Posts belonging to Category Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs)



ETFs Encourage Speculation – Bogle

 

The biggest problem with exchange traded funds is the fact that they can be traded, according to Vanguard Funds Founder and index fund proponent John Bogle.  The ability to trade ETFs plays into one of the top ten mistakes made by investors. That mistake – trying to time the market.  Market timing is speculation, not […]

Today’s ‘Alternative Investments’ Resemble ‘Limited Partnerships’ of the Past

 

Wall Street’s recent promotion of alternative investments should warrant serious concern among investors. It serves as an unpleasant example of history repeating itself. In the mid-1980s, Wall Street firms became enamored with limited partnerships (a form of alternative investment) that invested in so-called hard assets, paid the firms high commissions and fees, were illiquid and […]

Will Alternative Investments Fuel the Next Financial Debacle?

 

Investors are being sold more and more alternative investments and large broker-dealers are ramping up to supply that demand, according to the Wall Street Journal (“Alternatives Get a Boost”). The trouble is that most investors do not fully understand these products and their brokerage firm advisers do not fairly explain the risks and problems associated […]

Insurance Companies Raise Red Flags on Certain Alternative Investments

 

The recent actions of errors and omissions insurance carriers should serve as a major red flag to investors. Many of these carriers are refusing to issue coverage for sales of certain alternative investments. In other words, these carriers have determined that the risk of loss associated with the sale of certain alternative investments is too […]

More Small Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) are on Death Watch

 

Large numbers of exotic and niche exchange traded products (both funds and notes) have either folded or are on a “death watch.” One such fund, according to John Waggoner of USA Today, has not traded since January (“Some exchange traded funds in ER”).

Respected Expert Warns of ‘Financial Train Wreck’

 

Too many investors speculate rather than invest according to John Bogle, the founder of the Vanguard Group and the creator of the Vanguard 500 Index Fund, which tracks the S&P 500 stock index. Investing means buying and holding; trading (frequent buying and selling) is speculation. Speculation is what happens when sales people act as financial […]

ETN Implodes

 

The iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures exchange-traded note (VXX), supposedly a hedge against stock market volatility, crashed last week losing over 10% of its market value. The sharp drop, which sent the VXX to an all-time low, occurred as positive economic news in the U.S. and Europe sent the S&P 500 stock index sharply […]

State Regulators are Filing More Claims Against Investment Advisers

 

Investment advisers and their firms are facing increased scrutiny from state regulators following enactment of the Dodd-Frank financial reform act and the high profile press coverage of the Madoff ponzi scheme and other fraudulent activities. The number of regulatory enforcement actions against investment advisers increased by 100 percent in 2011. Regulators are on the lookout […]

Exchange-Traded Notes – An Investment that Most Investors Should Avoid

 

Exchange-traded notes are complex products sold by “the best salesmen in the world” who are often betting that their potential customers do not know just how complex they are. In most cases, investors would be better off not buying exchange-traded notes, according to USA Today’s John Waggoner (“Non-experts may want to avoid ETNs”).

Exotic ETFs Have Far Greater Risks Than Low Trading Volumes

 

Exchange traded fund assets remain concentrated in a small minority of the 1,400 ETFs on the market today for very good reasons. In fact, twenty-five ETFs based on broad indices are responsible for two-thirds of the trading volume.