Markit

One of the more noticeable themes among investment factors this year is the resurgence of the widely followed value factor. During the halcyon days of the current bull market, value was not the place to be as investors favored growth and momentum fare. That script has been flipped in 2016. Flows...

The iShares MSCI Spain Capped ETF (NYSE: EWP), the largest exchange-traded fund tracking stocks in the eurozone's fourth-largest economy is off 2.9 percent year-to-date. That does not sound too shabby, but it lags the year-to-date showings by the Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF (NYSE: VGK) and the...

In what was a dreadful year for equity-based energy exchange-traded funds, the First Trust ISE Revere Natural Gas (ETF) (NYSE: FCG) was a particularly poor performer in 2015, plunging 59.1 percent. Although it has a long way to go even after last year's tumble, FCG is higher by more than 23...

Focusing solely on the here and now, it is hard to get excited by the Market Vectors Vietnam ETF. (NYSE: VNM). With emerging markets equities popping this year, VNM, the lone exchange-traded fund dedicated to Vietnamese stocks is lagging with a loss of 2.5 percent. Frontier Vs. Emerging Economy...

Plenty of fixed income exchange-traded funds are benefiting from the Federal Reserve's reluctance to raise interest rates this year. That group includes, but is not limited to U.S. government bond funds, emerging markets debt ETFs and high-yield corporate bond offerings. Predictably, the...

The Global X Lithium ETF (Global X Funds (NYSE: LIT)) climbed nearly 2.7 percent Tuesday on volume that was more than quadruple the daily average, bringing its year-to-date gain to 17.5 percent. However, while investors are fawning over gold and silver miners equities, the same cannot be said of...

The iShares MSCI Spain Capped ETF (NYSE: EWP), the largest U.S.-listed exchange-traded fund tracking Spanish equities, is down about 2.6 percent year-to-date. Among developed Europe single-country ETFs, investors could find better-performing options, but they can also find plenty of funds lagging...

For a couple of years as commodities prices struggled, plenty of single-country emerging markets exchange-traded funds struggled as well. A prime example of that theme was the iShares MSCI South Africa Index (ETF) (NYSE: EZA). Stymied by South Africa's status as a major gold producer, the world...

In the eyes of some so-called experts, the First Trust ISE Cloud Computing Index Fund (First Trust Exchange-Traded Fund II (NASDAQ: SKYY)) is the epitome of a niche exchange-traded fund. Niche or not, SKYY, the lone ETF dedicated to the cloud computing industry, is somewhat reflective of that...

Oil prices topped the psychologically important $40 per barrel level on Monday, helping lift the United States Oil Fund LP (ETF) (NYSE: USO) to a one-week gain of over 13 percent. Energy stocks are strutting their stuff as well, as the Energy Select Sector SPDR (ETF) (NYSE: XLE) is sporting a one-...

Perhaps heartened by oil prices that look better relative to what was seen last year, and the Federal Reserve slacking off on raising interest rates, fixed income investors are embracing high-yield corporate bond exchange-traded funds. Those investors are doing so with ETFs that sport longer...

The Energy Select Sector SPDR (ETF) (NYSE: XLE) is up 1.2 percent year to date. That does not sound like much, but it is a far cry from the savage losses incurred by the benchmark energy exchange traded fund in each of the past two years. In March, XLE surged 7.4 percent, outpacing the S&P 500...

As emerging markets stocks and exchange-traded funds tumbled over the past several years, Latin American equities were a big reason why. With emerging markets being a lagging, hated asset class, disdain among investors for Latin American stocks ran high. That disdain morphed into love in March, as...

Members of the Federal Reserve have been talking inflation this week. The Fed sees inflation at 2 percent before the end of 2017, well above the public's estimates. Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President John Williams said earlier this week that inflation could rise faster than the...

No, that headline is not referencing U.S. government bond exchange-traded funds; although, given the stellar performances turned by such funds this year, it is a good guess. Rather, the headline references a once fragile asset class and its corresponding ETFs: dollar-denominated emerging markets...