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| BondsOnline.com: instant access to and extensive coverage of over 3.5 million stocks, bonds, indexes and other securities covering major and emerging markets and exchanges across the globe. |
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| Bonds Online |
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| 5/10/2013Market Performance |
| Municipal Bonds |
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S&P National Bond Index
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3.00% |
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S&P California Bond Index
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2.96% |
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S&P New York Bond Index
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3.13% |
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S&P National 0-5 Year Municipal Bond Index
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0.70% |
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| S&P/BGCantor US Treasury Bond |
400.09 |
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| Income Equities: |
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| Preferred Stocks |
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S&P U.S. Preferred Stock Index
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848.03 |
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S&P U.S. Preferred Stock Index (CAD)
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636.26 |
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S&P U.S. Preferred Stock Index (TR)
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1,701.05 |
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S&P U.S. Preferred Stock Index (TR) (CAD)
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1,276.26 |
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| REITs |
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S&P REIT Index
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174.07 |
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S&P REIT Index (TR)
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425.30 |
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| MLPs |
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S&P MLP Index
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2,469.58 |
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S&P MLP Index (TR)
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5,428.50 |
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See Data
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BulletShares: The Best of the Bonds |
Investing Daily - Feb. 2, 2011 - By Benjamin Shepherd
The exchange-traded fund (ETF) industry has developed to the point where good, new ideas are few and far between. The latest good idea is really an old idea: BulletShares.
In June, 2010, Claymore (which has since been acquired by Guggenheim) launched seven bond ETFs dubbed BulletShares. These ETFs were tied to indexes of investment-grade corporate bonds with fixed maturity dates ranging from 2011 through 2017. For example, all of the bonds held in BulletShares 2011 Corporate Bond ETF (NYSE: BSCB) matured in 2011. When the funds reach their fixed maturity date and the bonds they hold mature, the funds begin to unwind and the proceeds are distributed to shareholders.
This mechanism means that holding BulletShares funds is much like owning an individual bond, except that it’s easier to manage your interest rate risk. Furthermore, these funds offer broad diversification across issuers. BulletShares funds are also a simple and effective instrument for investors who know they’ll need cash at some fixed point in the future. Finally, the fund’s yield is predictable; unlike other bond ETFs, BulletShares funds don’t reinvest gains.
Guggenheim launched four new BulletShares funds last week that target the high-yield bond market.
Guggenheim BulletShares 2012 High Yield Corporate Bond (NYSE: BSJC), Guggenheim BulletShares 2013 High Yield Corporate Bond (NYSE: BSJD), Guggenheim BulletShares 2014 High Yield Corporate Bond (NYSE: BSJE) and Guggenheim BulletShares 2015 High Yield Corporate Bond (NYSE: BSJF) are structured like their corporate cousins, offering targeted maturities and unwinding as they reach the target year. All will carry expense ratios of 0.42 percent.
The BulletShares funds have been slow to catch on. But they combine the best features of individual bonds and bond funds. It’s only a matter of time before the market takes notice of these funds and their volumes grow.
What’s New
State Street, the fund house behind the wildly popular SPDR line of funds, continues to round out its stable of industry-focused offerings with the launch of three new sector funds.
SPDR S&P Telecom ETF (NYSE: XTL) will track the S&P Telecom Select Industry Index comprised of about 60 companies in the telecom space; SPDR S&P Health Care Equipment (NYSE: XHE) will track the S&P Health Care Equipment Select Industry Index, which has 57 components; and SPDR S&P Transportation (NYSE: XTN) will track the S&P Transportation Select Industry Index, which is made up of about 40 companies.
All three funds carry a 0.35 percent annual expense ratio and their portfolios will be equally-weighted--a feature that makes them all the more attractive. While these new funds each have a low trading volume, I anticipate they’ll quickly gain momentum among sector investors.
AdvisorShares Active Bear ETF (NYSE: HDGE) is the industry’s most expensive ETF with an annual expense ratio of 1.85 percent. The actively managed fund uses a short-only US equity strategy. Management employs a bottom-up fundamental approach to identify short candidates with low-quality earnings or shaky accounting standards. The fund will maintain short positions in 20 to 50 stocks at any time.
For the complete article.
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| Stuff to look at |
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S&P Commentary and Newsletters: S&P
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| BondsOnline Advisor |
Income Security Recommendation January 2013 Issue.
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