A Different Kind of Muni Bond ETF: Van Eck Debuts XMPT

Michael Johnston submits:In another ETF industry first, Van Eck announced today the launch of an ETF offering pure play exposure to Latin American debt markets.

Michael Johnston submits:Van Eck is best known in the ETF world for its suite of funds focusing on equities of hard asset producers and emerging markets. But the latest offering from the New York-based issuer targets a corner of the fixed income market that has historically not been readily accessible through exchange-traded products.

Michael Johnston submits:Van Eck, the issuer behind several country-specific emerging and frontier market ETFs, announced today the latest addition to its product lineup. The Market Vectors Colombia ETF (COLX) will seek to replicate the Market Vectors Colombia Index, a benchmark that consists of companies either domiciled and primarily listed on an exchange in Colombia or generating at least 50% of their revenues in Colombia.

Michael Johnston submits:Today marks the first day of trading for the Market Vectors Russia Small-Cap ETF (RSXJ), the first exchange-traded product offering U.S. investors exposure to small cap Russian stocks. The new fund from Van Eck will seek to replicate the performance of the Market Vectors Russia Small-Cap Index, a benchmark that includes about 35 small cap Russian stocks.

Michael Johnston submits:Van Eck, the New York City-based issuer known in the ETF world for funds offering exposure to hard assets and emerging markets, continues to get creative in its product development efforts.

George Spritzer submits: This is the third of a series of articles on specific municipal bond closed-end funds (see first article here, second article here).

Michael Johnston submits:As investors have become more comfortable with the idea of achieving fixed income exposure through the exchange-traded structure, bond ETF assets have skyrocketed and the number of funds has increased rapidly. For those in higher tax brackets, municipal bonds have always been a popular option, as the tax-exempt feature of the interest payment boosts the tax-equivalent yield realized.

Michael Johnston submits:Van Eck, the New York-based ETF issuer behind several of the most successful new product launches in recent years, introduced the Market Vectors Latin America Small-Cap Index ETF (LATM) on Wednesday.