by Leslie N. Masonson, MBA Mutual funds have been around for over 100 years, while the first ETF was born only 30 years ago. Most of the former were set-up as active funds (requiring active portfolio management) with accompanying high expenses, but eventually no-load passively managed index funds were offered, as investors balked at [...]
By Leslie N. Masonson, MBA On January 22, 1993, a groundbreaking development unfolded on the American Stock Exchange (AMEX): the first U.S.-listed exchange-traded fund (ETF) made its debut. This financial innovation, introduced by the State Street Global Advisors, bore the name SPDR® S&P 500 ETF with the ticker symbol SPY. It boasted a unique [...]
By Leslie N. Masonson, MBA The Industrial Revolution from 1760 to 1840 unleashed a sea-change of dramatic and unheard-of shifts in the industrial growth and dominance of the United States. There are of course two more recent impactful events that have changed our way of interacting, working, and shopping. The first, of course, is [...]
By Leslie N. Masonson, MBA Two of the most significant events in the investment world over the past century, which have had a positive impact on everyday investors, were the introduction of the first mutual fund, MFS Massachusetts Investors Fund, in 1924, and the launch of the first exchange-traded fund (ETF), SPDR S&P 500 [...]
VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX) - Ready to Pop After Its 28% Jump in the Past Month Gold mining companies mine, explore and refine the commodity. The price of gold mining companies and ETFs, as well as the price of gold bars, have had a rough ride over the past decade, and have been [...]
If you've explored our blog, you've gained access to our in-depth articles on topics like swing trading options, short selling ETFs, and other investment strategies that are not the normal "buy a stock low and sell it high" advice you hear in this industry. And today, we're going to talk about another obscure investment [...]
Market direction is the single most important thing that an investor needs to know. If we've said it once, we've said it a thousand times, VectorVest believes that market direction is the single most important thing that an investor needs to know. The market has been brutal for investors that weren't prepared, but [...]
In regard to profiting in volatile markets, one thing you might consider is buying Contra ETFs. Contra ETFs are designed to move contrary to market direction, ie. they go up when the market is going down. The key is knowing which ones to buy, when to buy them, and when to sell. VectorVest has you [...]
ETFs and shorting–maybe you know about each of these financial terms separately, but didn’t know they could be utilized together. Rather than with ordinary or “long” investing, shorting an ETF allows you to profit off of its decline in value. And when it comes to ETFs, shorting is actually easier than you may have realized [...]
