All Things ETF

By Rick Walter If you have not reviewed the ETF basics posts, click the ETF Shelter labels and start from the beginning. Remember, as an investor you are purchasing ETF shares in the secondary market. You are not buying creation units or any of that. Of course at some point in time I would like to start an ETF Fund and you are welcome to join my fund, then we can all buy creation units and makes lots of money hedging. However we are not there yet. Before you choose an ETF , you may want to start with some type of asset allocation model for yourself, which is the practice of dividing resources among different categories based on your risk tolerance, goals and investment horizon; Common classes for asset allocation models are Equities (stocks) , Fixed income (bonds), and Cash and cash equivalents (treasury securities); other classes of assets such as real estate are also included but can be defined in one of the three categories above. Your asset allocation model should be bui...

By Rick Walter ETF Training & presentation, education and more... There is so much out there. I went to the iShares website and found a series of educational tools, webinars, web casts , tutorials and presentations that may help a beginner and even experienced investors. I was impressed with the tutorials, but I still think that the financial buzzwords in the presentations may be a bit too complex for beginners. However, the site overall presentation and content is very good! What about taxes? By trade I am a tax professional; I believe that all investments should be analyzed first from a tax position, before an investment decision is made. ETFs are labeled as very tax efficient vehicles. Here is a good article, in my opinion, that explains the tax efficiency issue very well for ETFs. Check our external link section for links to websites that I believe provide top notch information on ETFs, including sponsors, distributors and advisers. I will be adding to the list daily. If th...