ETF Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) 2019

The ETF Story

The creation story of the first exchange-traded fund is actually the best way to understand how they work. And it's not just educational, it's entertaining. Like the PC and the MP3, the story of the creation of SPY -- which turned 30 this year -- is full of characters, twists and turns, and subplots. In the end, the product launched an industry that's reshaping not just investing but the entire financial ecosystem. This six-episode miniseries will weave together interviews with the founding fathers and other key players that help investors better understand the ETF and how we got here.

 

Purchased some VAS in early January, when discounts when deep, just to show what happens when you rush at work... I actually was looking at VGS, damn you CMC markets app

 

It's 2019 @Redwing. Time to do the honours and start a new year thread.

 

Well a couple of times recently I’ve purchased what I wanted but it was against the wrong account ie SMSF rather than own names and vice versa. And because these weren’t holdings I wanted in the relevant accounts I had to immediately sell them at a small loss.

Mind you I think senility has arrived big time. Yesterday I was looking for a small instruction sheet I had in my hands only a minute prior to that. Looked everywhere but couldn’t find it. Then I recalled I had just changed out of my shorts into my long work trousers so perhaps I put the instruction sheet in the pocket of my shorts. But alas I couldn’t find my bloody shorts anywhere. A short time later upon going to the toilet I discovered I had my shorts still on underneath my work trousers.

 

I remember once spending what felt like 5 minutes searching for a ruler that I had in my left hand the entire time!

 

So you found your shorts.....

Did you find the instruction sheet??? (Starting to worry about you)

 

No but as usual my wife found it. I’d put it on the arm of the leather lounge and it had fallen down behind the cushions.

When I can’t find anything after a few minutes I stand in the middle of the room bellowing that I’ve lost whatever. As usual my wife who can’t stand the commotion then finds whatever I’m looking for. I imagine many women can relate to that.

Mind you the other day she was trying to find her glasses and asked me if i’d seen them. Yes I said, they’re on your head. She had earlier lifted them on to her upper head to read something close. I said see you can’t say I never help you find things.

Could be the cumulative effect of home brew perhaps.

 

I searched for sunnies I was wearing. That's no claim to fame.

 

"ETF's distort prices"
"ETF's are in a Bubble"
"ETF's cause Bubbles"
"ETF growth is in danger of devouring capitalism"

With that in mind it was interesting to read the below from Ben Carlson

Who Owns All the Stocks & Bonds?

Goldman Sachs recently shared some excellent data on how the ownership of stocks and bonds has evolved over the years. First up, this shows the composition of who owns the debt of the U.S. government:



This next chart shows the ownership breakdown of the U.S. stock market:

• ETFs get all the headlines but mutual funds still dominate in terms of assets. Mutual funds hold 15x more bonds and 4x as many stocks as ETFs. There’s still a long way to go until ETFs take over their more tax-inefficient counterparts.

 

Another item of interest whilst perusing the www (weird wide world)

The Australian corporate bond market has grown by more than 40% since 2010, currently reaching over $1 trillion of Australian corporate bonds outstanding.

This is more than two-thirds the size of the Australian stock market

 

Equity mates had a podcast about this...interview with beta shares founder I think.

 

Might be of interest. Australian shareholders association event.

Events | Australian Shareholders' Association

You are invited to Building a well-balanced portfolio - The role of Exchange Traded Funds seminar to be held in Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and Perth this coming March 2019.

These seminars will not only help address the importance of portfolio diversification but how you can balance your portfolio via ETFs. Selection criteria, risks, benefits, costs and more will also be discussed.

We would like to offer you $25 off the full $130 registration fee. Enter promo code ETF25 on check out.

Offer ends 15 February 2019. Register online or call the ASA office on 1300 368 448.

Location
MELBOURNE

Friday, 15 March 2019

BRISBANE

Wednesday, 20 March 2019

SYDNEY

Friday, 22 March 2019

PERTH

Friday, 29 March 2019

Cost

Standard price: $130.00 per person discounted to $105 when you enter the code ETF25

Registration cost includes lunch, refreshments and online access to presentations.

Topics include
Building a diversified portfolio
The role of ETFs in portfolio construction
Investing for income
The global opportunity
Fixed income for stability
Investing for the future
Speakers include
David Bassanese, Betashares
Scott Bradley, Legg Mason Global Asset Management
Robin Bowerman, Vanguard
Chris Brycki, Stockpot
Patrick Garrett, Six Park
Damon Gosen, VanEck Australia
Nicholas Jackson, VanEck Australia
Matthew McKinnon, VanEck Australia
Adam Muston, Legg Mason Global Asset Management
Basil Palassis, Fusion Planning Group
To register for this seminar
Call us on 1300 368 448 or 02 9252 4244
Email [email protected]
Register online
We hope to see you there!

Kind regards

Silvana Eccles
National Operations Manager
Australian Shareholders' Association

 

No shortage of vested interests there.

 

Fair call. But ETFs on the whole aren't bad.

 

Outside of plain vanilla indexes, a large portion of ETFs are gimmicky and made for selling, not for investing in.

 

He he yes. I shudder to think of what some of the ETF sales guys there will be recommending for portfolios.

Six Park’s portfolio design / product selection is pretty good though but they’re out to get investors on their Robo platform.

https://www.sixpark.com.au/how-it-works/our-selected-etfs

 

Interesting article in Wallstreet Journal a couple of days back:

How China Pressured MSCI to Add Its Market to Major Benchmark (Paywall)

“Last summer, the world’s largest index provider added stocks in China to one of its most prominent global benchmarks, leading billions of dollars to flow into Chinese shares and advancing China’s plans to draw more foreign investors to its markets.

The move by MSCI Inc. came after it came under heavy pressure from the Chinese government, which tried to curtail the company’s business in the country, according to people familiar with the matter.

MSCI’s decision to include domestic Chinese stocks in its widely followed Emerging Markets Index was received unfavorably by some investors who were concerned about robustness and transparency of markets in the world’s second-largest economy.

... read more

 

Placed where it is right and proper.

 

You must be unwell. It’s not like you to ruin a good off topic thread drift.

 

Not in the least. Quite the opposite in fact. AFI - an LIC - has sent me notification money is hitting the bank today.