S&P Depository Receipts

• Buy Apple and Proctor & Gamble and Overlook Ben Bernanke

  By Alexander Cho - June 18, 2013 | Tickers: AAPL, TIP, PG, SPY

  The stock market is more or less hanging on what Ben Bernanke will say coming out of the Federal Reserve meeting. A press release will come from the Federal Reserve Bank on Wednesday afternoon.

  Being an investor in the stock market isn’t always easy, and sometimes it is extremely easy to get lost in the shuffle of short-term news. However, I believe that investors should maintain a longer-term investment more »

• The World's Largest Hedge Fund Prefers ETFs to Stocks

  By Ryan Glosier - June 18, 2013 | Tickers: EEM, SPY, VWO

  The world's largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, is based in Westport, Connecticut, and was founded by super-investor Ray Dalio in 1975. From the firm's headquarters in the heart of hedge fund country, Dalio and his team oversee in excess of $140 billion in investments for institutions such as pensions, endowments and foundations. According to financial blog ZeroHedge, around $61 billion of the assets under management at Bridgewater are more »

• An Easy Way to Beat the S&P 500

  By Jordan Wathen - June 17, 2013 | Tickers: SDOG, IVV, RSP, SPY

  Beating the market isn't easy, but one very simple strategy outperforms year after year. It has nothing to do with market timing or leverage, nor do investors need to actively hunt down stocks.

  The strategy comes down to position-sizing: equal weighted funds are once again trouncing market cap weighted funds in 2013.

  All stocks are not created equal

  The S&P 500 index (NYSEMKT: SPY) is a market cap more »

• How to Prosper during Market Volatility

  By Alexander Cho - June 14, 2013 | Tickers: AAPL, GE, M, SPY

  Stocks recently had a tough day, and with Japanese equities (at the time of writing the Nikkei 225 is down by 6.6%) crashing on June 12, some are speculating that this is the end of the market rally for 2013.

  Macro picture

  There is a high possibility that both equity volatility and bond market volatility are forcing investors into cold hard cash. On one hand, we have policy easing more »

• Are These Companies Wasting Shareholders' Money?

  By Jordan Wathen - June 9, 2013 | Tickers: HD, SPY, WMT

  Stock buybacks are a mixed bag for investors. If timed correctly, a repurchase can drive earnings per share growth and create value for shareholders. If poorly timed, companies repurchase shares well above what the stock is actually worth – or what it will be worth in the future.

  Here are two retailing giants that are repurchasing shares. Are they putting shareholder wealth at risk?

  Wal-Mart bets $15 billion on its shares more »

• Are You Reaching for the Brass Ring, or Hanging Over a Cliff?

  By Jason Hall - June 7, 2013 | Tickers: BRK-B, BRK-A, RSP, SPY |

  Chances are you've heard the phrase "grab the brass ring" before. It comes from the late 19th century, where carousel riders would try to grab rings hung outside the carousel, earning prizes if they grabbed a brass one; hence the phrase, now in popular lexicon as reaching for a goal.

  But like any stretch, there was risk, and while the literal action involved little by way of real risk more »

• How to Hedge Your Portfolio with a Top Down Approach

  By Jordan Wathen - June 3, 2013 | Tickers: VXX, IEF, SPY, SDS

  With the markets moving wildly after a fast start in 2013, a hedge may be in order. But how can you construct a hedge that will provide for gains even when the market moves against you?

  Using ETFs, investors can place a wager on a falling market to eek out gains from a top-down reversal in the stock market.

  Three Ways to Hedge

  A proper hedge should move inverse to more »

• How To Win in an Environment of Rising Interest Rates

  By Alexander Cho - June 3, 2013 | Tickers: GS, TIP, MS, SPY

  What is the best way to react to the Fed's policy tightening measures? This is a question that should be on the mind of every investor as bond yields are continuing to climb.
  
  Ben Bernanke at the Joint Economic Committee

  Ben Bernanke basically caused a market sell-off in the bond market. As the world’s most powerful banker stated that he would be willing to raise the federal funds more »

• Low Volatility ETFs : A Primer

  By Robert Baillieul - May 31, 2013 | Tickers: USMV, SPLV, SPY

  The crash of 2007-09 scared many investors out of the stock market. But with indices hitting record highs, many are wading back in yet still wary of volatility. So, investments promising smaller fluctuation now have lots of eager customers.

  Today, ETF providers have introduced dozens of low volatility ETFs competing for investors’ money. But what are these products and do they belong in your portfolio?

  The theory

  Low volatility investing more »

• The Attractive Power of McDonald's Dividends

  By David Zanoni - May 24, 2013 | Tickers: DNKN, MCD, SPY, YUM

  The fact that McDonald’s (NYSE: MCD) is a relatively consistent business has led the company to make consistent dividend payments and payment increases annually for many years. The company has raised the dividend every year since first paying one in 1976. McDonald’s increased its dividend payments annually by at least 10% in 9 out of the last 10 years, with the average increase of nearly 30% over the more »

• Marc Andreessen: Regulation Will Crush Your Retirement Expectations

  By Jordan Wathen - May 17, 2013 | Tickers: FB, IJR, SPY

  Marc Andreessen took to CNBC in an exclusive report to send a simple message: regulation is killing equity returns.

