24/7 Wall St.

Morgan Stanley Launching 'Frontier' Emerging Market Fund (MS, FFD)

It looks like we are about to get a new frontier markets investment vehicle for investors to invest in "emerging-emerging markets" or "pre-emerging markets" depending on which you prefer for a reference.  The Morgan Stanley Frontier Emerging Markets Fund, Inc. has been filed and will trade under the ticker "FFD" on the New York Stock Exchange.  This is a closed-end fund rather than an ETF, so it can have wild swings based upon the premium or discount it trades at compared to its net asset values.

Coal Stocks Above 2007, But Valuation Risks Remain (ACI, BTU, CNX, FCL, MEE, KOL)

In the past 52-weeks, the stock price of five large coal companies has risen anywhere from 50% to nearly 250%. But that's still between 27% and 42% below annual highs that the companies reached in June. Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU) has fallen 27% from its 52-week high, Arch Coal (NYSE:ACI) and Massey Energy (NYSE:MEE) have both dropped 32%, Foundation Coal (NYSE:FCL) has dropped 34%, and CONSOL Energy has lost 42%. In late June, Massey was up nearly 400% and CONSOL was up more than 200%.  These numbers may be slightly different based upon UBS's upgrade to coal stocks this morning, but you will see the general idea below.

Emerging Market Funds/ETFs Starting To Look Cheap (CHN, EWM, LDF, MSF, RAF, TAO, TRF, IF, EZA, CH)

Every day we cover many stocks at the end of the day which are hitting new 52-week lows.  Very rarely do we include ETF's or closed-end mutual funds in the coverage on that list.  But what is becoming amazing is the daily reckoning we are witnessing where the 52-week low list is dominated by emerging market instruments that trade on the NYSE or AMEX as ETF's and as closed-end funds.  The list is becoming so staggering that you wonder just were the money really is going.  The US dollar is getting some strength finally, but the markets in emerging markets are getting pounded daily in these instruments. 

International Energy ETF Launch From State Street (STT, IPW)

State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) announced that its State Street Global Advisors unit is launching 10 new SPDR exchange-traded funds, which are supposed to begin trading on the American Stock Exchange today.

SPDR(R) S&P(R) International Energy Sector ETF (AMEX: IPW)       

• This index includes more than 300 non-US energy companies with market caps of at least $100 million.

These ETF's are benchmarked to a series of the S&P(R) World ex-U.S. Broad Market Indices, which are market cap weighted with only non-US holdings.  The expense ratio on each of these ten ETF's is listed as 0.50%.

Jon C. Ogg
July 22, 2008

International Utilities ETF Launch From State Street (STT, IPU)

State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) announced that its State Street Global Advisors unit is launching 10 new SPDR exchange-traded funds, which are supposed to begin trading on the American Stock Exchange today.

SPDR(R) S&P(R) International Utilities Sector ETF (AMEX: IPU)      

• This index includes more than 130 non-US utility companies with market caps of at least $100 million.

These ETF's are benchmarked to a series of the S&P(R) World ex-U.S. Broad Market Indices, which are market cap weighted with only non-US holdings.  The expense ratio on each of these ten ETF's is listed as 0.50%.

Jon C. Ogg
July 22, 2008

ETF Launch: International Telecom Sector From State Street (STT, IST)

State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) announced that its State Street Global Advisors unit is launching 10 new SPDR exchange-traded funds, which are supposed to begin trading on the American Stock Exchange today.

SPDR(R) S&P(R) International Telecommunications Sector ETF (AMEX: IST)       

• This index includes more than 70 non-US telecommunications companies with market caps of at least $100 million.

These ETF's are benchmarked to a series of the S&P(R) World ex-U.S. Broad Market Indices, which are market cap weighted with only non-US holdings.  The expense ratio on each of these ten ETF's is listed as 0.50%.

Jon C. Ogg
July 22, 2008

State Street International Technology ETF Launch (STT, IPK)

State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) has announced that its State Street Global Advisors unit is launching 10 new SPDR exchange-traded funds, which are supposed to begin trading on the American Stock Exchange today.

SPDR(R) S&P(R) International Technology Sector ETF (AMEX: IPK)       

• This index includes more than 650 non-US technology companies with market caps of $100 million or more.

These ETF's are benchmarked to a series of the S&P(R) World ex-U.S. Broad Market Indices, which are market cap weighted with only non-US holdings.  The expense ratio on each of these ten ETF's is listed as 0.50%.

Jon C. Ogg
July 22, 2008

State Street International Materials ETF Launch (STT, IRV)

State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) has announced that its State Street Global Advisors unit is launching 10 new SPDR exchange-traded funds, which are supposed to begin trading on the American Stock Exchange today.

SPDR(R) S&P(R) International Materials Sector (AMEX: IRV) 

• The index includes more than 640 non-US materials companies with market caps in excess of $100 million.

These ETF's are benchmarked to a series of the S&P(R) World ex-U.S. Broad Market Indices, which are market cap weighted with only non-US holdings.  The expense ratio on each of these ten ETF's is listed as 0.50%.

Jon C. Ogg
July 22, 2008

State Street International Industrial ETF Launch (STT, IPN)

State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) has announced that its State Street Global Advisors unit is launching 10 new SPDR exchange-traded funds, which are supposed to begin trading on the American Stock Exchange today.

SPDR(R) S&P(R) International Industrial Sector ETF (AMEX: IPN)      

• The index includes over 1,200 non-US industrial companies with market caps of over $100 million.

These ETF's are benchmarked to a series of the S&P(R) World ex-U.S. Broad Market Indices, which are market cap weighted with only non-US holdings.  The expense ratio on each of these ten ETF's is listed as 0.50%.

Jon C. Ogg
July 22, 2008

State Street International Health Care ETF Launch (STT, IRY)

State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) has announced that its State Street Global Advisors unit is launching 10 new SPDR exchange-traded funds, which are supposed to begin trading on the American Stock Exchange today.

