Energy ETF Cheat Sheet: Expenses, Dividends And Returns

Michael Johnston submits:One of the hottest segments of the ETF industry is the commodity space, which has exploded in recent years as investors have embraced exchange-traded products as a means of reaching an asset class that offers potentially valuable diversification benefits. While most commodity products are physically-backed or futures-based funds, an alternative means of gaining commodity exposure has become increasingly popular among ETF investors.

Barchart's ETF Recommendations submits:This report covers ETFs that hold the stocks of companies in the energy business. The energy business primarily involves oil and gas companies, but in this report we also cover ETFs involving natural gas and coal.

Michael Johnston submits:One of the hottest segments of the ETF industry is the commodity space, which has exploded in recent years as investors have embraced exchange-traded products as a means of reaching an asset class that offers potentially valuable diversification benefits. While most commodity products are physically-backed or futures-based funds, an alternative means of gaining commodity exposure has become increasingly popular among ETF investors.

With domestic oil production soaring, and petroleum and coal sector profits rising at a rapid clip, now seems the right time to cut back on tax expenditures related to oil extraction and processing.

By Chris Ciovacco: If you are looking for an edge in terms of Thursday's highly anticipated Fed announcement, the statements leading up to the announcement of QE2 in 2010 are an excellent place to start. Thus far, 2012 has not strayed far from the 2010 QE script, meaning we believe it is only a matter of time before QE3 is announced. QE2: Winning ETFs

Michael Johnston submits:Geary Advisors, the firm that last year pioneered state-specific ETFs, has announced that it will close down the Oklahoma Exchange-Traded Fund (OOK) and Texas Exchange-Traded Fund (TXF) by the end of the month. Both funds launched in late 2009, but despite impressive performances struggled to build up assets and trading volumes.

Michael Johnston submits:Although most U.S. investors build their portfolios around a core of large cap domestic equities, small-cap firms, which generally have a market capitalization’s under $2 billion, are a vital component as well. Because small cap stocks tend to have smaller customer bases, shorter operating histories, and less cash on hand, they are often more volatile than their large cap counterparts. But because they possess greater growth potential, small caps also carry potential for greater returns.

Susan Weerts submits:Exchange traded funds (hereafter ETFs) have become increasing popular in recent years. Since the first ETF, SPR, lauched in 1993, the number of ETF’s has exploded to more than 700 today.