ETF Rankings and Signals, July 30th 2008
Note: ETF rankings and signals are for educational purposes only and should not interpreted as an investment advice.
| Exchange Traded Fund Rankings |
Archive for the ‘Emerging Markets’
ETF Rankings and Signals July 20th, 2008
Note: ETF rankings and signals are for educational purposes only and should not interpreted as an investment advice.
| Exchange Traded Fund Rankings |
ETF Rankings and Signals July 13, 2008
Note: ETF rankings and signals are for educational purposes only and should not interpreted as an investment advice.
| Exchange Traded Fund Rankings |
ETF Rankings and Signals July 06, 2008
Note: ETF rankings and signals are for educational purposes only and should not interpreted as an investment advice.
| Exchange Traded Fund Rankings |
ETF Report July 1st 2009
Today’s Top Performing ETFs
| Index | Ticker | Sector | Close | Today’s Change | One Week Return | One Month Return | Three Months Return | Six Months Return | One Year Return |
| HHN | HealthShares Neuroscience | Specialty-Health | 26.72 | 5.86% | 25.86% | 14.88% | 22.12% | 19.93% | 8.93% |
| DBS | PowerShares DB Silver | Specialty-Precious Metals | 33.40 | 3.95% | 8.51% | 7.99% | 4.57% | 20.19% | 38.45% |
| SLV | iShares Silver Trust | Specialty-Precious Metals | 179.00 | 3.69% | 8.54% | 7.56% | 3.79% | 21.79% | 42.20% |
| EEV | UltraShort MSCI Emerging Mrkts ProShares | Bear Market | 78.00 | 3.19% | 2.90% | 20.80% | 3.20% | 7.32% | 10.42% |
| DAG | DB Agriculture Double Long ETN | Specialty-Natural Res | 27.74 | 2.78% | 6.24% | 24.51% | 8.23% | 8.23% | 8.23% |
| DGP | DB Gold Double Long ETN | Specialty-Precious Metals | 23.40 | 2.68% | 11.59% | 10.38% | 6.07% | -8.95% | -8.95% |
| QLD | Ultra QQQ ProShares | Large Blend | 75.27 | 2.62% | -4.55% | -14.88% | -1.37% | -24.11% | -17.80% |
| EOH | Opta Lehman Cmdty Pure Beta Agric TR ETN | Specialty-Natural Res | 56.84 | 2.45% | 6.44% | 17.22% | 24.16% | 11.89% | 11.89% |
| USV | E-TRACS UBS Bloomberg CMCI Silver ETN | Specialty-Precious Metals | 26.76 | 2.41% | 8.21% | 11.45% | 3.76% | 3.76% | 3.76% |
| IAT | iShares Dow Jones US Regional Banks | Specialty-Financial | 27.21 | 2.37% | -2.84% | -18.61% | -25.95% | -26.19% | -43.32% |
| SMN | UltraShort Basic Materials ProShares | Bear Market | 29.52 | 2.32% | 5.47% | 3.15% | -19.91% | -27.01% | -41.10% |
| KBE | KBW Bank ETF | Specialty-Financial | 29.31 | 2.30% | -4.34% | -19.59% | -28.25% | -31.11% | -45.42% |
| EFU | UltraShort MSCI EAFE ProShares | Bear Market | 91.20 | 2.30% | 3.46% | 19.70% | 14.09% | 23.66% | 35.85% |
| BBH | Biotech HOLDRs | Specialty-Health | 172.60 | 2.14% | 3.08% | 2.84% | 0.93% | 8.70% | 3.51% |
| EIS | iShares MSCI Israel Cap Invest Mkt Index | Diversified Emerging Mkts | 56.07 | 2.04% | 0.59% | -2.16% | 11.36% | 14.27% | 14.27% |
| XHB | SPDR S&P Homebuilders | Mid-Cap Blend | 16.76 | 2.01% | -6.58% | -14.75% | -28.69% | -12.59% | -43.61% |
| XBI | SPDR S&P Biotech | Specialty-Health | 58.76 | 2.00% | 2.66% | 0.19% | 8.09% | 0.14% | 15.05% |
| RMS | Rydex Inverse 2x S&P MidCap 400 | Bear Market | 80.90 | 1.94% | 7.74% | 12.96% | -3.88% | 5.55% | 7.63% |
| GDX | Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF | Specialty-Precious Metals | 49.53 | 1.93% | 12.41% | 6.72% | 2.38% | 8.07% | 29.67% |
| FUE | ELEMENTS MLCX Biofuels Index TR ETN | Specialty-Natural Res | 11.91 | 1.88% | 6.15% | 17.57% | 19.22% | 19.10% | 19.10% |
