Below are our latest blog posts for the week of November 9th.  Click on the links below to view the full article.

For many closed-end funds, the realization that borrowing costs could potentially rise in the near future hasn’t been met with a smooth transition.  In fact, the majority of funds on my watch list have suffered a great deal as individual investors fret over the unknown, and choose to “de-risk” instead of hanging in there to see what ultimately happens.

As I peruse the list of over 1,800 exchange-traded products, I am struck by how many new funds are dedicated to niche strategies. Now I’m not talking about a unique value style fund or low volatility strategy with hundreds of underlying holdings spread across multiple sectors. I’m speaking specifically about ETFs that are dedicated to small corners of the investment universe such as restaurants, cancer research, mobile payments, and others.

2015 will be over before we know it and despite a great deal of jostling in the stock and bond markets, the net effect has been very little real gains for diversified portfolios.  A look at a typical 60/40 mix of stocks and bonds in the iShares Growth Allocation ETF (AOR) is currently sitting at a total return of just 0.33% this year.  Not the worst outcome and there is a little bit of time left to improve on that number, but certainly nothing to write home about.

Published on NASDAQ.com

Everyone loves to save money wherever possible, and shopping for the cheapest investment products should be no different. After all, excess money you pay in underlying fees can add up significantly over time and erode the gains in your investment portfolio.

Investors in exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have become savvy to this concept as they make the switch from expensive actively managed mutual funds for passively managed indexes.

P.S. Did you know our core actively managed ETF portfolio minimums start at just $100,000?

Learn more about our new client onboarding process.  Our client accounts are custodied at TD Ameritrade and we do all the work of account setup, transfer, and service for you.  It’s never been easier to get started working with a fee-only investment adviser today.