There are more than enough generic ETFs out there to put a caffeine-crazed jackrabbit to sleep  But those willing to search for  needles in haystacks can find plenty of interesting opportunities Choosing obscure investments can be risky, but a lot less so for equity ETFs than, say, nano-cap stocks. Even an area as seemingly ho-hum

There isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to investing. For financial advisors looking to help steer their clients who are in, or close to retirement through stock market volatility, strategy in the decumulation phase is key.  Having spent a few decades managing client money, I often used a method called the “bucket strategy” which is a form

As I write this, the S&P 500 is now at levels where it was in October of 2019, a little less than seven months ago.  What were you doing last October?  I’m guessing you were not searching store shelves for toilet paper and wondering where you could buy a gallon of hand sanitizer to refill

For as long as I have been in this business, I have been fascinated with global markets. I started my career on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in January 2000 and my first role was as the back-up clerk for the specialist who traded the ADRs (American Depository Receipts); essentially, US listed

WHY Healthcare (XLV) Is Very Bullish — Diagnosing The Power Rank Upgrade With the exception of XLE, the Select SPDR Sector ETFs have been rated neutral for weeks now. Last week, things finally changed.  Looking at where we are in the market now, it’s interesting that the SPDR sectors made a move. Analysis by my

1 – Broadly Diversified Healthcare ETFs This, the largest, group includes: The Health Care Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLV) (ETF home) First Trust Health Care Alphadex Fund (FXH) (ETF home) iShares U.S. Healthcare ETF (IYH) (ETF home) Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Health Care ETF (RYH) (ETF home) Fidelity MSCI Health Care Index ETF (FHLC)

Depending on where you live and what you and your family decided, in all likelihood you’ve been in some version of “quarantine” for around a month.  Despite some promising signs around potentially effective therapies for Covid-19, based on what we’ve seen thus far, I’m guessing that we’ll be pretty limited in “normal” movement for quite

Days have turned into weeks and weeks have turned into months of uncertainty; and markets dislike uncertainty.  Guess who else isn’t comfortable with uncertainty? Your clients. They too have been tested: mentally and financially. This virus has had a double dose effect on the markets and the people who invest in them. The psychological damage

We are all familiar with the concept of diversification. The idea is to spread your bets across an array of assets in order to avoid concentration into an asset or small group of assets that could induce havoc on a portfolio in the event that any one  bet turns out to be wrong. And since

With the COVID-19 virus pandemic, ensuing world chaos, and the plunge of the stock market , there have been a lot of “expert” ideas thrown about regarding the future of the stock market. Recently I received an email predicting that we would see another significant landslide in the stock market (as we were testing the

A risk profile can be a tricky thing. I say that because depending on how optimistic I am about the market on the day I fill out my risk survey, I can end up losing more of my hard earned money than I realized was possible, or leaving more money on the table than expected.

Utility stocks and ETFs are boring, no doubt about that. But as is usually the case, the yields typically are above those of most other companies. Other income-oriented ETFs offer even higher yields, but utility ETFs make up for that with low levels of relative risk (Betas). The Utility SPDR Select ETF (XLU) checks all