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During the 3:20 PM Closing Bell today, my guests will be two experts in Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs): Tom Lydon, a contributor to CNBC.com and editor of ETF Trends, and Jim Lowell, editor of the ETF Trader newsletter.
I'm having them on because I am hearing reports that brokerage firms are seeing a surge in new clients from individuals fed up with what's happened to their savings and are making a go of managing their own money.
For some, this is a good idea, for others perhaps not. But under any circumstances ETFs are a good option for self-directed or professional investors.
It is now feasible for an individual to put together a broad investment portfolio that can be both cheaper than mutual funds, and more diversified because ETFs offer greater exposure to commodities, international stocks, and bonds.
I asked Tom and Jim to put together some suggested ETF portfolios.
Here's Tom's pick:
- SPDR S&P Retail (XRT): up 25.9% year-to-date
- iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 (FXI): up 9.5% year-to-date
- iPath Dow Jones AIG Copper (JJC): up 49% year-to-date
Tom runs an informative ETF website: www.etftrends.com
Jim runs four different ETF portfolios through his newsletter. Here are two, the first one a fairly straightforward broad portfolio, the other an Aggressive Trader Portfolio that is quite novel.
Total Market Model Portfolio
- PowerShares QQQ (QQQQ) 32.8 percent
- iShares Russell Mid Growth (IWP) 31.7 percent
- SPDR DJ Wilshire Small Cap Growth (DSG) 35.5 percent
- Portfolio is up 6.5% over last 50 days, up 3.6% YTD
Aggressive Trader Model Portfolio
- ProShares Ultra QQQ (QLD) 27.0 percent
- iShares MSCI South Africa (EZA) 22.4 percent
- iShares MSCI Brazil (EWZ) 25.2 percent
- iShares DJ US Broker-Dealers (IAI) 25.4 percent
Portfolio is up 18.0 percent over last 50 days, up 10.8 percent YTD
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POPULAR TRADER TALK POSTS
- Risk Trade Is Back On
- This Week's Biggest Story: The Dollar
- Corporate Issuance Continues at Torrid Pace
- The Bernanke Dollar Bounce & Gross Says Forget About Rate Hike
- Colgate Really Sparkles After Hours
- Light Volume Has Traders Complaining
- Gold Shatters Another Record
- Have Retailers Reached Their Limits?
- The Retail Mind Game
- The Gold Rush Is On
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