CFRA Research

One of the more notable themes in the world of exchange-traded funds last year was investors affinity for international equity funds. When 2017 drew to a close, five of the year's top 10 asset-gathering ETFs were international equity funds. Three of those five funds were ex-US developed markets...

In the world of smart beta exchange traded funds, low volatility and dividends are two of the most popular concepts. Some funds marry dividend and low volatility themes, whether by intent or indirectly. The leader of the low vol/dividend ETF pack is the PowerShares S&P 500 High Dividend Low...

After trailing growth and momentum fare last year, value stocks continue to confound investors in 2018. For example, the iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF (NYSE: IWD), one of the largest exchange traded funds dedicated to value stocks, is off nearly 1 percent year-to-date. "To start 2018, U.S....

Multifactor exchange traded funds are a fast-growing corner of the broader ETF industry, and many lack the five- and 10-year track records many investors and fund analysts deem important. In recent years, some advisors and investors have not waited for new ETFs to gain appropriate “seasoning...

Recent turbulence in equities made its way to the corporate bond space. Last week, spreads on the Morningstar Corporate Bond Index, an investment-grade corporate bond gauge, and the BofA Merrill Lynch High Yield Master Index, shot higher. While traditional investment-grade and junk bond funds were...

A frequent criticism of low volatility exchange-traded funds is that these funds leave some upside on the table during bull markets. That critique misses the mark because the objective of low volatility strategies is not to capture all of the upside in a bull market, but rather to perform less...

Perhaps not surprisingly, the materials sector, a high beta group, got caught up in the recent equity market sell-off. Year-to-date, the Materials Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLB), the largest materials exchange traded fund by assets, is down 3.5 percent. Although the broader materials sector...

After an end-of-the-year rally in 2017, the financial services sector — the second-largest sector allocation in the S&P 500 — is continuing the streak. The Financial Select Sector SPDR (NYSE: XLF), the largest exchange traded fund dedicated to the sector, is up nearly 7 percent to...

More than 200 new ETFs came to market in 2017. The pace of ETF launches is blistering to start 2018, as more than 30 new ETFs, or more than one per day, have come to market since the turn of the year.  Some new ETFs are immediately successful while others struggle to gain investor traction....

Sector exchange traded funds have become increasingly popular with advisors and investors. While broad market funds such as the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (NYSE: SPY) give investors the benefit of diversity, sector funds allow users to overweight a specific group in an effort to identify potential...

High-dividend exchange traded funds struggled against the broader market last year. Just look at the iShares Select Dividend ETF (NASDAQ: DVY), one of the largest such funds. DVY trailed the S&P 500 by almost 700 basis points in 2017. Several of the S&P 500's highest-yielding sectors...

Last year was hard on value stocks, but not all exchange traded funds dedicated to the value factor turned in tepid performances. For example, the  iShares Edge MSCI USA Value Factor ETF (CBOE: VLUE) gained 22 percent, outpacing the S&P 500 Value Index by 670 basis points. With U.S. stocks...

By most accounts, 2017 has been a banner year for the exchange traded funds industry. In the U.S., by far the world's largest ETF market, hundreds of new products have come to market, and ETFs have pulled in more than $400 billion, easily topping previous annual inflow records. As is the case...

Despite thoughts to the contrary, not all dividend-oriented strategies are lagging the S&P 500 this year — some are easily outpacing the benchmark U.S. equity index. Enter the WisdomTree U.S. Quality Dividend Growth Fund (NASDAQ: DGRW).   Including dividends paid, the WisdomTree U.S...

Japan is the world's third-largest economy and home to some impressive equity market performances this year. For example, the MSCI Japan Index is up nearly 20 percent year to date after hitting a 52-week high Tuesday. As one of the largest developed market economies, Japan is widely represented...