XLE is U.S. energy industry, including many of the world’s largest oil producers. Compared to other energy options, XLE is impressive in terms of both cost efficiency and liquidity; investors can generally expect to execute at penny wide spreads. But like many funds offering exposure to the energy sector, XLE maintains some concentration issues, as a few stocks account for big chunks of the total portfolio.
noninstitutional
XLB U.S. materials sector provides indirect exposure to commodity prices through the stocks of companies engaged in the extraction or production of natural resources. Because the materials sector often accounts for a small portion of broad-based benchmarks, XLB may be a useful tool for long-term investors looking for more balanced exposure to the U.S. equity market. It can also be handy for those looking to implement a shorter-term tilt towards the materials sector. Like most Sector SPDRs, XLB’s appeal lies in its cost efficiency and liquidity; it is among the cheapest funds in the Materials
This ETF is focused on the U.S. homebuilding industry, and as such offers exposure to a corner of the domestic economy that tends to be cyclical in nature. In addition to pure play homebuilders, this fund includes companies related generally to the homebuilding industry, such as Pier One. For investors seeking exposure to the homebuilding industry–or the closest thing to it available in an ETF wrapper–we think XHB is the best option out there. This fund is more cost efficient than other options such as PKB or ITB, and the equal weighting methodology ensures exposure is spread evenly across component companies.
. . . . . . Please enter your login information Username Password Remember Me Forgot Password (Members:…
XLK includes market segments like IT services, wireless telecommunication services, and semiconductors to name just a few. The fund invests in the who’s-who of the U.S. tech sector, with major holdings in companies like Apple and IBM. The fund splits its assets mainly between the technology and communication services sectors, while allocating mainly to giant and large cap firms. One of the major strengths of this ETF is the fact that it does not single out a particular sector; rather it invests in companies from all across the technology sector.
IWM ETF is one of several offering exposure to the Russell 2000 Index, a widely followed measure of small cap U.S. stocks. Given this investment objective, IWM may be useful in a number of different ways; more active investors may use this fund as a way to establish short-term exposure to a risky asset class when risk tolerance is expected to climb, while IWM can also be appealing as a way of accessing an asset class that should be included in any long-term, buy-and-hold portfolio.
GDX offers investors exposure to some of the largest gold mining companies in the world, thereby delivering what can be thought of as “indirect” exposure to gold prices. Because the profitability of gold miners depends on the prevailing market price for the goods that they sell, these stocks will generally exhibit a strong correlations to movements in spot gold prices. When gold prices go up, gold miners make more money (and vice versa). It should be noted, however, that this relationship is not perfect; in certain environments, gold miner stocks and physical gold prices can move in opposite directions, and correlation between the two can be less than perfect.
NEW GOLD vs TLT CHART: This ratio provides a birds-eye macro view of the commonly held relationship between Gold & US Treasury bonds (20YR+) ETF that over time has held within its key historical channel. Anytime this ratio has popped out of this key level either Gold was overpriced or TLT was underpriced.
TLT provides exposure to long-dated Treasuries, an asset class that is light on credit risk but may offer attractive yields thanks to an extended duration and therefore material interest rate risk. TLT might not be a core holding in a buy-and-hold portfolio, as long-term Treasuries are included in broader-based bond funds such as AGG and BND. But for those looking to extend the duration of their portfolio and potentially enhance the current return offered, this can be a useful product. TLT is efficient from a cost perspective, offers exposure to hundreds of individual securities, and delivers impressive liquidity to those looking to execute a trade quickly.
TNX is the 10YR Treasure Yield Index (Weekly), which is essentially inverse actual bond prices. To convert to actual yield move the decimal place over one place to the left. TNX is also inverse the TLT for those trading TLT its a great barometer for what bond ETFs will do next. TNX is heavily dependent on Federal Reserve policy & is sensitive on FOMC & Fed days.