SPDR(R) S&P(R) International Health Care Sector ETF (AMEX: IRY)      

• This index includes over 330 non-US health care companies with market caps of over $100 million.

These ETF's are benchmarked to a series of the S&P(R) World ex-U.S. Broad Market Indices, which are market cap weighted with only non-US holdings.  The expense ratio on each of these ten ETF's is listed as 0.50%.

Jon C. Ogg
July 22, 2008

State Street ETF Launch: International Financial Sector (STT, IPF)

State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) has announced that its State Street Global Advisors unit is launching 10 new SPDR exchange-traded funds, which are supposed to begin trading on the American Stock Exchange today.

SPDR(R) S&P(R) International Financial Sector ETF (AMEX: IPF)      

• This index includes more than 1,000 non-US financial services companies with market caps of over $100 million.

These ETF's are benchmarked to a series of the S&P(R) World ex-U.S. Broad Market Indices, which are market cap weighted with only non-US holdings.  The expense ratio on each of these ten ETF's is listed as 0.50%.

Jon C. Ogg
July 22, 2008

State Street ETF Launch: International Consumer Staples Sector (STT, IPS)

State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) has announced that its State Street Global Advisors unit is launching 10 new SPDR exchange-traded funds, which are supposed to begin trading on the American Stock Exchange today:

SPDR(R) S&P(R) International Consumer Staples Sector ETF (AMEX: IPS)

• The index includes over 330 non-US companies in consumer staples with market caps over $100 million.

These ETF's are benchmarked to a series of the S&P(R) World ex-U.S. Broad Market Indices, which are market cap weighted with only non-US holdings.  The expense ratio on each of these ten ETF's is listed as 0.50%.

Jon C. Ogg
July 22, 2008

State Street ETF Launch: International Consumer Discretionary Sector (IPD)

State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) has announced that its State Street Global Advisors unit is launching 10 new SPDR exchange-traded funds, which are supposed to begin trading on the American Stock Exchange today:

SPDR(R) S&P(R) International Consumer Discretionary Sector ETF (AMEX: IPD)

• The index has over 990 non-U.S. consumer discretionary companies with market caps of greater than $100 million.

These ETF's are benchmarked to a series of the S&P(R) World ex-U.S. Broad Market Indices, which are market cap weighted with only non-US holdings.  The expense ratio on each of these ten ETF's is listed as 0.50%.

Jon C. Ogg
July 22, 2008

Middle East ETF Launch: WisdomTree Middle East Dividend Fund (GULF, WSDT)

We have seen the launch today on the NASDAQ of the WisdomTree Middle East Dividend Fund
(NASDAQ: GULF).  WisdomTree (PinkSheets: WSDT) is the manager of the index and the ETF.

The WisdomTree Middle East Dividend Fund is based on the WisdomTree Middle East Dividend Index. This "GULF" ETF provides investors with exposure to approximately 70 dividend paying companies listed in Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Morocco, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.

Our other emerging and developing market coverage on Africa and the Middle East is as follows:
Jim Cramer Gives Middle East Infrastructure Picks
Africa ETF Launched: Market Vectors-Africa Index ETF
Africa: The Final Emerging Market Frontier
Big IPO: Safaricom in Kenya

Africa ETF Launched: Market Vectors-Africa Index ETF (AFK)

This week was the launch of a new ETF called Market Vectors-Africa Index ETF (NYSE: AFK) for US investors looking to place investments in Africa.  We have covered this section of emerging markets and frontier markets as most of sub-Saharan Africa is one of the last major population and geographic areas that would still be considered a true emerging market for investors. 

Market Vectors-Africa Index ETF (NYSE: AFK) offers investor's access to a fast-growing, relatively untapped market that is becoming increasingly sought by investors looking beyond existing international investment opportunities. The "AFK" ETF is designed to track the Dow Jones Africa Titans 50 Index, a rules based index intended to give investors access to the overall performance of companies that are headquartered in Africa or that generate the majority of their revenues in Africa.

The Dow Jones Africa Titans 50 Index is a freshly launched index.  Its market participants have direct or indirect exposure to the 11 markets of Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo), Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Kenya, Mali, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa and Zambia all in Africa.  The index is weighted by float-adjusted market caps; and each country’s weight is capped at 25% with weights of individual components capped at 8% with a maximum of 15 companies per country. Companies in the index must also have a minimum market cap of $200 million and a minimum three-month average daily trading volume of $1 million.

The five countries currently representing the investable universe are South Africa, Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria and Morocco.  Other African countries represented where the offshore companies generate the majority of revenues are Angola, DR Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Ghana, Mali and Zambia. It also appears that three largest sectors currently represented in the index are basic resources, banking, and oil & gas.  Based on Africa's history, those break-downs are unlikely to change in the near future.

We have covered many other opportunities for our longer-term investors who seek information on how to invest in Africa and other emerging markets.  We also want to expand this coverage as we feel this is one of the largest opportunities for investors in the decade ahead.  Key articles on investing in Africa are as follows:

• Africa: The Final Emerging Market Frontier
• Big IPO: Safaricom in Kenya

Jon C. Ogg
July 16, 2008

Second Wind ETF Launch (IVZ, PWND, FAN)

If one ETF for covering the global trend towards wind power wasn't enough, we have the announcement of a second wind energy ETF.  Invesco's (NYSE: IVZ) PowerShares Capital Management ETF unit has announced the anticipated listing of a global wind energy portfolio. The new ETF is PowerShares Global Wind Energy Portfolio will trade under the "PWND" stock ticker on NASDAQ.  This ETF is based on the NASDAQ OMX Clean Edge Global Wind Energy Index that tracks manufacturers, developers, distributors, installers and users of energy derived from wind sources.

Just on June 18 we ran a piece describing the The First Trust ISE Global Wind Energy ETF (NYSE Arca: FAN), so it appears there will be two new fresh wind ETF's trading in short order.  On the surface, it looks like there are also going to be many overlaps within these similar ETF's.

