New ETFs On The Block: Market Vectors BDC Income ETF (BIZD)

Ulli Dividend ETFs Contact

146026450Market Vectors, the fifth-largest US issuer of exchange-traded products sponsored by Van Eck Global, has launched the Mar Vectors BDC Income ETF (BIZD), the first exchanged-traded fund designed to offer pure-play exposure to business development companies (BDCs).

Business development companies generate income by lending to, and investing in, privately-held or thinly traded public companies that tend to be below investment-grade or not rated. BIZD seeks to replicate, before fees and expenses, the Market Vectors US Business Development Companies Index (MVBIZDTG), a rules-based index intended to track the overall performance of publicly traded business development companies.

To qualify for the index, a BDC must have a market capitalization in excess of $150 million, a three-month average daily trading volume of more than $1million if listed, and a minimum trading volume of 250,000 shares each month in the previous six months.

BDCs are known for high dividend payouts and offer investors a chance to gain exposure in senior secured debt, mezzanine debt, private equity and other exotic layers of capital structure traditionally available to institutional investors.

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02-22-2013

Ulli Newsletter Archives Contact

ETF/No Load Fund Tracker Newsletter For Friday, February 22, 2013

ETF/No Load Fund Tracker StatSheet

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

https://theetfbully.com/2013/02/weekly-statsheet-for-the-etfno-load-fund-tracker-newsletter-updated-through-02212013/

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Market Commentary

Friday, February 22, 2013

US STOCKS RALLY ON GERMAN DATA, EARNINGS; EUROPE SURGES

US stocks fought back from the worst slump since November as a measure of German business confidence jumped to a 10-month high, eclipsing concerns that the US Federal Reserve will scale back its asset purchase program, as earnings from American International Group Inc and Hewlett-Packard Co topped street estimates.

Wall Street found early support after suffering its worst two-drop since early November after the IFO survey of German business executives showed sentiment in February jumped to its highest reading since April.

Hewlett-Packard was the biggest gainer in the S&P 500 Friday, vaulting 12 percent after the largest PC maker forecast second quarter earnings that exceeded analysts’ expectations.

AIG Group rose 3.1 percent after fourth-quarter results beat analysts’ estimates.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) zoomed 120 points to finish at 14,001, leaving it up 0.1 percent for the week.

The S&P 500 Index (SPX) rose 13 points to 1,516 with materials, financials and technology leading the gains. All the 10 business groups within the benchmark index ended higher for the day. SPX shed 0.3 percent for the week, its first weekly decline of the year.

Treasury prices rose for a third day, pushing yields on 10-year notes to near one-week low on Friday ahead of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s scheduled testimony before the Senate Banking Committee next week. Bernanke’s testimony will be important as the last FOMC minutes showed many Fed officials were worried about the risks linked to the $85 billion-a-month bond purchase program.

Meanwhile, the euro continued to weaken against the US dollar Friday, extending the currency’s losses against its US counterpart, after the European Central Bank said commercial banks would payback early less than half of the expected chunk of cheap three-year loans.

European stocks advanced, wrapping up its first weekly gain in four weeks on Friday after a surprisingly strong German reading on the country’s business climate spurred risk appetite, outweighing worries about Italian elections over the weekend.

On a downbeat note, the European Commission cut the currency bloc’s growth forecast for 2013. The eurozone’s economy is expected to shrink 0.3 percent this year as a return to growth seemed to be more gradual than expected.

Our Trend Tracking Indexes (TTIs) ended up only slightly changed from last week’s close:

Domestic TTI: +2.84% (last week +3.01%)

International TTI: +9.31% (last week +10.51%)

And, if you’re still not clear what Quantitative Easing (QE) is all about, or the Fed’s monthly $85 billion bond purchase program for that matter, take a look at this video (hat tip to Zero Hedge):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=XrJHzbl7ay0

Have a great week.

Ulli…

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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

A note from reader Semserus:

Q: Ulli: Glad to See You around…!

YOU wrote: “exit our positions whenever our trailing sell stops give us the sign to do so.”

I have a question:

Please give Me YOUR definition of Said EXIT … Is it Like 5% down or 7% … or???

A: Semserus: I use the following trailing sell stop points:

1. Bond Funds/ETFs: 5%
2. Broadly diversified Domestic/International funds/ETFs: 7%
3. Country/Sector ETFs: 10%

Hope that helps.

