ETF Updates Archive

Has the Gold and Silver Play Gone too Far?

The past few months it seems the gold and silver play has been getting a little crowded with everyone wanting to own gold. While I am a firm believer that these precious metals are a great hedge/investment long term, I can’t help but notice the price action and volume for both metals which looks to me like they are getting exhausted.

Silver – Daily Chart

The silver chart below shows an extremely high volume reversal candle in early November which typically leads to lower prices and some times a major change in the trend.

Bonds, Dollar, SP500 & Gold Have Changed Direction – Are You Ready?

There have been some major trend changes recently and it looks as though more investments are about to follow. The real question though is… Are You Ready To Take Advantage Of It?

It has been an exciting ride to say the least with the equities and metals bull market and the plummeting dollar. But it looks as though their time is up, or at least for a few weeks.

Dollar Continues to Control Gold, Oil & Equities

Over the past few months it seems as though everything has been tied to the dollar. Simple inter-market analysis makes it obvious that almost everything in the financial market eventually has an affect on stocks and commodities in some way. But recently trading has really been all about the dollar. If you watch the SP500 and gold prices you will notice at times virtually every tick the dollar makes directly affects the price and direction of gold and the SP500 index.

In short, I feel the market is at a critical point which will trigger a very strong movement in the coming days or weeks. Because the dollar, gold, oil and the equities market have had such big moves I think trading VERY DEFENSIVE is the only way to play right now. That means trading small position sizes.

Basic Elements of ETFs

Today, ETFs cover nearly every asset class and make up a significant portion of the trading volume on the exchanges.  It is crucial that we understand the basic elements of these important products, specifically the arbitrage feature, in order to see what makes them unique, efficient, and suited for a wide variety of strategies.

Institutional, professional, and individual investors typically use ETFs in a variety of different investment strategies.  ETFs allow investors to have razor sharp access to parts of the market in an inexpensive and diversified manner.

It is the structure of ETFs that makes this versatility possible.  Traditional ETFs are passive investments, tracking an index.