Jon C. Ogg
June 26, 2008

Carbon Trading Goes ETF/ETN on NYSE (NYX, GRN)

It seems that the insatiable appetite for new exchange traded funds (ETF's) and exchange traded notes (ETN's) has now gone as far as carbon trading, which will be a highly unique exchange traded note offering.   

• The NYSE (NYSE: NYX) is launching the iPath Global Carbon ETN (NYSE Arca: GRN) as the first ETN designed to provide investors with exposure to the global price of carbon.

This is linked to the Barclays Capital Global Carbon Index Total Return (BGCITR), which is designed to measure the performance of the most liquid carbon-related credit plans and is designed to be an industry benchmark for carbon investors. Each carbon-related credit plan included in the BGCITR is represented by the most liquid instrument available in the marketplace. The BGCITR expects to incorporate new carbon-related credit plans as they develop around the world. The BGCITR currently includes two carbon-related credit plans: European Union Emission Trading Scheme or EU ETS Phase II and Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism.

we have also seen many other iPath ETN's launched.  There is a listing for metals ETN's and then again for soft commodity ETN's.

Jon C. Ogg
June 25, 2006

ETN/ETF Launch: Sugar, Softs, Cotton, Coffee, Cocoa (NYX, SGG, JJS, BAL, JO, NIB)

NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) today announced the launch of many new Barclays iPath®Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs) on NYSE Arca.  Here are the ones that launched for soft commodities trading:

• iPath®Dow Jones-AIG Sugar Total Return Sub-IndexSM ETN (NYSE Arca: SGG )
• iPath®Dow Jones-AIG Softs Total Return Sub-IndexSM ETN (NYSE Arca: JJS)
• iPath®Dow Jones-AIG Cotton Total Return Sub-IndexSM ETN (NYSE Arca: BAL )
• iPath®Dow Jones-AIG Coffee Total Return Sub-IndexSM ETN (NYSE Arca: JO)
• iPath®Dow Jones-AIG Cocoa Total Return Sub-IndexSM ETN (NYSE Arca: NIB)

We have also seen the launch of a new carbon trading ETN and another large group of ETNs to allow for metals trading.

Jon C. Ogg
June 25, 2008

Metals ETN/ETF Launch: Tin, Platinum, Lead, Aluminum, Precious Metals (NYX, JJT, PGM, LD, JJU, JJP)

NYSE Euronext (NYSE: NYX) today announced the launch of many new Barclays iPath®Exchange Traded Notes (ETNs) on NYSE Arca.  Here are the new ones that launched for metals trading:

• iPath®Dow Jones-AIG Tin Total Return Sub-IndexSM ETN (NYSE Arca: JJT)
• Path®Dow Jones-AIG Platinum ETN Total Return Sub-IndexSM (NYSE Arca: PGM)
• iPath®Dow Jones-AIG Lead ETN Total Return Sub-IndexSM (NYSE Arca: LD)
• iPath®Dow Jones-AIG Aluminum Total Return Sub-IndexSM ETN (NYSE Arca: JJU)
• iPath®Dow Jones-AIG Precious Metals Total Return Sub-IndexSM ETN (NYSE Arca: JJP)

We have also seen the launch of a new carbon trading ETN and another large group of soft commodities ETNs.

Jon C. Ogg
June 25, 2006

Finally, An ETF For Ireland & The Irish Americans (NTRS, IQE)

Northern Trust Corp. (NASDAQ: NTRS) has announced that its Global Investments asset management arm of Northern Trust, has launched the first U.S. listed ETF tracking the ISEQ 20(TM) Index.  This is the leading investment benchmark index for investing in Irish companies.

NETS(TM) ISEQ 20(TM) Index Fund (Ireland) is now traded on the NYSE Arca under the ticker "IQE" and this allows US investors for the first time to invest in an ETF tracking the 20 Irish securities comprising the index.

The move is said to be the latest in a series of fifteen NETS(TM) ETF products launched by Northern Trust, designed to give investors exposure to some of the world's best-recognized international equity markets via shares traded on U.S. exchanges.

So far this one has seen hardly a notice of its existence as it traded only 300 shares today as of 3:30 PM EST.  It may take a while for this one to get going, but it is very difficult for US investors to know what they are buying into when they try to invest in Ireland.

Jon C. Ogg
June 19, 2008

Wind ETF Launch: First Trust ISE Global Wind Energy ETF (FAN)

There was an interesting ETF launched today on the NYSE Euronext as a Wind Energy ETF.  The First Trust ISE Global Wind Energy ETF (NYSE Arca: FAN) launched today.  This index has a criteria based upon an equity's market capitalization, liquidity and weighting concentration requirements.  Most of the major players in this ETF are global in nature and many do not even trade in the U.S.

These are the top holdings  of the index as of today's fact sheet:

• Repower Systems                    10.34%
• Vestas Wind Systems A/S        9.95%
• Gamesa Corp Tecnologica SA   8.07%
• Hansen Transmissions Int'l NV   6.03%
• Theolia                                     5.25%
• Japan Wind Dev. Co., Ltd           5.06%
• Nordex AG                               4.61%
• Babcock & Brown Wind Ptr Gr.  4.44%
• Clipper Windpower Plc              3.20%
• Gurit Holding AG                      2.64%

These are some of the facts of the total ETF as well:

• Number of Stocks             52
• Maximum Market Cap.     $299.22 Billion
• Median Market Cap.         $1.53 Billion
• Minimum Market Cap.      $203 Million
• Price/Earnings                 25.36
• Price/Book                      3.06
• Price/Cash Flow              22.26
• Price/Sales                     2.30

FAN is designed to track the performance of the ISE Global Wind Energy Index and will invest at least 90% of its assets in common stocks that comprise the Index or in depository receipts representing securities in the Index.

