Posts belonging to Category Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs)



Chicago Professors Argue That Governmental Approval Should Be Required For Wall Street’s Exotic Financial Products

 

Wall Street is peddling snake oil ? new financial products that are the equivalent of bottles of medicine with labels like “Dr. Bartlett’s Beneficent Balm ? Boon to Mankind” ? and they should be regulated as such, according to University of Chicago professors Eric A. Posner and E. Glen Weyl. The FDA protects consumers from […]

Regulators Sanction Major Wall Street Firms for Improper Sales of High-Risk ETFs

 

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced that it ordered Citigroup Global Markets, Morgan Stanley, UBS Financial Services, and Wells Fargo Advisors to pay more than $9.1 million for failure to supervise and failure to have a reasonable basis for recommending selling leveraged and inverse exchange traded funds. Each of the four firms sold billions […]

Regulators Plan Legal Actions Over Improper Sales of ETFs and ETNs

 

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced plans to file enforcement actions against certain brokerages in connection with unsuitable sales of leveraged and inverse leveraged exchange-traded funds (ETFs), as well as for failure to train their brokers who sell them (see Reuters article by Suzanne Barlyn and Jessica Toonkel entitled “FINRA to bring cases over […]

Chasing Higher Yields Involves Taking Greater Risk

 

The prospect of several more years of extremely low interest rates is causing people who depend on interest income to accept Wall Street’s recommendations to purchase relatively illiquid and opaque alternative investments like structured products, non-traded REITs, hedge funds and variable annuities. (“Itchy Investors Ramp Up the Risk,” Wall Street Journal). Regulators worry that the […]

Junk Bond Exchange Traded Funds Have Hidden Risks

 

Wall Street Journal columnist Jason Zweig is warning junk bond enthusiasts to think twice before investing in junk bonds, especially junk bond exchange traded funds. In addition to the junk bonds themselves being overbought, the exchange traded funds that own them trade at a premium over the net asset value of the junk bonds. When […]

Regulators Remain Concerned about the Impact of ETFs on Market Volatility

 

The Securities and Exchange Commission and regulators in the United Kingdom have been investigating exchange traded funds for some time. Part of those investigations are now reportedly focusing on a situation called “settlement fails,” which occurs when trades are not completed on time. Although most exchange traded fund trades have seven days to clear or […]

Vanguard Icon Says ETFs Are Bad For Investors

 

John Bogle, founder of The Vanguard Group Inc., recommends low-cost, passive index mutual funds as the best way to invest, but that recommendation does not extend to exchange traded funds. Exchange traded funds are good for trading, , according to Mr. Bogle, but trading is not good for investors. Trading and investing are not the […]

Securities Regulators Set High Standards for Firms Selling Complex Investments

 

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority has issued a Regulatory Notice (12-03, Jan. 2012) to “remind” its member firms of their sales practice obligations with regard to complex products, and to provide them “guidance” in exercising heightened scrutiny and supervision over marketing and sales of complex products. Complex products are not defined in the Notice, but […]

Securities Regulator Alerts the Public About Dangerous Investments and Investment Strategies

 

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) recently issued a report outlining is its regulatory and examination priorities for 2012. The securities industry regulator is focusing on conduct and products meant to beat the market that are unsuitable investments for many investors.

Currency Risk Haunts Single-Country Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)

 

U.S. investors have poured money into single-country exchange traded funds with encouragement from Wall Street, but that can be a dangerous strategy. Such a strategy often leads to dangerous over concentrations, which, like leverage, can amplify both gains and losses. (See SmartMoney Magazine, “Wilting ETF Returns”).