Insurance and Finance Blog

ETF’s Are Great {By: Michael Swanson}

by Mike Swanson

The SPY ETF is currently the largest stock trading fund in the world. PDR services is its current sponsor. Despite its dominance it does have competition on the market. A list of the larger ETF’s to analyze using technical analysis are listed on the New York Stock exchange.

An exchange-traded fund (ETF) is a method of trading on stock exchanges. In principle, an ETF is worth the same as the stocks they represent. This is valued at whatever those assets are worth over the day’s trading. As of 2009, there are 680 exchange-traded funds on the US markets, accounting for $610 billion in assets.

Many have criticized the ETF for several reasons. Many argue that they do not facilitate sufficient diversification, and that they only have short-term applications. The tax advantages gained o not apply to those who use tax deferred accounts. Corruption has also led many to manipulate market prices using ETFs. However, an ETF can still be a wise investment if used correctly.

ETFs are routinely criticized for several reasons. First, that they are short-term in scope. Second, they do not provide sufficient diversification. Third, the so called tax advantages are worthless to investors using tax deferred accounts. Fourth, they can be used to manipulate market prices. Most concede that a broadly diversified ETF can be a wise investment.

Their origin lies with the Index Participation Shares (IDSs) of the late 1980s. IDSs were traded on the American Stock Exchange and the Philadelphia Stock Exchange. Eventually the practice was stopped following a lawsuit by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

Following this the Toronto Stock Exchange began trading its own version of Index Participation Shares. These were so popular that the American Stock exchange started looking for something similar that could pass US regulation. The result was the ETF. The Standard & Poor’s Depositary Receipts (SPDRs) became the first ETF in the United States. They are often referred to as “spiders” or “spyders”.

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