ETF Report June 30th 2008
Today’s Top Performing ETFs
| Index | Ticker | Sector | Close | Today’s Change | One Week Return | One Month Return | Three Months Return | Six Months Return | One Year Return |
| HRJ | HealthShares European Drugs | Specialty-Health | 21.58 | 9.27% | -2.53% | -5.56% | 0.56% | -7.34% | -16.78% |
| ADZ | DB Agriculture Short ETN | Bear Market | 23.26 | 6.80% | -1.86% | -14.14% | -5.02% | -5.02% | -5.02% |
| AGA | DB Agriculture Double Short ETN | Bear Market | 21.11 | 6.78% | -3.43% | -27.43% | -12.59% | -12.59% | -12.59% |
| FDD | First Trust DJ STOXX Select Dividend 30 | Europe Stock | 18.93 | 5.75% | -5.30% | -20.18% | -29.16% | -34.49% | -33.96% |
| UPW | Ultra Utilities ProShares | Specialty-Utilities | 76.94 | 4.61% | -1.84% | -2.09% | 11.72% | -8.54% | 3.22% |
| EWU | iShares MSCI United Kingdom Index | Europe Stock | 20.72 | 4.54% | -1.03% | -7.02% | -5.10% | -13.12% | -14.19% |
| HHN | HealthShares Neuroscience | Specialty-Health | 25.24 | 3.95% | 9.17% | 10.70% | 15.62% | 13.29% | 3.19% |
| SKF | UltraShort Financials ProShares | Bear Market | 156.63 | 3.91% | 11.48% | 42.01% | 55.89% | 54.77% | 114.91% |
| PJO | PowerShares FTSE RAFI Japan | Japan Stock | 45.16 | 3.55% | -0.86% | -6.48% | 4.64% | -6.33% | -8.62% |
| SJH | UltraShort Russell2000 Value ProShares | Bear Market | 101.34 | 3.12% | 9.99% | 20.42% | 11.76% | 15.92% | 46.03% |
| DIG | Ultra Oil & Gas ProShares | Specialty-Natural Res | 120.84 | 3.02% | -1.52% | 5.08% | 31.71% | 12.97% | 41.09% |
| PCY | PowerShares Emerging Mkts Sovereign Debt | Emerging Markets Bond | 24.77 | 2.95% | 0.20% | -4.10% | -3.20% | -1.53% | 0.23% |
| TTH | Telecom HOLDRs | Specialty-Communications | 30.53 | 2.66% | -0.98% | -11.60% | -8.03% | -20.42% | -20.26% |
| UTH | Utilities HOLDRs | Specialty-Utilities | 134.83 | 2.66% | -0.73% | 0.09% | 6.43% | -0.84% | 9.59% |
| XOP | SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Prod | Specialty-Natural Res | 70.28 | 2.52% | -1.54% | 8.59% | 29.13% | 33.87% | 53.59% |
| REW | UltraShort Technology ProShares | Bear Market | 64.87 | 2.48% | 8.23% | 19.83% | -2.40% | 25.91% | 9.58% |
| XLU | Utilities Select Sector SPDR | Specialty-Utilities | 40.70 | 2.44% | -1.12% | -0.74% | 5.36% | -3.77% | 5.89% |
| TWM | UltraShort Russell2000 ProShares | Bear Market | 78.80 | 2.42% | 7.81% | 16.80% | 3.16% | 14.40% | 28.70% |
| EDV | Vanguard Extended Dur Tre Idx ETF | Long Government | 95.59 | 2.40% | 3.95% | 5.52% | -0.94% | 0.50% | 0.06% |
| RYU | Rydex S&P Equal Weight Utilities | Specialty-Utilities | 56.75 | 2.27% | 0.04% | -2.76% | 6.25% | -6.32% | -3.68% |
Lazy PortFolio Performance Numbers
Updated through June 27th, 2008
| Portfolio Name | Stocks Pct. | Correlation to SP500 | Standard Deviation | One Month Return | Three Months Return | Six Months Return | One Year Return | Two Year Return | Five Year Return | Six Month Max Draw-Down |
| Six Ways From Sunday | 67% | 0.83 | 4.68 | -4.40% | 3.58% | 0.48% | 5.19% | 27.76% | 112.58% | -9.32% |
| Ted Aronson | 80% | 0.91 | 5.49 | -7.46% | -0.63% | -8.75% | -4.07% | 24.62% | 104.06% | -12.28% |
| Merriman | 60% | 0.92 | 4.23 | -6.52% | -2.34% | -6.77% | -5.07% | 17.26% | 74.11% | -8.29% |
| David Swenson | 70% | 0.94 | 4.86 | -7.01% | -2.61% | -6.46% | -6.04% | 14.37% | 72.23% | -9.04% |
| Margritaville | 67% | 0.88 | 4.21 | -5.93% | -1.68% | -7.28% | -4.33% | 18.49% | 70.67% | -9.20% |
