy switch, how do you transition back into the market? I personally still see lots of danger signals, but as you noted multiple times- with the different govt’s interfering in the markets, all bets are off.

So, I was wondering how you went back in and what % invested you might be now. Also- are there any sectors that might be holds even in a sell signal (like Health…)?

Thanks and best regards.

A: Ira: I posted about my process of getting back into the market after the Domestic TTI signaled a ‘Sell.’ As the TTI rebounded and crossed back above its long-term trend line, I waited a few days to make sure the crossing was holding up. It appeared that way as, after a few days of meandering, the TTI broke the +1% level, which created a new Buy signal effective 10/22/14. I reinvested about 50-60% of available assets (100% for small accounts under $15k). About a week later, the momentum was still up, so I invested the balance giving us a 100% market exposure.

When markets turn bearish, usually all sectors will be affected. As much as I like Healthcare (XLV), I ended up selling it, capturing some profits, and later buying it again. I don’t believe there is any fund/ETF that you should hold during a ‘Sell,’ however, once we drop into bear territory, we may discover upward momentum in certain areas, which I plan on taking advantage of. But it’s too early to tell ahead of time; we have to get there first before we can make that determination.

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WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE YOUR INVESTMENTS PROFESSIONALLY MANAGED?

Do you have the time to follow our investment plans yourself? If you are a busy professional who would like to have his portfolio managed using our methodology, please contact me directly or get more details at:

https://theetfbully.com/personal-investment-management/

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Back issues of the ETF/No Load Fund Tracker are available on the web at:

https://theetfbully.com/newsletter-archives/

ETF/No Load Fund Tracker Newsletter For November 28, 2014

Ulli ETF Tracker Contact

ETF/No Load Fund Tracker StatSheet

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THE LINK TO OUR CURRENT ETF/MUTUAL FUND STATSHEET IS:

https://theetfbully.com/2014/11/weekly-statsheet-for-the-etfno-load-fund-tracker-newsletter-updated-through-11262014/?preview=true

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Market Commentary

Friday, November 28, 2014

STOCKS EDGE OUT SIXTH STRAIGHT WEEK OF GAINS

Fri pic

[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com]

1. Moving the Markets

Stocks finished higher on the week, marking a sixth straight week of gains. Wall Street has been keeping a close watch on retail stocks as we head into the holiday season, while trying to deal with falling oil prices. For the week, the major indexes gained slightly.

Oil prices continue moving downward. A barrel of Texas Intermediate crude was trading for $67.17 Friday. Today, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) announced it decided to leave its production quota (supply of oil) unchanged. Oil is off more than 30% since this summer as slowing global growth has reduced demand and as domestic production has increased significantly in the past several years.

On the other hand, the drop in oil prices may actual signal The True State Of The Economy, as this article so eloquently explains.

Next week, investors will be anxiously awaiting an updated jobs report. According to Bloomberg, expectations are for 228,000 jobs to have been added in November. That would make the 10th consecutive month of more than 200,000 jobs created, which would be the longest streak since 1995. Also, we’ll be keeping an eye on major retailer stocks like Wal-mart (WMT) and Macy’s (M).

6 of our 10 ETFs in the Spotlight inched higher today; 5 of them made new highs as the YTD table below shows.

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Weekly StatSheet For The ETF/No Load Fund Tracker Newsletter – Updated Through 11/26/2014

Ulli ETF StatSheet Contact

ETF/Mutual Fund Data updated through Wednesday, November 26, 2014

TOC112614

If you are not familiar with some of the terminology used, please see the Glossary of Terms.

 

1. DOMESTIC EQUITY MUTUAL FUNDS/ETFs: BUY — since 10/22/2014

TTI

Our main directional indicator, the Domestic Trend Tracking Index (TTI), broke through its long-term trend line generating a “Sell” for this arena effective 10/14/2014, which was followed by a violent break back above the line on 10/22/14 generating a new “Buy.” It was a classic whipsaw signal, and you can read more on my blog as to the events as they were unfolding.

As of today, our TTI (green line in above chart) is positioned above its long term trend line (red) by +4.05% keeping us in the market with newly established positions.

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Stocks Plow Forward Heading Into The Holiday Season

Ulli Market Commentary Contact

Wed pic

[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com]

1. Moving the Markets

All major indexes closed higher today, with the Dow and S&P 500 once again setting new highs as the chart above shows.

We saw a mixed bucket of economic data today. Orders for long-lasting manufactured goods rose in October, but a key category that tracks business investment plans declined sharply for a second straight month. At the same time, initial claims for unemployment benefits rose last week, but continue to hover below pre-recession levels. The unemployment rate in October fell to 5.8% from 5.9% in September. It was 7.2% a year earlier.

In tech, there was quite a bit of buzz about Pandora (P) today. Pandora shares are sliding after FBR Capital Markets downgraded Pandora stock and a number of analysts also lowered their price target, despite the company’s impressive third-quarter results from a month ago. FBR believes the company will suffer from possible rising content costs after the Copyright Royalty Board sets new performance royalty rates. Pandora Media has a one year low of $17.55 and a one year high of $40.44.

Markets will be closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday and open for half a day on Friday. Look for continued focus on retail stocks, oil and fed updates on interest rates as we head into the holiday season.

9 of our 10 ETFs in the Spotlight gained with 7 of them making new highs as the YTD table below shows.

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