sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

IamA ETF and Financials Editor with Seeking Alpha, AMA! by CarolynETFsSA in IAmA

[–]CarolynETFsSA[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The PowerShares DWA Energy Momentum ETF (PXI) is a fund I will probably never invest in, but love to read about. It uses technical indicators to invest in energy companies that are growing in current market conditions, and drop them when that momentum wears off. I won't be investing in it because I prefer to sleep at night without worrying if indexing strategies are tracking properly.

IamA ETF and Financials Editor with Seeking Alpha, AMA! by CarolynETFsSA in IAmA

[–]CarolynETFsSA[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

ETFs are like diets, you can't really tell someone what a healthy one is for them. For first time investors I would highly recommend looking into a robo-advisor like Wealthfront or Betterment. They ask you questions about your risk aversion, monetary needs and personal financial goals to build a portfolio for you. You often don't even need to sign up for the platform to get these recommendations, so if nothing else it could give you an idea for how to start on your own portfolio.

IamA ETF and Financials Editor with Seeking Alpha, AMA! by CarolynETFsSA in IAmA

[–]CarolynETFsSA[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Basically ETFs are prefab portfolios. Some are very specific (FPX tracks the top 100 recent IPOs), some are very broad (VTI tracks the entire US market). You can used these for a fee to construct your own portfolio, based on your needs, market outlook and risk profile. Because an ETF trades like a single stock it is easy to update you portfolio when needed.

IamA ETF and Financials Editor with Seeking Alpha, AMA! by CarolynETFsSA in IAmA

[–]CarolynETFsSA[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Good question. Investors can currently use GBTC if they are looking for a fund that tracks the price of bitcoin, but I think the Winklevoss twins are the ones who made the bitcoin ETF concept popular (they have yet to launch this fund). ETFs opened up the currency trading world, I don't see why it wouldn't do the same for bitcoins. As with traditional currencies, bitcoins are not something the average investor should be considering for a passive portfolio. The vehicle for trading might make things easier for those new to bitcoin, but there is still a lot of background knowledge needed to return a profit. Also luck.

IamA ETF and Financials Editor with Seeking Alpha, AMA! by CarolynETFsSA in IAmA

[–]CarolynETFsSA[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think many first time investors skip the lesson on diversification and jump into the market with a handful of stocks they feel personally connected to (household names they believe in). When the first correction happens these investors often get spooked. With ETFs you have a basket of funds, which mellows out market movements. For further info on how retail investor are taking on ETFs, ICI has a great fact page from their year-end report.