Index Funds Update (01/13/01):
S&P Index Reclassification
Standard and Poor's (S&P) announced that it has finalized the new classification of its U.S. indexes, shifting to the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS). The new system was developed by S&P and Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) with the goal of making research and sector comparisons easier for investors and portfolio managers. A key benefit for investors is that GICS defines groups more precisely and reduces the grouping of unlike companies.
indexfunds.com
E*TRADE Index Funds
E*TRADE announced the launch of two new no-load index funds: the E*TRADE Financial Sector Index Fund and the E*TRADE Russell 2000 Index Fund. Minimum initial investment for both index funds is $1,000 for regular accounts, and $250 for IRA accounts. The expense ratio for the Financial Sector Index Fund is 0.95%, and 0.65% for the Russell 2000 Index Fund.
indexfunds.com
More Fixed Income ETFs
Barclays Global Investors (BGI) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) January 2 to launch five fixed income exchange-traded funds (ETFs) based on Lehman indexes. The BGI filing comes on the heels of the recent Nuveen announcement of the anticipated launch of five Fixed Income Trust Receipts (FITRs), ETFs that will track U.S. Ryan Treasury Indexes. These two announcements by large fund managers signal that ETFs have a future in fixed income markets, and many industry observers believe the first U.S.-based active ETFs are just around the corner. News article by John Spence
indexfunds.com
Nuveen in the News
Chicago-based Nuveen Investments announced that it plans to launch the first exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that track U.S. Treasury Indexes. The new ETFs will be called Fixed Income Trust Receipts (FITRs) and will be based on Ryan Treasury Indexes of 1-year, 2-year, 5-year, and 10-year Treasury issues and 20-year Treasury STRIPs. The new Treasury Index ETFs may be attractive to many investors in 2001 should stock prices continue to sag. News article John Spence
indexfunds.com
Enhanced Indexing
There wasn't a lot of emphasis placed on enhanced indexing during the bull market of the 1990s when investors were fed a steady diet of consecutive and unprecedented high yearly returns. However, with the recent stock sell-off, squeezing out those extra percentage points can make a difference, and is causing many investors to explore the risks and benefits associated with enhanced indexing. This article examines the approaches to enhanced indexing, as well as a new Wiesenberger study that analyzes if enhanced indexing really works. Issues article by John Spence
indexfunds.com
Objective Indexes?
There is mounting evidence that indexes, which theoretically should serve as benchmarks for economic sectors, may actually exert influence on the markets they are designed to track. A growing number of studies are examining whether indexes create or measure market performance. Includes a detailed look at the research of Dr. William Goetzmann, Professor of Finance and Management Studies at Yale University, who studies how indexes may influence markets. Issues article by John Spence
indexfunds.com |
