By Mike Clark, Consulting Actuary, the Principal Financial Group You can forgive sponsors of single-employer defined benefit (DB) plans if they mistakenly think the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) insurance program is in financial distress. Premium levels have quintupled since the passage of the Pension Protection Act in 2006 after all, which may give those paying the [...] Read more at ETFtrends.com.
By Mona Naqvi, Senior Director, Head of ESG Product Strategy, North America, S&P Dow Jones Indices The fast-changing nature of the ESG landscape is no stranger to those within it. Competing definitions, variability in scoring methodologies, and a spectrum of individual investor objectives have made fertile ground for divergent approaches. However, among this slew of sustainable investment [...] Read more at ETFtrends.com.
A trend decades in the making In 2020, ESG’s time may have finally come. Investing based on environmental-, societal- and governance-oriented principles is a trend influencing fund development, government regulations and attracting investor fund flows. It can be a complicated topic, particularly if you’re trying to find the best approach. The good thing for investors [...] Read more at ETFtrends.com.
The ALPS Disruptive Technologies ETF (DTEC) outpaced the broader equity markets last week amid volatility, driven by its Cloud Computing and Cyber Security themes. With its September reconstitution in the books, 15 new pure-play disruptive technology companies were added to DTEC while 15 were removed. Some notable additions include: Zoom Video Communications (ZM, 1.28% weight*), [...] Read more at ETFtrends.com.
By Brittany, The Wealth Consulting Group This week in our #WCGImpactSeries we’re providing insight into how the #ESG consideration of fossil fuel free investing can impact your portfolio and the planet. The integration of ESG analytics can provide valuable insight about company practices and the potential benefits or risks associated with those practices. These analytics [...] Read more at ETFtrends.com.
In the nearly six years since Greg Abbott has been governor of Texas, the Lone Star State has been the number one destination for U.S. businesses looking to relocate. That includes California businesses. In 2018 and 2019, as many as 660 California-based companies pulled their stakes up and moved to greener pastures in Texas, where the cost [...] Read more at ETFtrends.com.
This is the first blog post of a three-part series on the effect of COVID-19 on the November 3rd election. With more than 200,000 recorded U.S. COVID-19-related deaths, add in another plot twist: last night we learned that Donald and Melania Trump both contracted it. As if Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Supreme Court vacancy wasn’t enough [...] Read more at ETFtrends.com.
By Justin Spittler It was one of our most “unluckiest” trades at RiskHedge. We recommended this trade to our premium subscribers on February 19, which was the exact day the US stock market peaked before the “corona crash,” as you can see here: The next morning all hell broke loose. The S&P 500 began a [...] Read more at ETFtrends.com.
By Jan van Eck, CEO, VanEck As you may know, this summer I grew frustrated with what was not being taught in colleges—namely, what I think is necessary historical background for a career in finance. To address this gap, I taught a 16 unit course to our summer interns on the history of finance. We have a [...] Read more at ETFtrends.com.
By Justin Spittler The biggest software IPO is officially in the books. Two weeks ago, in one of the most hyped events of the year, Snowflake (SNOW) went public. Snowflake is a data warehousing company. It helps companies better access and make sense of their data. We’ve been “stalking” Snowflake for over a year. And yet, we [...] Read more at ETFtrends.com.
Looking at the various events of the week that revolve around the approaching general election, the renewed hopes of a new stimulus package, and now the sudden announcement of President Trump testing positive for Covid-19, there is a lot this could mean for an already volatile market. ETF Trends CEO Tom Lydon spoke with Kelly [...] Read more at ETFtrends.com.
There is growing investment demand for active managers to craft new environmental, social and governance funds. According to Broadridge Financial Solutions‘ new report, growing number of investor want active managers to introduce ESG funds as an investment option. So far, a majority 68% of ESG assets in the U.S> are now in actively managed funds. [...] Read more at ETFtrends.com.
While the markets just experienced their worst September in almost a decade, value exchange traded fund investors fared better than their growth counterparts. Over the past month, the iShares S&P 500 Value ETF (NYSEArca: IVE) declined 2.4%, compared to the 5.1% pullback for the iShares S&P 500 Growth ETF (NYSEArca: IVW) and the 4.0% fall off [...] Read more at ETFtrends.com.
Once relegated to the sidelines of investors’ attention due to broad overreliance on subsidies and a lack of economic edge vs. traditional energy, clean energy and clean technology are in the midst of a new era of growth and competitiveness. Although wind and solar capacity have been expanding rapidly for over a decade, utilities have [...] Read more at ETFtrends.com.
An Airline sector-related exchange traded fund took flight on Friday after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi promised relief for the beleaguered industry that just saw its financial aid dry up. The U.S. Global Jets ETF (NYSEArca: JETS), the lone ETF dedicated to airline stocks, gained 0.7% on Friday, testing its short-term resistance at the 50-day simple moving [...] Read more at ETFtrends.com.
Energy sector-related exchange traded funds were among the best performers on Friday, despite the steep pullback in crude oil prices after President Donald Trump tested positive for Covid-19 and a rise in global crude output. On Friday, the VanEck Vectors Oil Service ETF (NYSEArca: OIH) gained 3.1% and iShares U.S. Oil Equipment & Services ETF [...] Read more at ETFtrends.com.