  Since 2000, the number of public companies has dwindled from 6639 to 3,687 companies in the Wilshire 5000 index at the end of 2012. While rampant debt-fueled acquisitions are encouraging the rise of the conglomerate, a regulatory environment keeps upstarts from an early listing on the public markets.

  There's more »

• Billionaire Hedge Fund Manager: The Market Can Only Go Up!

  By Salvatore "Sam" Mattera - May 15, 2013 | Tickers: C, UPRO, SPY

  Appaloosa Management has been one of the most profitable hedge funds of the last few years. Its founder, David Tepper, appeared on CNBC Tuesday to give his latest market prognosis: stocks will continue to head higher!

  The 'Tepper Rally'

  In recent years, Tepper is mostly known for the so-called “Tepper Rally” that took place from the fall of 2010 to the summer of 2011. In September 2010, Tepper made a more »

• The Retail Sector Sports Some Great Returns

  By Alexander Cho - May 15, 2013 | Tickers: ANF, LTD, LULU, SPY, XRT

  When you think of teen apparel you probably think of names like Gap, perhaps Victoria’s Secret, or maybe even Ralph Lauren. Somehow retail continues to do an extremely impressive job of generating yields. Let me illustrate this for you.

  Economics of retail

  After the 50% decline in the valuation of the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (NYSEMKT: XRT), along with a 50% decline in the SPDRs S&P 500 more »

• Don't Let Negative Interest Rates Scare you Away

  By Joshua Bondy - May 14, 2013 | Tickers: CALM, CPSI, PAYX, QSII, SPY

  With real U.S. short term interest rates around -1.25%, a recent study found that the stock market's real five year returns should be around 3.6%. A real return of 3.6% is is less than what many people and pension funds expect, but at least it is a positive figure. By investing in quality companies with strong yields, you can remove a large amount of stress more »

• Watch Your Exposure, Not Your Balances

  By Jordan Wathen - May 12, 2013 | Tickers: XLB, SPLV, SPY

  A warning to all investors: pay more attention to your total asset allocation.

  This week I've played with screeners to find some of the best performing investments and industries out there. This year's winners are the kinds of companies for the dull and unimaginative: consumer companies, utilities, and financial stocks.

  It should come to no surprise, then, that the best performing funds were also those most heavily invested more »

• Should You Invest in America?

  By Joshua Bondy - May 10, 2013 | Tickers: BRK-B, KSU, SPY, YUM

  Change is uncomfortable. America is entering into a new stage. It is not the supreme world power that it was in the 1990s. Relative to the world economy, America's economy is getting smaller. Even with these changes, it is important to remember that many American companies are huge multinationals that benefit from growth inside and outside the United States.  

  World GDP data by YCharts

  Is America Growing?

  Just because more »

• Sell in May and Go Away: Debunked

  By Jason Hall - May 8, 2013 | Tickers: BRK-B, CMG, RSP, SPY, WFM

  My wife and I are in the market for a new home.  We've been saving for several years, including investing in stocks.  I have started selling shares in order to free up cash for a down-payment. It's been strange, selling shares of companies that I love, and would happily hold for many more years. 

  But it's also a reminder of why we invest in stocks: There isn more »

• Five Stocks For Five Major Investing Themes

  By Christopher Grosvenor - May 7, 2013 | Tickers: BP, IBM, JNJ, JPM, SPY, WDAY

  Investors should not be fully invested. The market substantially increased in value. There could be a seven to twenty percent market decline in the next three months. Cautiously bullish is the appropriate investment stance.

  Here are five stock picks for the following five investing themes.

  • Quantitative easing should lead to higher inflation in the short to medium term.
  • Technology firms are innovating in cloud computing, social enterprise, mobile, and more »

• Dogs Kick off 2013 with Outperformance

  By Jordan Wathen - May 7, 2013 | Tickers: SDOG, SPY, SDY

  The Dogs of the Dow strategy is one of the most followed alternative methods of stock picking. The idea is simple: buy the 10 highest-yielding Dow components on Jan. 1 and hold for the rest of the year. Each year, re-balance your holdings into a new collection of the 10 highest-yielding stocks.

  The strategy has since been expanded. One exchange-traded fund, the ALPS Sector Dividend Dogs ETF (NYSEMKT: SDOG), employs more »

• Apple's Comeback Is Likely to Continue

  By David Zanoni - May 6, 2013 | Tickers: AAPL, GOOG, SPY, SSNLF

  Investor sentiment in technology can change quickly. Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) had previously fallen out of favor on Wall Street with the uncertainty of what its next great product would be and worries about a shrinking gross margin. However, the recent dividend boost and share buyback program has shifted the negative sentiment to the positive side.

  Here's a glance at Apple's net sales for Q2:

  Product	Change in Net more »

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