This one actually had a decent launch considering the lack of press and considering the ADR or foreign listed composition.  With less than 30 minutes to the close it has traded 356,000 shares.

Jon C. Ogg
June 18, 2008

Rydex Launches 8 ETF's (REA, REC, RFL, RFN, RHM, RHO, RTG, RTW)

RYDEX INVESTMENTS has now launched eight new ETF's on the American Stock Exchange this week. These eight new RYDEX ETF products will offer investors inverse and leveraged inverse exposure to the energy, financial, health care and technology sectors. 

A listing of these is as follows:

• Rydex 2x S&P Select Sector Energy ETF (Amex: REA) seeks to track a benchmark of 200% of the performance of the Energy Select Sector Index.
• Rydex Inverse 2x S&P Select Sector Energy ETF (Amex: REC) seeks to track a benchmark of 200% of the inverse performance of the Energy Select Sector Index.
• Rydex 2x S&P Select Sector Financial ETF (Amex: RFL) seeks to track a benchmark of 200% of the performance of the Financial Select Sector Index.
• Rydex Inverse 2x S&P Select Sector Financial ETF (Amex: RFN) seeks to track a benchmark of 200% of the inverse performance of the Financial Select Sector Index.
• Rydex 2x S&P Select Sector Health Care ETF (Amex: RHM) seeks to track a benchmark of 200% of the performance of the Health Care Select Sector Index.
• Rydex Inverse 2x S&P Select Sector Health Care ETF (Amex: RHO) seeks to to track a benchmark of 200% of the inverse performance of the Health Care Select Sector Index.
• Rydex 2x S&P Select Sector Technology ETF (Amex: RTG) seeks to track a benchmark of 200% of the performance of the Technology Select Sector Index.
• Rydex Inverse 2x S&P Select Sector Technology ETF (Amex: RTW) seeks to track a benchmark of 200% of the inverse performance of the Technology Select Sector Index.

Goldman Sachs Execution & Clearing, LP will act as the specialist for REA, REC, RFL and RFN; and Kellogg Capital Group, LLC will act as the specialist for RHM, RHO, RTG and RTW.

Jon C. Ogg
June 13, 2008

Claymore ETF Hits The Frontiers... 'Emerging' Emerging Markets (FRN)

Claymore Securities Inc. has launched the Claymore/BNY Mellon Frontier Markets ETF (NYSE: FRN). This ETF is the first U.S.-listed ETF that gives access to up to 41 countries that are "less developed than traditional emerging markets," which are called "frontier markets" on Wall Street.

The "FRN" ETF seeks to replicate The Bank of New York Mellon New Frontier DR Index.  Potential countries for inclusion in the Index include Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritius, Morocco, Nigeria, Tunisia, Zimbabwe, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Ukraine, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Peru, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Jamaica, Panama and Trinidad & Tobago.  The index only includes companies with float-adjusted market capitalizations of more than $100 million that have depositary receipts that trade on U.S. exchanges or the London Stock Exchange.

Jon C. Ogg
June 12, 2008

ETF Filed To Track Housing Prices (UMM, DMM)

MacroMarkets LLC has announced that its subsidiary MacroShares Housing Depositor has now filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission for exchange-traded securities that will allow investors to invest in the upward and the inverse movement of U.S. home prices.

MacroShares Major Metro Housing Up and Down securities will be based on the S&P/Case-Shiller Composite-10 Home Price Index, which is a a nationally recognized gauge for U.S. home prices.  For a representation, it tracks the following cities: Boston, Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Diego, San Francisco, and Washington D.C. 

We would like to note that with this not having any representation in Texas at all that it is not at all a full representation, and we'd even argue that based on city selection those using this index for a comparison are using it to keep the average housing prices higher.  regardless of our opinion on the index not being a fully representative representation of the US housing market, it will allow investors to access what MacroShares itself calls "this important, but illiquid, asset class."

When these are launched, these paired securities will have a 10-year term and will feature a 2x (200%) leverage factor.  MacroMarkets LLC plans to launch the new securities on the NYSE Arca under the ticker symbols:

• UMM - MacroShares Major Metro Housing Up
• DMM - MacroShares Major Metro Housing Down

And who says that ETF's and ETN's have ceased being creative?

Jon C. Ogg
June 11, 2008

New Commodity ETF/ETN (LSC)

NYSE Euronext has announced that the ELEMENTS(SM) S&P Commodity Trends Indicator Total Return Index ETN listed and began trading under the ticker symbol "LSC" on NYSE Arca.  This ETN was issued by HSBC USA Inc., and Nuveen and Merrill will co-distribute the ETNs.

"LSC" tracks the prices of a diversified portfolio of sixteen traditional, physical commodity futures contracts.  The Index Components are grouped into six sectors and each sector is represented on either a “long” or “short” basis, depending on recent price trends of that sector.

Jon C. Ogg
June 11, 2008

Vanguard Splitting Some ETF's; A Smart Move (VTI, VWO, VXF, MER)

There has been an interesting development in ETF Land, and it may actually help Joe Q. Public in its ability to own shares in each of these ETF's.  Vanguard Group is going to split the shares on a 2 for 1 basis on three of its most popular exchange traded funds.

A 2 for 1 split will occur in the shares of the following ETF's:

• The $10.8 billion sized Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (AMEX: VTI) which closed at $141.25 and has an average daily volume of 530,000 shares;
• The $7.6 billion sized  Vanguard Emerging
• Markets ETF (AMEX: VWO) which closed at $102.96 and has an average daily trading volume of 934,000 shares;
• and the $13.3 billion sized Vanguard Extended Market ETF (AMEX: VXF) which closed at $107.25 which has an average daily trading volume of 113,000 shares.

The truth is that stock splits on the surface do not matter other than it being a mental game.  On an ETF it cannot create an artificial impact on the holdings as the underlying holdings cannot be affected by a move of this sort.  But what it can easily do is make it easier for retail investors to buy 100 shares of each, and that in turn may help increase the trading volume and liquidity of each ETF.

