All Things ETF

We are coming down into the home stretch. The ProShares Technology Fund had a stable ride this week. Volume hit 305,520 shares as of 4:51 pm. If you are trading, take some profits off the table, who knows what Monday is going to bring. Next week, I hope to have some exciting ideas for trading, making money in ETFs and preserving capital for retirement. Otherwise have a GREAT WEEKEND everyone! 06/05/09 03:52 PM

The ProShares Technology Fund is trading real heavy this morning with a 148,000 shares traded as of 10:15 am. Heavy selling as traders take profits in a period of uncertainty. Do you take profits now, since it looks like the bloodletting in the labor market is coming to a an end, or do you wait and continue to let the markets rise knowing there are still so much negatives out there. Hey traders, let the fund run! Let the 'green shoots' continue to grow! 06/05/09 10:54 AM

Unemployment numbers are out and they are not bad. The WSJ online report gives a good positive roundup. Let's see what the market does from here. 06/05/09 10:00 AM

Volume is picking up some. Good size buy trade of about 10,000 shares on the ProShares Technology Fund bumping the fund from session price lows of $31.32 per share to 31.71 per share. Someone is finally committing. 06/04/09 01:42:16 PM

I mentioned in a previous morning post that you should take some profits in commodities, if you had a commodity position in your portfolio. There was commodity related articles all over the news boards yesterday. I did a commodity podcast in January '09 on the iShares S&P GSGI Commodity Fund , GSG . That fund was down a little under 2% yesterday experiencing heavy trading volume. I had recommended that investors stay away because GSG is down almost 75% or more since inception. It has made a little comeback, doubling in value since April 27, 2009, but don't be fooled by the bounce. I still think this fund is a dud! I still say take profits in commodities if you can and avoid shorting commodities unless you absolutely know what you are doing! 06/04/09 01:26 PM

Today could be a pivotal trading day. Sobering news from Mr. Bernanke yesterday doused the flames of a budding market rally. Its all good though. ProShares Technology Fund head back into positive territory trading above $31 per share. Volume as of 11:11 am is around 76,000 shares. I am looking at the Nasdaq Level II Book Viewer and Buy orders are still outpacing Sell orders. In order to see a big jump in price on this fund the buy to sell order ratio needs to be over 50%. 06/04/09 11:18 AM

Running late this morning. I had to get in a late morning jog. Posting shortly.

I tuned into the House Budget Committee Webcast, Challenges Facing the Economy: The View of the Federal Reserve . It was very interesting, with serious accusatory questioning by some committee members. However, Mr. Bernanke handled himself well. I came away with a few positives and many negatives such as: inflation is not a problem yet, the probability of deflation has decreased, the Fed's borrowing is lower today than in the past, and so far the stimulus money has been effective in infrastructure spending and transfer payments. However, the threat of a recession relapse is still possible, higher medical cost and social security depletion, caused by baby boomers retiring, could be problem sooner than later, and taxes may have to be increased to balance the budget. Since this is not an economic analysis blog per se, detailed analysis of the Chairman's statements will be left to another blog or person. What Mr. Bernanke testimony meant for me as a financial advisor going forward

Could be another twiddle-your-thumb day. Wall Street Journal before the bell update suggest a slow start with some new economic data being released and with Chairman Bernanke testifying before the House Budget Committee today. Do you buy, hold or sell? If you are buying, what do you buy? If you are selling, what do you sell? And if you hold, what are you holding? Here is my take on three industries. Technology : Buy - most technology companies are flush with cash are weathering the recession well. Commodities : Sell - take profits; most commodity funds are up 20% or more. I am still angry over oil and gas spectacular collapse in '07 and '08. I have volumes of articles, research, and data that suggest that there was some sort of shortage. In fact, we were not even close to a shortage. The entire market was being manipulated. Real Estate : Hold - Most real estate funds, companies, and reits have been beaten down mercilessly, there is still a lot of bad paper on and off the mark

UCS ETF end-of-day update : Neutral. As I predicted with a slight variation. It was an unremarkable trading day yesterday. I get the feeling that managers want a reason(s) to buy but may be wondering if it may be too late. I know that question has to be on the forefront of many money mangers mind. The ProShares Technology Fund kind of held its own; share volume as of 3:42 pm yesterday was a little over 310,000 shares. Again, not the kind of volume that we are looking for as a trader but for a buy-and-hold account its all you need. 06/03/09 07:33:52 AM

UCS ETF update : Fading to neutral. The ProShares Technology Fund share volume is still heavy. Over 200,000 shares traded so far, but sell orders are dominating the session as the DOW tapers off. I am in at $31.50 a share with share price currently trading at $31.11. The ratio of Buy orders to Sell orders has not been above 30% since 10:30 am. Could see the fund closing at yesterday lows. 06/02/09 11:59:46 AM

06/02/09 09:54:27 AM Quick update : There may be strength in this rally. DOW opened down 44 points but has muscled its way back to positive territory, up 16 points so far. Hmm! Still not ready to jump in.

06/02/09 08:52:26 AM UCS trading-ahead update : I am sitting here thinking that the markets have moved up substantially since March, 2009. Will they go higher? I want to believe that the markets will go higher, but that voice in the back of my head is still saying it's too soon; the fundamentals in many sectors are just not there yet; inflation is still lurking; trillions of dollars that have gone up in smoke just does not reappear overnight. Not too long ago, I was considering the short etf funds as viable investment alternatives, like the ProShares Ultra Short Financials or the ProShares Ultra Short Real Estate , but so far their results have not been stellar (literally) in these Short funds . I respect the markets and I just believe that when you are going short you've got to have a stomach of a 'billy goat', cause its going to be rough climbing to get to the nice grass. I may consider taking a position in the ProShares Technology Fund today. It all depends on the

UCS end-of-the-day update . Strong day today. ProShares Technology Fund cruised to a 6.53% gain today with volume over 526,000 shares. The fund's volume came close to hitting that six hundred thousand share level. I am still puzzled though; I was thinking that the enthusiasm would've faded by noon, with all of the negative news out there, such as GM's bankruptcy filing . However, the markets just shook it off and continued rolling. I do believe that one of the main drivers for the enthusiasm was the removal of GM and Citi Group from the DOW 30 and the addition of Travelers and Cisco instead. I've always wondered why GM was not 'removed already'. 06/01/09 06:13:52 PM

Heavy trading this morning. I am looking for the strength to taper off later in the afternoon. Some of the strength that we see could be buy orders from last week Friday as institutions continue to accumulate and adjust positions. The ProShares Technology Fund is trading nicely up 5.0% with volume very heavy at 207,617 shares traded. If you had bought in the fund at $28.50 last week or the week before at $28.30, your position would be in the money. Now would be a good time to take a little money of the table if you are trading. If you are a buy-and-hold investor stay put. 06/01/09 11:27:09 AM

Good morning traders, investors and wannabes. Everything is pointing to a great start. I think the market is going to open strong but gains are going to fade as the day goes on. There are too much negative events floating around out there. We will be tracking as usual the ProShares Technology ETF Fund. Stay tuned for trading updates, if you are interested in making some money in this fund.