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Ten ETFs Trading Near 52-Week Highs

Sat, 10 Dec 2011 11:40:09 -0500

The following exchange traded funds ended the week in the neighborhood of their 52-week highs, though many of them have faced headwinds lately.

Build America Bond ETFs: Crushing The Muni Competition

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 09:45:26 -0400

This year has, so far, been a pretty strange period for municipal bond investors. It started off with a dire prediction from Meredith Whitney on the market as she stated her belief that we will see a large amount of defaults in the space in the very near future. “You could see 50 sizable defaults, 50 to 100 sizable defaults, more.” said Meredith in December of last year. “This will amount to hundreds of billions of dollars worth of defaults.” While this prediction has not come true– at least not yet– questions are beginning to pop up regarding the market nonetheless. In fact, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, the capital and one of the ten largest cities in the state, recently filed for bankruptcy, although the State is trying to prevent this from happening in order to avoid a wave of defaults. Nevertheless, the situation in the state capital is looking grim; some estimates state that the [...]

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Fifteen Bond ETFs Trading Near 52-Week Highs

Wed, 03 Aug 2011 10:04:14 -0400

iPath U.S. Treasury 10-year Bull ETN (NYSE: DTYL) is up nearly 30% year to date. The investment seeks to replicate the performance of the Barclays Capital 10-Year U.S.

ETFdb Category Kings: Best Performers From First Half Of 2011

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 10:00:40 -0400

The first half of 2011 is officially in the books, and many investors find their portfolios in approximately the same place as they were to start the year (though a furious rally in the final week of the quarter gave a nice boost at an opportune moment). Most major equity indexes are up slightly on the year, while fixed income benchmarks have similarly hovered around breakeven. Beyond these broad generalizations, there are some significant performance discrepancies among exchange-traded products that may seem to offer up similar risk/return profiles. The following tables highlight the top performers from every ETFdb Category during the first six months of the year, shedding some light on the asset classes that have struggled and thrived so far in 2011–and reinforcing that the seemingly minor distinctions between ETPs can lead to big differences in performance [for monthly updates on the best performers, sign up for the free [...]

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Could Muni Bonds Be Dragging BAB ETFs?

Fri, 04 Mar 2011 15:00:23 -0500

The Build America Bond program ended in December, but some think its expiration could be part of what’s hurting municipal bond exchange traded funds (ETFs). President Obama recently signed a stopgap measure that would reduce $4 billion from current government spending. He called for Congress...

Build America Bond ETFs May Get a Second Chance

Mon, 14 Feb 2011 17:00:32 -0500

The popular Build America Bonds program may get a second chance at life if President Obama’s budget passes in its current incarnation. The budget not only calls for the program to be revived, but it wants to make the program permanent. Last year, however, Republicans blocked efforts to extend...

Changes May Be In Store for BABS ETFs

Tue, 21 Dec 2010 17:00:22 -0500

Build America Bond exchange traded funds (ETFs) have been as well-received as the program itself, but the program’s future is now in question. The BABs program was launched in 2009 as a part of the economic stimulus package. The bonds were a way to fund various infrastructure projects and...

Build America Bond ETFs’ Future in Question

Thu, 09 Dec 2010 09:00:26 -0500

The Build America Bonds project may be discontinued, as Congress decides how to extend the Bush Tax Cuts. The program’s expiration raises the question of what will happen to the exchange traded funds (ETFs) that own such bonds. The expiring income tax credits will be extended another year as...

The Future of Build America Bond ETFs

Mon, 22 Nov 2010 04:00:28 -0500

Build America Bond issuance may surge next month, however, the Republican mid-term election gains could imperil the future of the program and its exchange traded funds (ETFs). The Republican landslide in U.S. House elections may work against efforts to extend the Build America Bond program....

Uncertain Future For Build America Bond ETFs

Wed, 17 Nov 2010 10:00:18 -0500

When President Obama signed into law the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the nation was sharply divided on the bill. Designed to create jobs and promote investment during one of the worst recessions to ever hit the U.S. economy, “the Stimulus” called for measures worth a total of $787, including tax incentives, expansion of unemployment benefits, and spending in health care, education, and infrastructure. Nearly two years later, the Federal Reserve has commenced another round of quantitative easing, an admission that AARA has so far been unsuccessful in accomplishing some of its most aggressive objectives and that significant obstacles remain ahead for the U.S. economy [see Three ETFs If Sarah Palin Is Right]. But to call the plan as a whole a failure would overlook many of the components that have proven productive. One of AARA’s bright spots has been the Build America Bond program, an initiative that allows [...]

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Wide World Of Muni Bond ETFs

Thu, 07 Oct 2010 07:00:52 -0400

As investors have become more comfortable with the idea of achieving fixed income exposure through the exchange-traded structure, bond ETF assets have skyrocketed and the number of funds has increased rapidly. For those in higher tax brackets, municipal bonds have always been a popular option, as the tax-exempt feature of the interest payment boosts the tax-equivalent yield realized. And many in these higher tax brackets have embraced ETFs as the most efficient means of achieving exposure: the S&P National AMT-Free Municipal Bond Fund (MUB) has more than $2 billion in assets. But while MUB is the most popular ETF offering exposure to the muni bond market, it’s hardly the only option available. Below, we profile more targeted muni bond ETF options covering various durations, credit qualities, and geographies [for more ETF insights, sign up for our free ETF newsletter]: High Yield Muni Bond ETF For investors looking to capture the potential tax [...]