Normally we view stock splits with some caution, but this move actually makes sense.  This could actually portend a similar ETF share split out of several other ETF families whose ETF's are less actively traded than many ETF's and whose share prices are much higher.  Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER) is a prime example of an ETF series parent who might want to watch this move closely.  Its HOLDRS ETF series can only be purchased in lots of 100 shares because of those old distribution rights that were in the ETF's.

Now if Vanguard could just keep its founder John Bogle from publicly bashing ETF's every time he makes television appearances.....

Jon C. Ogg
June 5, 2008

Claymore Converts Closed-End Fund to ETF (RYJ)

Claymore Advisors, LLC has announced that the Board of Trustees of the Claymore/Raymond James SB-1 Equity Fund (NYSE: RYJ), a diversified closed-end mutual fund, along with the Board of Trustees of the Claymore Exchange-Traded Fund Trust, have approved the conversion of the closed-end fund into an exchange-traded fund or ETF.

The conversion will occur through a reorganization of the closed-end fund into a newly created series of Claymore Exchange-Traded Fund Trust.

The reorganization is subject to approval by shareholders of the fund and other conditions.  A proposal will be submitted to a vote of shareholders at the fund's 2008 annual shareholder meeting scheduled on August 28, 2008.  A similar announcement was made earlier this month.

The market cap of this fund appears to be $208.3 million with some 11.12 million shares outstanding.  The closed-end fund closed at $18.73 yesterday, and the 52-week trading range is $14.45 to $20.62.  This fund looks like it has only traded since 2006.

Jon C. Ogg
May 29, 2008

CurrencyShares ETF Launch: Russia, South Africa, Singapore, Hong Kong

Rydex Investments has filed to launch 4 new CurrencyShares platforms. These platforms will allow traders and investors to purchase “Baskets” for the specific currency. Therefore, the share price of each trust will reflect the market value of the specific currency compared to the USD. Shareholders will earn an income if the specified currency appreciates compared to the USD.

Be advised that these tickers below do not look set because the "FX" prefix on each is base part of the ticker and a seperate letter has to be added on the end.  The four new platforms include:

CurrencyShares Russian Ruble Trust (NYSE Arca: FX [  ]) (full filing)
            Each share is worth 2,000 Rubles
CurrencyShares Hong Kong Dollar Trust (NYSE Arca: FX [  ]) (full filing)
            Each share is worth 1,000 Hong Kong Dollars
CurrencyShares South African Rand Trust (NYSE Arca: FX [  ]) (full filing)
            Each share is worth 1,000 South African Rands
CurrencyShares Singapore Dollar Trust (NYSE Arca: FX [  ]) (full filing)
            Each share is worth 100 Singapore Dollars

The acting Trustee is The Bank of New York. JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., London Branch will be the Depositor for the Trust. Each platform will initially issue approximately 150,000 shares at various price values as listed below.

Rydex has already launched 8 similar Trusts for the following currencies:
Euro (NYSE Arca: FXE), Japanese Yen (NYSE Arca: FXY), Mexican Peso (NYSE Arca: FXM), Australian Dollar (NYSE Arca: FXA), Swiss Franc (NYSE Arca: FXF), Canadian Dollar (NYSE Arca: FXC), British Pound Sterling (NYSE Arca: FXB), and the Swedish Krona (NYSE Arca: FXS). As the dollar has largely depreciated compared to many currencies over the past few years, the shares prices for these Trusts has steadily increased since their initial offering.

Rachel Lopez
May 7, 2008

WisdomTree Launching Currency Income ETF's (WSDT, CYB, ICN, BZF, JYF, EU)

WisdomTree Investments, Inc. (Pink Sheets: WSDT) and The Dreyfus Corporation, a BNY Mellon Asset Management Company, announced the launch of five WisdomTree Dreyfus Currency Income ETFs on the NYSE Arca.

The ETFs are actively-managed and designed to earn current income that reflects money market rates that are available to foreign investors in the specific region. Additionally, they will be exposed to changes in non-U.S. currencies values compared to the U.S. dollar. Being actively-managed, the ETFs will have greater flexibility but still maintain the transparency that makes ETFs so attractive. This fund targets short-term, investment grade instruments and as a result, the share price is expected to be volatile.

The funds are expected to commence trading on Tuesday, May 13, 2008. The ETFs are listed below:

• WisdomTree Dreyfus Chinese Yuan Fund (NYSE Arca: CYB)
• WisdomTree Dreyfus Indian Rupee Fund (NYSE Arca: ICN
• WisdomTree Dreyfus Brazilian Real Fund (NYSE Arca: BZF)
• WisdomTree Dreyfus Japanese Yen Fund (NYSE Arca: JYF)
• WisdomTree Dreyfus Euro Fund (NYSE Arca: EU)

Rachel Lopez
May 1, 2008

ETF Launch: PowerShares Three Asset Allocation ETF's (PCA, PAO, PTO)

Invesco PowerShares Capital Management LLC listed three new exchange traded funds (ETF) on the NYSE Amex. The ETFs will give investors exposure to long-term, core asset allocation strategies by investments in other ETFs. The ETF's are as follows:

• PowerShares Autonomic Balanced NFA Global Asset Portfolio (AMEX: PCA)
• PowerShares Autonomic Balanced Growth NFA Global Asset Portfolio (AMEX: PAO)
• PowerShares Autonomic Balanced Growth NFA Global Asset Portfolio (AMEX: PTO)

They are risk-controlled asset allocation portfolios that invest in specific ETFs by New Frontier Advisors.  These ETFs use the patented Resampled Efficiency optimization process by New Frontier Advisors to select appropriate weights of ETFs in which the index invests. The fund is expected to launch May 15, 2008.

