Anti-Social View of Social Media ETF: Greenberg

My first reaction when I heard there would be a social media ETF was the same I have whenever I hear a new “sector” fund is being launched: Why always after the fact?

Ian McKinnell | Getty Images

Yet on Tuesday the Global X Social Media ETF made its debut—the latest in a string of ETFs trying to cash in on the latest craze.

Social media, no doubt, has a bit of a runway, much of which is tied to the pending IPO of Zynga but perhaps more to speculation about if and when Facebook will go public.

Beyond that, the world of social media investing, including such names as Pandora , LinkedIn and Jiayuan.com, has been a mixed bag performance wise.

The Global X fund tracks the Solactive Social Media Index. China represents 36.92 percent of its portfolio; the U.S., 26 percent. Its largest holdings include Tencent, Sina and NetEase .

But for investors buying in the bigger question is: Does this signal a top? I asked the same question in July when the First Trust ISE Cloud Computing Indexstarted trading, starting off at around $20. It’s now below $18 and has been as low as $16.

Translation: Maybe a little bit of social anxiety with this new Global X ETF isn’t such a bad thing.

Questions? Comments? Write to [e-mail]

Follow Herb on Twitter: @herbgreenberg

Find Herb on Google+

Disclaimer