New Forex Trading Strategy

Friday, October 9, 2009

Understanding Exchange Traded Funds

By Mike Swanson

As of June 2007, SPY ETF has become the largest exchange stock trading fund in the world. It is sponsored by PDR services LLC, which in itself is a subsidiary of American Stock Exchange LLC. It does, however, have some considerable competition on the market. The most formidable ETFs holding stock picks are listed on the New York Stock exchange as IVV, RSP, SH, RSU, SSO, RSW, SDS, UPRO and SPXU.

The ETF (exchange-traded fund) is a way of conducting business on the stock exchange. The value of an ETF is set at the value of the stocks or bonds it represents. This means the value of said assets over the course of the trading day. There are currently 680 active ETFs on the US markets, which are worth about $610 billion.

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.

Many critics have railed against ETFs for various reasons. Firstly, they do not provide sufficient flexibility. Secondly, they are short-term in their scope. Thirdly, any tax advantages are minimal to investors that usually use tax deferred accounts. Finally, it has been shown that they can often be used to manipulate market prices. However, many agree that an ETF can still be a wise investment.

The Index Participation Shares (IDSs) of the late 1980s is the precursor to the ETF. IDSs were traded on both the Philadelphia Stock Exchange (PSE) and the American Stock Exchange (ASE). The US courts put a stop to there use following a lawsuit from Chicago Mercantile Exchange in 1990.

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". - 23305

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