PCA - PowerShares Autonomic Balanced NFA Global Asset Portfolio ties to the New Frontier Global Dynamic Indexes. This index uses a patented The profile includes 60% equities and 40% taxable fixed income.

PAO - PowerShares Autonomic Balanced Growth NFA Global Asset Portfolio ties to the New Frontier Dynamic Balanced Growth Index. PAO includes 75% equities and 25% taxable fixed income.

PTO - PowerShares Autonomic Growth NFA Global Asset Portfolio ties to New Frontier Global Dynamic Growth Index. The PTO includes approximately 90% equities and 10% taxable fixed-income.

Rachel Lopez
May 1, 2008

ProShares ETF Launch: Short Selling Treasuries (PST, TBT)

The American Stock Exchange announced the launch of two new exchange traded funds by ProShare Advisors LLC today. The UltraShort Lehman 7-10 Year Treasury ProShares (Amex: PST) and UltraShort Lehman 20+ Year Treasury ProShares (Amex: TBT) make the total ETF's listed by ProShares on the American Stock Exchange reach 62.

Both ETF's give exposure to inverse performance of fixed income indexes, in other words "Short Selling" and probably qualified for IRA's.

PST targets investment results on a daily basis that relate to twice the inverse of the daily performance of the Lehman Brothers 7-10 Year U.S. Treasury Index which includes all public, investment grade, non-convertible U.S. Treasury securities with $250 million or more par outstanding.

The TBT relates to twice the inverse of the daily performance of the Lehman 20+ Year U.S. Treasury Index. This includes public, investment grade, non-convertible U..S. securities with a par value of $250 million or more.

Jon C. Ogg
May 1, 2008

New Solar ETF Outperforms Main US Components So Far (TAN, FSLR, STP, WFR, SPWR)

On April 15, the Claymore/MAC Global Solar Energy Index ETF (NYSE: TAN) was launched on ETF leader, the NYSE Arca. Under the ticker “TAN,” the ETF tracks 25 solar power industry companies globally for a total market cap of $5.8 billion.

The majority of the businesses are tied to solar in the ETF and are in the U.S., China, and Germany. The active stocks that trade in the U.S. on NYSE or NASDAQ are First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR), MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (NYSE: WFR), and Suntech Power Holdings (NYSE: STP).

Claymore believes that recent "green" trends, favorable government policy, increasing volumes of venture capital investments, and improving technology industry will drive growth and returns for the fund.

It was launched at $25.84 on April 15 and shares closed at $26.90 today. The fund has reached as high as $27.50 (also today) and hasn’t closed below the initial launching price.  That puts the solar ETF up 4.1% since the lauch, aven after a drop of 0.7% today. 

Of the top four constituents that trade actively in the U.S., the performance based upon todays closed and compared to the open on April 15 for exact comparison is as follows (with the percentage of the ETF for representation):

• First Solar Inc. (NASDAQ: FSLR) is over 8% of the ETF weighting, up 0.8% since the ETF opened; .
• Suntech Power Holdings (NYSE: STP) is 6.24% of the ETF weighting, up 0.78% since the ETF opened;
• MEMC Electronic Materials Inc. (NYSE: WFR) is 5.1% of the ETF weighting, actually down 0.4% since the ETF opened;
• SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR) is 4.7% of the ETF weighting, actually down by 0.4% since the ETF opened.

Invesco Launches Active Managed ETF's (IVZ, PQY, PQZ, PMA, PLK)

Invesco (NYSE: IVZ) PowerShares has launched its first actively-managed ETF on the NYSE Arca Friday. These 4 PowerShares ETFs include 3 first-in-kind equity exchange-funds and one actively-managed fixed income ETF.

The PowerShares Active Alpha Q Fund (NYSE Arca: PQY) and the PowerShares- Active Alpha Multi-Cap Fund (NYSE Arca: PQZ) will be managed by Invesco while the PowerShares- Active Mega-Cap Portfolio (NYSE Arca: PMA) and PowerShares- Active Low Duration Portfolio (NYSE Arca: PLK) will be advised by AER Advisors.

Actively-managed ETF’s are a very recent development, and act more like hedge funds than anything.  Bear Stearns launched the first fixed income EFT (NYSE: YYY) that is actively-managed in March of this year. Previously, ETF’s were almost always tied to an index.

The Alpha Q fund and the Alpha Multi-Cap Funds are the only two to trade so far, with Alpha Q down by less than 1% and Alpha Multi-cap up by less than 1% in early morning trading.

Rachel Lopez
April 14, 2008

ETF Launch: NETS DAX Index Fund (DAX, NTRS)

The American Stock Exchange has launched an ETF called the NETS DAX Index Fund by Northern Trust Global Investments, an arm of Northern Trust Corp. (NASDAQ: NTRS) today. The exchange traded fund will track the German equity market and will be composed of the 30 largest and most active companies on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The specialist for the DAX is Susquehanna Investment Group, and this is now listed as NETS DAX INDEX FUND (AMEX: DAX). 

This is the third Northern Trust international based index to trade on the Amex, with the first two being tied to UK and Australia, launched April 9. Around April 16, three more internationally indexed ETFs will begin trading in Hong Kong, Japan, and France.

The NETS DAX hasn’t moved much today, sitting back at the opening price of $24.60 in early trading on extremely thin volume of 400 shares. Northern Trust Corp. is down $1.22 to $66.00 today.

Rachel Lopez
April 14, 2008

ETF Launch: iShares MSCI Israel (EIS, ISL)

There is a new ETF that has launched and it is geared for US investors to invest in Israel. iShares MSCI Israel Capped Investable Market Index Fund (NYSE: EIS) seeks to track the MSCI Israel Capped Investable Market Index.

This index measures the performance of the equity markets in Israel an is designed as a custom, free float adjusted market cap weighted index thats measures broad based equity market performance in Israeli stocks traded primarily on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. The Underlying Index's three largest industries were health care, financials and materials.