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PIMCO Launches Two New Bond ETFs

Tue, 21 Sep 2010 14:00:20 -0400

PIMCO is expanding its footprint in the bond exchange traded fund (ETF) space by launching two new additions to its lineup. The two new funds are: PIMCO Investment Grade Corporate Bond Index Fund (NYSEArca: CORP) PIMCO Build America Bonds Strategy Fund (NYSEArca: BABZ) BABZ is actively managed...

PIMCO Launches Two New Bond ETFs (BABZ, CORP)

Tue, 21 Sep 2010 11:00:30 -0400

As the ETF world continues to expand at a tremendous pace, more and more traditional mutual fund companies are expanding ETF lineups in an attempt to capture a piece of a rapidly-growing pie. Bond fund giant PIMCO was late to the ETF game, but has made quite an impact since rolling out its first exchange-traded funds just last year. One of the world’s most prominent bond fund managers, PIMCO is perhaps best known for the Total Return Fund, which has close to $250 billion in assets and is by far the world’s largest mutual fund. However, in 2008 PIMCO registered with the SEC to enter the ETF market and now has 10 funds currently available to investors. Not surprisingly, these funds focus in on the company’s fixed income expertise, and now maintain more than $1.25 billion in aggregate assets. By far the most popular of the funds in the company’s [...]

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PIMCO Introduces Build America Bond ETF

Mon, 20 Sep 2010 23:17:14 -0400

Pimco, one of the world’s largest bond firms, just launched its latest municipal exchange traded fund (ETF), the Pimco Build America Bond Strategy Fund (BABZ). BABZ will carry an expense ratio of 0.45% and aims to achieve its investment objective in focusing its asset base on taxable municipal debt securities which are publicly issued under [...]

Build America Bond ETFs: Investing in Recovery

Sun, 29 Aug 2010 16:00:29 -0400

One of the more interesting products to come out of the financial crisis is Build America Bond exchange traded funds (ETFs), which give investors a direct way to play the recovery of our economy. The Build America Bond program was created to help ease the liquidity crisis found in the bond markets...

The Case for Build America Bond ETFs

Fri, 13 Aug 2010 18:00:11 -0400

Build America Bonds exchange traded funds (ETFs) have been around for nearly a year, but BABs themselves have rarely been as cheap relative to corporate securities. It could be a signal to start thinking about these funds. Income-seeking investors may want to look no further than home if they are...

PowerShares to Expand Build America Bond ETF Line

Wed, 09 Jun 2010 04:00:46 -0400

PowerShares Plans Another Build America Bond ETF (BABI)

Tue, 08 Jun 2010 10:16:10 -0400

Encouraged by the impressive start to the first ETF offering exposure to Build America Bonds, PowerShares recently filed details on a second, more targeted fund within the same asset class. The latest proposed addition to the PowerShares lineup is the Intermediate Build America Bond Portfolio, a product that would track the BofA Merrill Lynch 1-12 [...]

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May ETF Roundup: Launches, Filings, and Closings

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 15:18:15 -0400

The impressive pace of expansion in the ETF industry slowed a bit in May, as issuers introduced fewer new funds than in previous months. Still, more than a dozen new ETFs began trading last month, including some first-to-market products, a few ETFs that will go head-to-head with established products, and the second coming of an [...]

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Build America Bonds Get Another ETF Play

Wed, 19 May 2010 18:00:01 -0400

Are Muni Bond ETFs In Trouble?

Tue, 18 May 2010 11:07:40 -0400

Municipal bonds are popular among investors in the highest tax brackets because unlike corporate bonds, the interest payments received are exempt from federal (and sometimes state) taxes. Moreover, because the issuers of such bonds are generally entities with the authority to levy taxes to make good on their debt payments, the level of perceived risk [...]

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State Street Launches Build America Bond ETF (BABS)

Fri, 14 May 2010 10:21:59 -0400

State Street has partnered with Nuveen Investments to launch the SPDR Nuveen Barclays Capital Build America Bond ETF (BABS), the second ETF offering exposure to a corner of the bond market created as a result of the recent recession. BABS will track the performance of the Barclays Capital Build America Bond Index, a benchmark that [...]

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Bonds: Build America!

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 15:42:12 -0400

News about

Ten ETFs Trading Near 52-Week Highs

Build America Bond ETFs: Crushing The Muni Competition

Related Posts:

Fifteen Bond ETFs Trading Near 52-Week Highs

ETFdb Category Kings: Best Performers From First Half Of 2011

Related Posts:

Could Muni Bonds Be Dragging BAB ETFs?

Build America Bond ETFs May Get a Second Chance

Changes May Be In Store for BABS ETFs

Build America Bond ETFs’ Future in Question

The Future of Build America Bond ETFs

Uncertain Future For Build America Bond ETFs

Wide World Of Muni Bond ETFs

PIMCO Launches Two New Bond ETFs

PIMCO Launches Two New Bond ETFs (BABZ, CORP)

PIMCO Introduces Build America Bond ETF

Build America Bond ETFs: Investing in Recovery

The Case for Build America Bond ETFs

PowerShares to Expand Build America Bond ETF Line

PowerShares Plans Another Build America Bond ETF (BABI)

May ETF Roundup: Launches, Filings, and Closings

Build America Bonds Get Another ETF Play

Are Muni Bond ETFs In Trouble?

State Street Launches Build America Bond ETF (BABS)

Bonds: Build America!