The Hulbert Financial Digest just published its top ten performing newsletters of 2008 and in the top half of that list is Doug Fabian’s ETF Trader! Our positive net return of 13.2% ranks our newsletter 4th in the country as compared to similar investment recommendation services.  Over that same time period the S&P 500 Index [...]

I thought that this week we should review some of the basic “rules” behind investing in exchange-traded funds (ETFs). I have been touting ETFs as excellent investment growth vehicles, but anything that is new to you can be a little tricky. Rule One: Diversification ETFs are flexible investments — you can buy options, go short, and hedge. [...]

The New Year is almost here, and soon we’ll all be making our list of New Year’s resolutions. I got a head start on mine for 2009, and here’s just a sneak peak at what I want smart investors to resolve to do next year: I will prepare my family for a tough economic [...]

The same advantages of broad-based market funds that I shared in last week’s ETF Talk also extend to international funds. Both kinds of ETFs provide diversification, low expense ratios, trading flexibility and tax efficiency through index investing. In addition, both also allow the use of limit orders and short selling. With the [...]

I’m a big fan of using leverage with my investments. When investing for short-term profits, there’s nothing as good as having a 2-beta fund in your portfolio. What’s a 2-beta fund? It’s a fund — usually an ETF — that moves twice as fast as the underlying index. These 2-beta funds can move in the [...]

Consider taking cover if you hold any mutual funds in taxable accounts. Many mutual funds that absorbed big losses still will incur significant capital gains for the 2008 tax year. Those capital gains are caused by mutual funds buying and selling stocks during the year – even if a fund racked up huge losses. Investors looking [...]

You and probably every other investor in the world right now are concerned about avoiding big losses in the equity markets. It certainly is understandable, in light of the big pullbacks in markets virtually across the globe. But did you know that there is an easy way to limit your downside in equity investments? I [...]

Click below to download the ETF Report and PowerPoint presentations from my latest standing room only seminars at the Washington DC Money Show this past weekend. ETF Strategies in a Difficult Market Seven Secrets to ETF Success Fabian ETF Report

As much as I like exchange-traded funds (ETFs), I frown when they become mispriced. This happens when the market price of an index ETF is different from its underlying net asset value (NAV). If an investor in such an index ETF needs to sell quickly, the mispricing may cause a bit of a financial hit. In [...]

With the Fed loosening the money spigot through interest rate cuts and other monetary tools, inflation is becoming more of a concern for investors. When that happens, gold often becomes a safe haven investment. If you are thinking about investing in gold, I advise caution for now. Gold is showing no clear sign of an upward [...]

You already know we’re in the midst of the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression. We’re living through a financial hurricane. I know many of you are feeling extremely anxious about your investments, your income streams and your financial future. That’s why I have posted my latest free seminar to download entitled: The Election, [...]

Subscribers to my investment newsletters know about my passion for exchange-traded funds (ETFs). During the past several months, I have provided you with features aimed at helping investors improve their portfolios with a variety of funds that are both diversified and cost efficient. Time and time again, I have praised ETFs: my favorite investment tool. [...]

During the past several months, I have provided my readers with features aimed at identifying new funds, key sectors and important trends. I also like to go back to the basics once in awhile with something that I call ETF 101. The idea is to provide a bit of instruction about ETF terminology and investing. I [...]

Some pundits are saying that we are in a recession; others call it a mere economic slowdown. In my opinion, what difference does this technical distinction make to you? The one thing everyone agrees on, bull or bear, is that we’re living in uncertain times. As a result, it is of the utmost importance for [...]

The greenback is back! That’s right, the value of the U.S. dollar versus rival foreign currencies has surged over the past several weeks, and that surge has caused quite the dust up in the international equity markets. Just five weeks ago the dollar had been languishing at record lows against the euro. But last week the [...]

The headline above may make you recall the classic movie “Out of Africa.” But even if you’re not a film buff, you need to know that Africa now has become a region with growing appeal for its intriguing investment opportunities. A case now can be made that Africa offers vast potential for economic improvement that [...]

After having just come back from the latest MoneyShow in San Francisico, I want to share with everyone the three presentations that I conducted for hundreds of individual investors. ETF Strategies In a Difficult Market Some pundits are saying that we are in a recession; others call it a mere economic slowdown. The answer in my opinion [...]

