The Research Section includes the Research Hub, the ETF Screener and the ETF Comparison Tool. These three tools are where you start to build Portfolios for your clients.
ETF Screener
Use this tool to evaluate ETF’s using criteria important to you and your clients. You may create and save screens to use on a regular basis. FInally you are also able to screen a list of ETF’s imported from Watchlist.
Start with the Start Screen: where you may elect to create a New Screen, Retrieve a Saved Screen, or to Create and Screen a Custom List.
Create New Screen
Once you Select New Screen, select Asset Class and Groupings you wish to screen for. You may elect to include ‘All ETF’s’ or limit the universe to only ‘Rated ETF’s’. If you Select All Rated ETF’s you may include either Equity or Fixed Income ETF’s or you may include both.
You may also select All ETF’s, then select one of the Categories which include Equity ETF’s, Bond ETF’s, Alternative ETF’s, Commodity ETF’s, Currency ETF’s, or Multi-Asset ETF’s In the picture below, the screen is set to screen for only Equity ETF’s. You can further refine your selection by searching for Market Proxies, searching by Sector, Searching by Size and Style, or Searching by Strategy. If you don’t select additional criteria, the screener will screen for all Equity ETF’s/
For Equity ETFs, you may now screen for Region. The choices are U.S. and Global.
When you Select Global, you may further refine the selection by choosing a specific Global Region from the pull down menu that will appear.
Note that this window will not appear until you click Global under the Region as pictured above. In selecting variables in your Screen, if you are interested in Global Equity ETFs, scroll down to the Region’s Box, select Global and scroll back up to select the remainder of your variables.
If you elect to screen for Bonds you are presented with additional choices to further refine the screen. If you don’t select additional criteria, the screener will screen all Bonds.
You may also screen for Alternative ETF’s, Commodities, Currencies and Multi-Asset ETF’s. When Selecting Alternatives, Commodities, and Currency you will be presented with a list of choices to narrow your search as indicated for Equity or Bond ETF’s.
Once the type of ETF is selected you should select the variables to filter the covered ETF’s (both rated and unrated).
PortfolioWise Rankings.
Select the PortfolioWise Rankings you wish to include along with the Group Rank. By moving the slider you may filter the Group Rank. In the picture below I have selected PortfolioWise Rankings of Very Bullish and Bullish and I have filtered on all the ETF’s in each group.
Once you select the PortfolioWise Rankings and Group Rank, the next step is to filter based on Characteristics. Assets Under Management (AUM), Average Daily Volume, and Liquidity are all filtered by setting sliders. In the picture below I have selected AUM greater than $2B, Average Daily Volume Greater than 100,000 and Liquidity of Moderate High and Very High.
You may select Management Style, Long/Short, and Structure by checking the appropriate boxes. In the picture below I have selected Passive Management, Long Unleveraged, Exchange Traded Fund.
You may screen for funds from a particular issuer by clicking on the icon on the right. This will bring up a list of covered issuers. Select the desired issuer by clicking the box on the left of their name.
The next item to select is Expense Ratio and Dividend. Use the slider to set the desired values. In the picture I have selected an Expense Ratio of .50% or less and a Dividend Yield of 2% or more.
You may also select Risk Factors, including Volatility and Beta. Use the slider to select volatility and use the check box to select desired Beta. In the picture below I have selected Very Low – Moderate Volatility and Beta of less than 1.
For Performance you can select either a range by placing the left slider at the low end and the right at the high end. You can also specify a specific value by placing both the left and the right slider on the same value. I have selected a one month return of 0 – 2%, 3 month of 5-10%, a Year to Date of 5-10%, a 1 year return of 10% and a 5 year return of 10%.
You may also screen on price per share or a range of prices using the sliders as indicated in the picture. I have selected a price of between $25 and $50 per share.
In the Advanced Section you may screen for Technicals including Performance Level, Return vs. SPY, and Price Level. You may also screen for Relative Strength, Relative Strength Persistency, Relative Strength Change and Relative Volume.
Select Performance Level (not mandatory), then use the left/right sliders to set Return vs SPY. In the picture above, the 1m return is set as a range between 0 – 2%, 3M return is set as a range between 2 – 5%, 1 yr. Return is set at 5%, the YTD return is set as a range between 5-10%, and the 5 yr return is set at 10%.
You may use some or all of the variables, but remember that if you use multiple return variables, all values selected must be true before an ETF will pass the screen. So, in the picture above, the ETF would have to have a 1 month return between 0% and 2%, a 3 month return between 2 and 5%, a 1 year return of 5%, a year to date return between 5 and 10%, and a 5 year return of 10%.
It is probably best to start with one or two variables, then refine the results in subsequent screens.
You may also screen on Price Level. Select the variable from the drop down menu as shown in the picture below.
The screener allows you to select variables related to the Relative Strength of the ETF.
You may also screen on Recent Alerts or Special Focus by selecting variables from the list picture below.
Once you have selected all your desired screening criteria, simply click Get Results, and the results of your screen will appear.
Included in the results screen above at the Ratings of each ETF that passed the screen. Screen was for bullish and neutral ETF’s). Expense ratios ranged from 0% – 0.75%, Dividend yield was set at range of 1-5%, the one month return against SPY was set at >2% and the Relative Strength was strong.
The screen returned a total of 6 results. It is simple to either increase or decrease the number of results return by simply changing some of the variables. For example, removing dividend yield as a screening criteria, the screen returns a total of 10 ETF’s. Each time you change one of the variables, simply click on Update Results at the bottom of the page.
If you eliminate Expense Ratio and 1 month Return vs. SPY, the number of results increases to a total of 40.
Once the results are shown, you may select individual ETF’s to add to ETF Compare. You may create a watchlist using the results of this screen and you may export the list.
You may also add individual ETF’s to the results of your screen.
The results may be displayed as a table which includes Expense Ratio, Group Rank, 1M, 3M, Total Year, 5 Y return and YTD return. You may also view total Assets under Management, Volume, Beta, and Yield. You may sort the results of any column on the table by clicking on the header. You may sort from high to low or low to high.
Screens may be saved for future use. While the variables you select will remain the same, the results returned will differ as data changes. Once you click on the Save Screen icon, a window will open allowing you to name your screen and save it.
Once saved the screen may be accessed from the Start Screen Dialog Box at the top right side of the page.
Once you have run a screen and reviewed the results, you may select ETF’s to add to ETF Comparison. I have selected 2 Clean Energy ETF’s by clicking on the box to the right of their rating. I then click on ETF Compare to add them to ETF Comparison.
The ETF’s you have selected will appear in the ETF Comparison Tray at the bottom of the page.
Simply select Compare these ETF’s and the ETF Comparison will open containing the selected ETF’s.