There are very few actual closed-end funds or ETF's that are solely based on Israel, although some do include Israeli stocks in the region.  The First Israel Fund Inc. (AMEX: ISL) has fewer than 5 million shares outstanding and trades about 24,000 shares on an average day.

• Africa: The Final Emerging Market Frontier... GAF, EZA, TRAMX

Jon C. Ogg
March 28, 2008

ETF Launch: iShares MSCI Turkey (TUR, TKF)

There is a new ETF that has launched and it is geared for US investors to invest in Turkey.  iShares MSCI Turkey Investable Market Index Fund (NYSE: TUR) seeks to track the MSCI Turkey Investable Market Index. 

The index measures the performance of Turkish stocks and is a free float adjusted market cap weighted index.  It is designed to measure broad based equity market performance in Turkey and consists of stocks traded primarily on the Istanbul Stock Exchange. The Underlying Index's three largest industries were health care, financials and materials.

Turkey is also a difficult location for US investors to make investment bets.  Turkish Investment Fund Inc. (NYSE: TKF) is one of the few vehicles currently available.  It has about 7.5 million shares outstanding and trades an average of about 77,000 shares per day.

• Africa: The Final Emerging Market Frontier... GAF, EZA, TRAMX

Jon C. Ogg
March 28, 2008

ETF Launch: iShares MSCI Thailand (THD, TTF, TF)

There is a new ETF that has launched and it is geared for US investors to invest in Thailand.  iShares MSCI Thailand Investable Market Index Fund (NYSE: THD) was designed to track the MSCI Thailand Investable Market Index.

This index measures the performance of stocks that trade in Thailand.  The Index is a free float adjusted market cap weighted index that measures broad based equity market performance primarily on the Stock Exchange of Thailand. The Underlying Index's three largest industries were energy, financials and materials.

Thailand doesn't have endless trading vehicles for US investors to use for investing in Thailand, but there are some trading instruments.  We have featured the Thai Fund Inc. (NYSE: TTF) and the Thai Capital Fund Inc. (AMEX: TF) before, mainly after the Thai election results.

Africa: The Final Emerging Market Frontier... GAF, EZA, TRAMX

Jon C. Ogg
March 28, 2008

Morningstar Ventures Into Active ETF Portfolios (MORN)

Morningstar Inc. (NASDAQ: MORN) has announced that its Morningstar Investment Services unit has introduced a managed account service with a line-up of five actively managed portfolios that use exchange-traded funds (ETF's) to cover a wide range of strategies for investors.  Morningstar already offers "managed mutual fund portfolios" and "Managed Portfolios (SM) Select Stock Baskets to advisor representatives.

Morningstar noted that Centaurus Financial (with 500 representatives) and Ameritas Investment Corp. (with 600 representatives) will add the ETF launch to the actively managed mutual fund portfolios.

Interestingly enough, this in a sense puts Morningstar further into funds management.  While it is a very large universe to cover, that almost puts the fund rating system in a strange triangle whereby Morningstar's own "managed funds" operations are in competition with the outside universe of mutual funds it rates. 

Morningstar is very small compared to the field of highly established mutual funds.  As of Dec. 31, 2007, Morningstar Investment Services had more than $2 billion in assets under management.  That is tiny compared to Fidelity, PIMCO, Vanguard, and more, but $2 Billion under management would be the envy of many small mutual fund families and smaller investment advisors alike. 

We routinely cover actively managed funds and buyouts or industry implications on our open email distribution list that usually goes out twice weekly.

Here is how the company itself describes that analysis and selection process: Morningstar Managed ETF Portfolios are actively managed using a “core and explore” investment process. This strategy combines “core” positions that provide exposure to broad asset classes in an efficient and low-cost manner with “explore” positions that seek to add value by taking advantage of opportunities in the markets. Selection of explore positions are based on a proprietary ETF-evaluation system developed by Morningstar Investment Services that combines macroeconomic and fundamental factors. Among other factors, the ETF-evaluation system assesses the composition, structure, and liquidity of individual ETFs, and marries it to research on fundamental factors such as valuation and growth drivers of the underlying securities.

Morningstar shares are up nearly 5% today to $65.40, and its 52-week trading range is $46.10 to $85.50.  Its current market cap is almost $3 Billion based upon today's share prices.  The company generated $321.33 million in 2007 revenues, up from $228.2 million in 2006 and up from $162.7 million in 2005.

Jon C. Ogg
March 24, 2008

Jon Ogg produces the Special Situation Investing Newsletter and can be reached at jonogg@247wallst.com; he does not own securities in the companies he covers.

ETF LAUNCH: Foreign Government Inflation-Index Bonds

There is a new ETF launching today, and this one is a foreign government bond inflation-protected ETF.  State Street Global Advisors, the investment management arm of State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) announced that the SPDR(R) DB International Government Inflation-Protected Bond ETF (Ticker: WIP) is set to begin trading on the American Stock Exchange.

The SPDR DB International Government Inflation-Protected Bond ETF, besides being a mouthful of words, is designed to track the performance of the DB Global Government ex-US Inflation-Linked Bond Capped Index.  The index includes 120 inflation-indexed bonds from 18 developed and emerging countries outside of the US.

In order to be included in this index, the bonds must be capital-indexed and linked to an eligible inflation index with at least one-year remaining to maturity.  They must also have a fixed, step-up, or zero notional coupon and must settle on or before the Index rebalancing date.  The Fund's expense ratio is 0.50 percent.

Some ETF's catch on like fire.  Others fail to gain major traction.  The more straightforward and the more simple ETF's tend to see more liquidity than the complex and less direct ETF's.   This one is more than fairly diverse and many will have a hard time tracking what all is in the ETF.

Jon C. Ogg
March 19, 2008

ETF/ETN Launch: Chinese & Indian Currencies (CNY, INR)

The NYSE today launched the first two Morgan Stanley Exchange-Traded Notes (ETNs) with Van Eck Securities Corporation as the exclusive marketer.  These ETN launches are under the market Vectors, which are based on local currency in China and in India on their performance against the U.S. Dollar.