Making money in the market is not just a matter of buying a good stock, mutual fund or exchange-traded fund (ETF) and then watching it go higher. These days, you’re likely to have more success by investing on the short side of the equity ledger. Now when I talk about investing on the short side, [...]

When the stock market is trending downward, it is difficult to know what to do. Amid the uncertainty is the proven benefit of owning dividend-paying stocks. Sure, the share prices of such stocks and equity ETFs can fall, but the dividend payments continue to generate income in both good and bad times. Despite the current market [...]

The simplest definition for ETFs is that they are index funds that trade on the stock market exchanges. An ETF consists of a virtual basket of stocks that usually tracks a specific index or sector. To put it another way, ETFs are like a homologous species of mutual funds that allow investors to buy into [...]

One of the greatest satisfactions that I receive is from highlighting key investment trends and passing them along to you before the rest of the investing world discovers them. A key development that I want to share with you this week is the rapid growth of exchange-traded notes (ETNs). Any regular reader of my ETF Talk [...]

I invite all of my readers and listeners to download the quarter ending ETF Report as of June 30, 2008 by clicking here.   We have grouped the universe of ETF offerings by investment objective, sector and country. These data-rich listings tell you the name of the ETF; its ticker symbol; the most recent closing [...]

When most American investors hear the word “frontier,” they might be more likely to think about the Wild West than their investment portfolios and ETFs. That’s why you may be surprised to learn that “the frontier” is not just about unchartered territories, untamed terrains, or uninhabited land. Developing and growth-oriented foreign markets also fit the [...]

Anybody who’s ever invested money in the financial markets has probably received an unsolicited call from a stockbroker trying to get him or her to open up an account with that broker’s firm. This common practice of making unsolicited calls to prospective clients is known in the industry as “dialing for dollars.” But now that the [...]

Active management used to be the exclusive province of the mutual fund industry, but thanks to some new exchange-traded funds (ETFs), those days of exclusivity are over. Actively managed mutual funds frequently do not outperform market averages, so it remains to be seen how actively managed ETFs will fare under a loosening of their traditional focus [...]

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are a great way to gain diversification and reduce money management costs that otherwise would reduce the value of your holdings. But onerous tax problems have hit investors who have purchased certain commodity ETFs that use futures contracts. Investors that have purchased these ETFs are starting to express “shock and awe” on [...]

Invest With the Bear Doug Fabian thinks investors need to act differently in a bear market, and he suggests using ETFs to make small gains and even short sectors.  Click here to view this video.

If you’ve ever read the great E.M. Forster and his seminal novel A Passage To India, you are probably already acquainted with the riches of India’s culture. Now thanks to exchange-traded fund (ETF) providers Wisdom Tree Investments and PowerShares, it’s going to get easier than ever to get acquainted with the [...]

Analyzing Your Mutual Funds Yesterday I read through the Los Angeles Times 2007 mutual fund review. The main thrust of the article was the modest gains equity mutual funds logged for the year. Well, during the past six trading days those modest mutual fund gains have largely evaporated. As of today, the average U.S. stock mutual fund [...]

Several industry publications have very informative databases of exchange traded fund information that can be sorted by ticker, name, performance, volume and more. I encourage all of my listeners to familiarize themselves with this free information because it can be helpful in deciding which ETF’s are right for you. Investors Business Daily: MSN Money:

A colleague of ours, Tom Lydon of www.etftrends.com recently posted an article about what he expects to occur in the world of ETF as we head into 2008. Some of his expectations include: ETF assets exceeding $1 trillion, an expansion of commodity related ETFs, and a shift of US investors seeking opportunities abroad. [...]

This article was recently released in Investors Business Daily. Below is a small segment of the article…click the link below to read on… When it comes to exchange traded funds, you could call Doug Fabian a Superfan. Considered among the best market timers in the business, Fabian once pushed full-on investment in mutual funds. For [...]

Click Here to listen to Doug’s passionate rant on the virtues of exchange traded funds.

Welcome to the new www.dougfabian.com We are very excited about the launch of our new radio website dedicated to investor education! Check back soon for updates to our blog, exciting live events, and more…