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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 Friday, February 22, 2013

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/2013/02/weekly-statsheet-for-the-etfno-load-fund-tracker-newsletter-updated-through-02212013/

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Market Commentary

Friday, February 22, 2013

US STOCKS RALLY ON GERMAN DATA, EARNINGS; EUROPE SURGES

US stocks fought back from the worst slump since November as a measure of German business confidence jumped to a 10-month high, eclipsing concerns that the US Federal Reserve will scale back its asset purchase program, as earnings from American International Group Inc and Hewlett-Packard Co topped street estimates.

Wall Street found early support after suffering its worst two-drop since early November after the IFO survey of German business executives showed sentiment in February jumped to its highest reading since April.

Hewlett-Packard was the biggest gainer in the S&P 500 Friday, vaulting 12 percent after the largest PC maker forecast second quarter earnings that exceeded analysts’ expectations.

AIG Group rose 3.1 percent after fourth-quarter results beat analysts’ estimates.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) zoomed 120 points to finish at 14,001, leaving it up 0.1 percent for the week.

The S&P 500 Index (SPX) rose 13 points to 1,516 with materials, financials and technology leading the gains. All the 10 business groups within the benchmark index ended higher for the day. SPX shed 0.3 percent for the week, its first weekly decline of the year.

Treasury prices rose for a third day, pushing yields on 10-year notes to near one-week low on Friday ahead of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s scheduled testimony before the Senate Banking Committee next week. Bernanke’s testimony will be important as the last FOMC minutes showed many Fed officials were worried about the risks linked to the $85 billion-a-month bond purchase program.

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Weekly StatSheet For The ETF/No Load Fund Tracker Newsletter – Updated Through 02/21/2013

Ulli ETF StatSheet Contact

ETF/Mutual Fund Data updated through Thursday, February 21, 2013

Table of Content082312

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 10/25/2011

TTI

The domestic TTI broke through its long-term trend line generating a Sell for this area effective 8/9/2011. Over the recent past, we’ve seen the TTI hovering slightly below and above this dividing line between bullish and bearish territory. The clear break to the upside occurred on 10/24/11 and, effective 10/25/11, a new Buy signal for domestic equities went into effect.

As of today, our Trend Tracking Index (TTI—green line in above chart) has bounced off its long term trend line (red) by +2.54% as part of the post election rebound.

To avoid a potential whip-saw, a Sell signal to move out of all domestic equity positions will be generated once we have clearly pierced the line to the downside. Be sure to tune into my blog for the latest updates.

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S&P 500 Fights To Stay Above 1,500; US And European Equities Continue Their Slide

Ulli Market Commentary Contact

Thur pic

[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com]

US equities finished lower for a second straight day as a weak regional manufacturing report weighed on investor sentiment while concern mounted that the US Federal Reserve will scale back the pace of stimulus.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s index fell to minus 12.5 in February, the lowest since June, from minus 5.8 the month before. Readings below zero indicate contraction. The new-orders index fell to negative 7.8 from negative 4.3 in January as weakening new orders hit manufacturing in the area covering Delaware, southern New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Sales of existing home sales rose 0.4 percent in January, the National Association of Realtors reported. However, the number of homes for sale fell to the lowest level in more than 13 years, indicating a shrinking inventory, the Washington-based trade group said.

Initial jobless claims rose by 20,000 to 362,000 in the week ended Feb 16, a Labor Department report revealed.

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Stocks Hit A Slippery Slope After Fed Minutes

Ulli Market Commentary Contact

Wed pic

[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com]

US stocks turned sharply lower Wednesday, falling from five-year highs after minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last meeting showed the central bank may scale back its bond buying program. In other words, the odds have increased that the spiked punch bowl will be watered down.

The Fed’s Open Market Committee had said the central bank would continue buying bonds while holding interest rates at near zero until the job market improves substantially. But minutes from the Jan 29-30 meeting today showed some policymakers were in favor of slowing the purchases sooner than previously thought.

Figures from the Commerce Department on housing came in mixed. The number of new homes breaking ground in January fell 8.5 percent from the month before, although starts for single-family homes ticked up 0.8 percent to an annual rate of 613,000.

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