• Market Vectors-Chinese Renminbi/USD ETNs (NYSE: CNY) is based on the S&P Chinese Renminbi Total Return Index, which seeks to track the performance of China’s renminbi against the U.S. dollar.
• Market Vectors-Indian Rupee/USD ETNs (NYSE: INR) is based on the S&P Indian Rupee Total Return Index, which seeks to track the performance of India’s rupee against the U.S. dollar.

These are not your typical ETN's, nor are they your normal ETN's.  There have recently been other currency exchange traded notes launched on NYSE that have been geared to track the Euro, the Swiss Franc, the Canadian Dollar, the Australian Dollar, and the British Pound.

Jon C. Ogg
March 17, 2008

Agriculture ETF Wars: Commodity ETF Beats Stock ETF (MOO, DBA, TITN)

Investors seem to not be able to get enough when it comes to investing in agriculture now.  This used to be a dead boring sector but it's now the top performer with earnings visibility and with raised earnings expectations soaring.  Last year we saw an agriculture ETF get launched via the Market Vectors Global Agribusiness ETF (AMEX: MOO).  This has seen a monster gain with the ETF being up almost 50% at one point since coming public last September.

What is interesting is that ETF's often get duplicated or see similar ETF launches.  As it turns out, the "MOO" ETF was the "other" ETF.  The PowerShares DB Agriculture Fund (AMEX: DBA) has actually been around longer, although it is a commodity ETF rather than ETF full of stocks that stand to benefit from agriculture trends.  The "DBA" has also outperformed the "MOO" by quite a margin. It's even more actively traded.  The DBA" tracks the Deutsche Bank Liquid Commodity Index- Optimum Yield Agriculture Excess Return, which is composed of futures contracts on some of the most liquid and widely traded agricultural commodities like corn, wheat, soy beans and sugar.

The "MOO" is up from its $41.30 first trade to $55.10 on today's close, which is up more than 33%.   The "DBA" is up from its $26.72 open the same day to $41.99, which is a 57.1% gain.  That's about the same gain as a year ago too. 

Jim Cramer recently gave his big picks to benefit from rising commodity prices.  This is always a bit of a stump when one ETF in the same group does so much better than its rival.  After all, these are deemed the new mutual funds.  But the gains in many of the commodities have been what has helped the actual stocks inside the "MOO."

When you look over the best IPO's of recent months, the best or second best so far is Titan Machinery Inc. (NASDAQ: TITN) with roughly a 100% gain from its $8.50 IPO price from early in December.  There was a recent hot-sounding IPO filed and there was also spin-off IPO that is coming down the pipe in the agriculture sector, and that may create more buzz around a sector that has been hotter than most would have guessed. 

Trends can continue beyond what the doubters would ever guess.  Just always remember that after a huge run up like this, nothing lasts forever.  Caveat Emptor.

Jon C. Ogg
March 12, 2008

ETF Launch: PowerShares India Portfolio (PIN, INFY, IBN, SAY, SLT, TTM, WIT)

We have now seen two Indian stock ETF's successfully launch in the last few weeks.  This morning there was another ETF launch on NYSE, although you can see the February news release with the full details.  The PowerShares India Portfolio Fund Exchange Traded Fund listed under the ticker symbol "PIN" and began trading on NYSE Arca today.  This ETF is based on the Indus India Index and tracks the performance of the Indian equity markets as a whole with representation across the consumer products, information technology, health sciences, financial services, and heavy industry sectors.

According to the press release at NYSE, the following NYSE listed ADR shares are a part of the index currently included in the Indus India Index:

• Infosys Technologies Ltd. (NASDAQ: INFY), ICICI Bank (NYSE: IBN) Satyam Computer Services (NYSE: SAY), Sterlite Industries (NYSE: SLT), Tata Motors (NYSE: TTM), Wipro Ltd. (NYSE: WIT)

As a reminder, because of percentage foreign ownership limitation rules and because of ADR conversions, many US-traded ADR's actually trade at premiums to shares traded locally in India.  WisdomTree also recently launched an ETF that tracks Indians stocks at the local exchange level.

Jon C. Ogg
March 5, 2008

Leveraged Gold ETN/ETF Launches (DZZ, DGP, DGZ, GLD, GDX, DGL, DB)

Deutsche Bank AG (NYSE: DB) has launched three new Exchange Traded Notes (ETN's) that will track the performance of certain index moves inside the Deutsche Bank Liquid Commodity Index - Optimum Yield Gold (tm).  What is great is that these three ETN's can be used in IRA's for long or short trading styles because of some immediate inverse in the ETN's.  Investors can also make leveraged strategies based on the ETN's.

The ETN's listed by Deutsche Bank will now trade on NYSE Arca under the following ticker symbols:

• DB Gold Double Short ETN (NYSE: DZZ)
• DB Gold Double Long ETN (NYSE: DGP)
• DB Gold Short ETN (NYSE: DGZ)

Prior to this, the normal gold ETF from the Deutsche Bank index was PowerShares DB Gold (AMEX: DGL).

Investors will now have more select exchange traded vehicles outside of the streetTRACKS Gold Shares (NYSE: GLD) ETN that tracks the raw price of gold on a 1:10 price ratio, and outside of the ETF called the Van Eck's Market Vectors Gold Miners ETF (AMEX: GDX) that tracks some of the major gold mining stocks rather than the commodity.   

"Thar's gold ETN's in them thar hills."

Jon C. Ogg
February 28, 2008

New ETF's Target "Fund of Fund" and "Target Date" Strategies (STT)

State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) has announced this morning that its State Street Global Advisors "SSgA" has filed an SEC application for exemptive relief for a series of actively managed, target-date exchange traded funds (ETF).

SSgA says that investing in a diversified sampli