| Second Graders | 90% | 0.94 | 5.49 | -7.71% | -1.93% | -10.43% | -9.55% | 14.80% | 70.24% | -12.53% |
| Five Fold | 60% | 0.92 | 4.16 | -6.19% | -2.92% | -4.56% | -4.10% | 14.20% | 69.13% | -8.11% |
| Four Square | 50% | 0.82 | 3.17 | -4.54% | -2.17% | -4.79% | -0.59% | 19.33% | 63.39% | -6.63% |
| Bernstein No Brainer | 75% | 0.94 | 4.86 | -6.89% | -1.89% | -9.00% | -9.68% | 12.82% | 63.01% | -11.14% |
| Bernstein SmartMoney | 60% | 0.96 | 4.37 | -6.57% | -1.92% | -7.31% | -7.83% | 11.35% | 58.48% | -8.48% |
| Bill Schultheis Coffeehouse | 60% | 0.96 | 4.35 | -6.56% | -2.51% | -6.54% | -8.80% | 8.47% | 53.10% | -8.10% |
| Couch Potato | 50% | 0.89 | 2.88 | -3.57% | -0.96% | -3.95% | -1.36% | 13.64% | 41.39% | -5.29% |
| S&P 500 | 100% | 0.95 | 6.19 | -8.57% | -3.35% | -13.41% | -15.10% | 3.16% | 29.68% | -13.87% |
Higher the percentage of stocks you have in a lazy portfolio, higher is your portfolio’s standard deviation.
All of the lazy portfolios cited above beat S&P 500 index in every timeframe.
Not only that, but they also get you there with a lower draw-down i.e. fall off the peak.
Barclays Pegged Currency ETN
Barclays has launched a new ETN that tracks the Global Emerging Markets Strategy Pegged Currency Index. The Barclays Asian and Gulf Currency Revaluation ETN (PGD) covers the currencies of Saudi Arabia, UAE, China, Hong Kong and Singapore.
It is widely expected that these five countries will have their currencies reevaluated and their dollar pegs adjusted upwards, resulting is a profit opportunity in the not so long term.
Barclays has another ETN that tracks 15 emerging market currencies in US Dollar terms (JEM).
Lazy Portfolios Roundup: Part 1
I have profiled some lazy portfolios below. I am hoping that this will help me become a better lazy investor. In addition, it will also help the readers of this blog with their investment decisions.
The performance numbers for these portfolios will be updated every weekend. If there are portfolios that are not covered here but you’d like to be in this list, do let me know.
Something about my investments portfolios, I usually have multiple accounts. A few of those are pure lazy ones, while the others are little active. I will be talking about the active techniques in some other posts. This article has the lazy portfolios that I have been influenced with. My own investments are in a combination of a few of these below. 
My references have been, for the most part, the articles of Paul Farrell, a Marketwatch columnist, and the web-pages of the inventors of the individual portfolios. I will provide references below if you’d like to follow up and get some more information.
Paul Farrell is a huge proponent of lazy portfolios and every now and then he writes about them. He is also the author of the book "The Lazy Person’s Guide to Investing". I highly recommend it to anyone who has any interest in this subject matter.
Second Grader’s Starter Portfolio
Originally by Kevin Roth when he was in second grade. I came to know of this by Paul’s article and here.
| Fund | Ticker | Allocation % |
| Vanguard Total Stock Market Index | VTSMX | 60% |
| Vanguard Total International Stock Index | VGTSX | 30% |
| Vanguard Total Bond Market Index | VBMFX | 10% |
Total Equity allocation: 90%
Scott Burns Lazy Portfolio Suite
Columnist Scott Burns (Assetbuilder.com) has a bunch of lazy portfolios.
