Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have become in their 25-year history one of the fastest growing segments of the investment management business. These funds provide liquid access to virtually every financial market and allow large and small investors to build institutional-caliber portfolios. Yet, their management fees are significantly lower than those typical of mutual funds. High levels of transparency in ETFs for holdings and investment strategy help investors evaluate an ETF’s potential returns and risks. This book covers the evolution of ETFs as products and in their uses in investment strategies. It details how ETFs work, their unique investment and trading features, their regulatory structure, how they are used in tactical and strategic portfolio management in a broad range of asset classes, and how to evaluate them individually.

Exchange traded funds, one of the most exciting new classes of funds, provide investors with an opportunity to get the benefits of individual stocks at the lower costs associated with mutual funds. Although they are a very new type of fund (they were first introduced in 1993), ETFs have nearly 100 billion in assets under management. Written by senior editors Jim Wiandt and Will McClatchy at IndexFunds.com, Exchange Traded Funds clearly explains this exciting class of funds for savvy individual investors and investment professionals alike. The authors provide a frank appraisal of the advantages of exchange traded funds including low management fees and lower capital gains taxes. They acquaint readers with the full range of what's available, and provide valuable information on evaluating the funds' usefulness and performance. They also describe proven strategies for using exchange traded funds to balance investment portfolios and manage long-term and short-term risk. IndexFunds.com is a Web site devoted to index funds. It currently hosts more than 100,000 visitors each month.

AN ACCESSIBLE INTRODUCTION TO ETFs GETTING STARTED IN Exchange Traded Funds "Todd Lofton delivers what he promises with an approach and advice that has the footprint of an experienced trader. Instead of addressing dummies,' he's written a book for the intelligent investor who is inexperienced using ETFs. It progresses through every area, from passive positions to options, in a way that makes you comfortable trading. You can see that the way he gives experienced advice at the end puts this book on a higher plane." -- Perry Kaufman, author of New Trading Systems and Methods, Fourth Edition "Todd Lofton has helped many investors get started in futures and options trading by turning complex subjects into clearly written magazine articles and books over the last 35 years. He has done it again with this book on ETFs, one of the hottest new investment areas. Anyone who is contemplating investing in stocks or mutual funds should check out his easy-to-understand explanation of ETFs, how to use them, and how they can play a valuable role in an investment portfolio." -- Darrell Jobman, Editor in Chief, TradingEducation.com, former editor of Futures magazine "The ETF market is exploding! With so many under-performing mutual funds, investing in ETFs is truly the intelligent way to invest. This is a great primer for anyone interested in understanding this market better." -- Chris Osborne, CFP, Senior Vice President- Wealth Management, Smith Barney First Launched in 1193, exchange traded funds (ETFs) continue to attract the interest of investors around the world. ETFs low costs, tax efficiencies, and liquidity make them ideal investment vehicles. If you're interested in ETFs but don't know where to begin, Getting Started in Exchange Traded Funds is the book for you. Written in a straightforward and easy-to-read manner, this practical guide clearly explains the ins-and-outs of ETFs. With only a sprinkling of math and no complicated jargon, Getting Started in Exchange Traded Funds will help you: * Look for an ETF that best matches a particular investment objective * Evaluate a particular ETFs performance * Forecast ETF prices with basic technical and fundamental analysis * Use ETFs for hedging * Employ options and futures on ETFs in a variety of trading strategies * Use ETFs for both long-term positions and day trading * And much more Filled with practical advice and illustrative examples, Getting Started in Exchange Traded Funds shows you how ETFs can make it easier for you to achieve your personal financial goals.

Written by veteran financial professional and experienced author Richard Ferri, The ETF Book gives you a broad and deep understanding of this important investment vehicle and provides you with the tools needed to successfully integrate exchange-traded funds into any portfolio. Each chapter of The ETF Book offers concise coverage of various issues and is filled with in-depth insights on different types of ETFs as well as practical advice on how to select and manage them.

Discover How Investing in Exchange-Traded Funds Can Help You Build a Winning Financial Portfolio "Archie Richards delivers the nuts and bolts of ETFs---and much more that the investor needs to know." Gary L. Gastineau, early developer of exchange-traded funds, Managing Director of ETF Consultants, LLC "ETFs are not a form of extraterrestrial, but they do remain a mystery to many. We should be grateful to Archie Richards for explaining everything about them and also offering mush useful advice. This is a timely and terrific book on one of today's hottest investment topics." Hunter Lewis, Co-founder, Cambridge Associates, LLC "Understanding exchange-Traded Funds is a no-nonsense approach to setting financial priorities, and a crash course on the basics of investing. Archie's description of various investments gives the information you need to become a wise investor." Steve and Annette Economides, Authors of America's Cheapest Family Gets You Right on the Money “Archie Richards is the go-to guru for ETFs, and Understanding Exchange-Traded Funds simply cements that reputation. If you're dipping your toe into the ETF waters for the first time, now you can jump right in instead. Understanding Exchange-Traded Funds is the investment life preserver you've been waiting for, and Archie Richards is the guy you want guiding you through the strokes.” Angele McQuade, author of Investment Clubs for Dummies and book reviewer for Better Investing magazine Turn to Understanding Exchange-Traded Funds for a quick, accessible overview of ETFs_the hottest and most significant investment tool of recent years. This expert guide explains why exchange-traded funds are important and why they work so well, highlighting the advantages of ETFs over traditional mutual funds and discussing all the new types of ETFs. Keeping complex mathematics to a minimum, Understanding Exchange Traded Funds thoroughly covers: The key elements of ETFs: costs, redemption, the three basic categories, tax consequences, and more How to use ETFs for asset allocation or retirement accounts How and where to buy ETFs The ETFs offered by Barclays, Vanguard, State Street, and other companies Avoiding common ETF mistakes and misconceptions

In Exchange-Traded Funds and the New Dynamics of Investing, Ananth Madhavan examines the quiet transformation of asset management through the rise of passive or index investing. A closely-related phenomenon is the rise of exchange-traded funds (ETFs). An ETF is an investment vehicle that trades intraday and seeks to replicate the performance of a specific index. ETFs have grown substantially in size, diversity, and market significance in recent years. These trends have generated considerable interest, especially from retail and institutional investors and increasingly from academics, regulators and the press. ETFs have the power to be a disruptive innovation to today's asset management industry because many traditional active managers and hedge funds deliver a significant fraction of their active returns via static exposures to factors like value. Indeed, for the first time ever, assets in global ETFs exceeded $3 trillion in 2015, passing the amount in hedge funds.

This comprehensive handbook discusses the most recent advances within the field of financial engineering, focusing not only on the description of the existing areas in financial engineering research, but also on the new methodologies that have been developed for modeling and addressing financial engineering problems. The book is intended for financial engineers, researchers, applied mathematicians, and graduate students interested in real-world applications to financial engineering.