Couch Potato Portfolio:
| Fund | Ticker | Allocation % |
| Vanguard Total Stock Market Index | VTSMX | 50% |
| Vanguard Inflation Protected Securities | VIPSX | 50% |
Total Equity allocation: 50%
Margaritaville Portfolio:
| Fund | Ticker | Allocation % |
| Vanguard Total Stock Market Index | VTSMX | 33.3% |
| Vanguard Total International Stock Index | VGTSX | 33.3% |
| Vanguard Inflation Protected Securities | VIPSX | 33.3% |
Total Equity Allocation: 66.6%
Four Square Portfolio
| Fund | Ticker | Allocation % |
| Vanguard Total Stock Market Index | VTSMX | 25% |
| Vanguard Total International Stock Index | VGTSX | 25% |
| Vanguard Inflation Protected Securities | VIPSX | 25% |
| American Century International Bond Fund | BEGBX | 25% |
Total Equity Allocation: 50%
Five Fold Portfolio
| Fund | Ticker | Allocation % |
| Vanguard Total Stock Market Index | VTSMX | 20% |
| Vanguard Total International Stock Index | VGTSX | 20% |
| Vanguard REIT Index | VGSIX | 20% |
| Vanguard Inflation Protected Securities | VIPSX | 20% |
| American Century International Bond Fund | BEGBX | 20% |
Total Equity Allocation: 60%
Six Ways From Sunday Portfolio
| Fund | Ticker | Allocation % |
| Vanguard Total Stock Market Index | VTSMX | 16.66% |
| Vanguard Total International Stock Index | VGTSX | 16.66% |
| Vanguard Energy | VGENX | 16.66% |
| Vanguard REIT Index | VGSIX | 16.66% |
| Vanguard Inflation Protected Securities | VIPSX | 16.66% |
| American Century International Bond Fund | BEGBX | 16.66% |
Total Equity Allocation: 66.67%
Dr. William Bernstein’s Portfolios 
William Bernstein is a neurologist by training and is now also a financial advisor. He is the author of bestseller books, "The intelligent Asset Allocator" and "The Four Pillars of Investing".
No Brainer Portfolio (Link)
| Fund | Ticker | Allocation % |
| Vanguard 500 Index | VFINX | 25% |
| Vanguard European Stock Index | VEURX | 25% |
| Vanguard Small Cap Index | NAESX | 25% |
| Vanguard Total Bond Market Index | VBMFX | 25% |
Total Equity Allocation: 75%
Smart Money Portfolio (Link)
| Fund | Ticker | Allocation % |
| Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index | VEIEX | 5% |
| Vanguard European Stock Index | VEURX | 5% |
| Vanguard Pacific Stock Index | VPACX | 5% |
| Vanguard REIT Index | VGSIX | 5% |
| Vanguard Short Term Investment Grade Index | VFSTX | 40% |
| Vanguard Small Cap Index | NAESX | 5% |
| Vanguard Small Cap Value Index | VISVX | 10% |
| Vanguard Total Stock Market Index | VTSMX | 15% |
| Vanguard Value Index | VIVAX | 10% |
Total Equity Allocation: 60%
David Swensen’s Unconventional Portfolio
Mr Swensen manages the Yale University’s Endowment Fund and is the author of "Unconventional Success"(Link).
| Fund | Ticker | Allocation % |
| Vanguard Inflation Protected Securities | VIPSX | 15% |
| Vanguard REIT Index | VGSIX | 20% |
| Vanguard Long Term Treasury Index | VUSTX | 15% |
| Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index | VEIEX | 5% |
| Vanguard Developed Markets Index | VDMIX | 15% |
| Vanguard Total Stock Market Index | VTSMX | 30% |
Total Equity Allocation: 70%
Bill Schultheis’s Coffeehouse Portfolio
Bill Schultheis is a former Smith Barney broker. The portfolio was launched in his 1999 book "The Coffeehouse Investor". It seems this is the No. 1 book that Jack Bogle recommends to people who are just starting out (Link).
| Fund | Ticker | Allocation % |
| Vanguard 500 Index | VFINX | 10% |
| Vanguard REIT Index | VGSIX | 10% |
| Vanguard Small Cap Index | NAESX | 10% |
| Vanguard Small Cap Value Index | VISVX | 10% |
| Vanguard Total Bond Market Index | VBMFX | 40% |
| Vanguard Total International Stock Index | VGTSX | 10% |
| Vanguard Value Index | VIVAX | 10% |
Total Equity Allocation: 60%
Ted Aronson’s Family Portfolio
Ted is principal at AJO partners, an institutional fund manager. All his family’s taxable money is in Vanguard Index funds (Link).
| Fund | Ticker | Allocation % |
| Vanguard 500 Index | VFINX | 15% |
| Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Index | VEIEX | 20% |
| Vanguard European Stock Index | VEURX | 5% |
| Vanguard Extended Market Index | VEXMX | 10% |
| Vanguard High Yield Corporate Bond | VWEHX | 5% |
| Vanguard Inflation Protected Securities | VIPSX | 10% |
| Vanguard Long Term Treasury Index | VUSTX | 5% |
| Vanguard Pacific Stock Index | VPACX | 15% |
| Vanguard Small Cap Growth Index | VISGX | 5% |
| Vanguard Small Cap Value Index | VISVX | 5% |
| Vanguard Total Stock Market Index | VTSMX | 5% |
Total Equity Allocation: 80%
I need to update my lazy portfolio suite with a few of these portfolios, which I will do tomorrow evening. Hopefully I will have the numbers in a neat table uploaded tomorrow night. In the meantime, do let me know what else you’d like to see. Till then…