In a comment to an earlier post (see New iShares Emerging Market and World ETFs), Henry noted that the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM) seemed to track the index better than the Vanguard Emerging Markets ETF (VWO). As you can see from the Google Finance chart below, since 2007 EEM’s return is more than [...]

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iShares Canada is finally introducing two new ETFs that provide exposure to foreign stocks: iShares CDN Emerging Markets ETF (XEM) and iShares CDN MSCI World ETF (XWD). Both ETFs started trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange yesterday.
XEM simply holds the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM), which in turn tracks the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. [...]

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Jon Chevreau recently blogged (see John Bogle says investors getting killed by ETFs) on John Bogle’s analysis of returns experienced by investors in Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) and the results are not pretty: In 68 out of 79 ETFs, the returns experienced by investors lagged that of the ETFs themselves by an average of 4.5%. Bogle [...]

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The tax issue created by Canadian ETFs that simply hold ETFs trading in the US is seldom discussed but the additional tax drag is worth highlighting. Take for instance, the iShares CDN MSCI EAFE ETF (XIN), which holds the iShares MSCI EAFE Index Fund (EFA). EFA holds foreign stocks that trade in the UK, Japan, [...]

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I passed along reader questions received in an earlier post on Claymore Broad Emerging Markets ETF (CWO) to Som Seif, President of Claymore Investments. Here’s his response:

Currently, 100% of CWO’s holding is the Vanguard Emerging Markets ETF (VWO). Does CWO plan to hold emerging market stocks directly in the future? If CWO does plan to [...]

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I have no views as to where it [gold] will be, but the one thing I can tell you is it won’t do anything between now and then except look at you. Whereas, you know, Coca-Cola will be making money, and I think Wells Fargo will be making a lot of money and there will [...]

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MarketWatch.com reported that MSCI Barra is contemplating changes to the Emerging Markets Index — South Korea and Israel could be promoted to developed country status, dropped from the emerging markets index and included in the MSCI EAFE Index. Kuwait, Qatar and UAE are being considered for inclusion in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index.
Dropping South Korea [...]

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A popular question from investors convinced of the merits of passive investing is: at what portfolio size does it make sense to use Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) instead of index mutual funds? While ETFs typically have a lower MER and hence are cheaper to own, it costs trading commissions (and foreign exchange fees for some ETFs) [...]

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Claymore has just announced a new ETF to track a broad emerging market index that will be of interest to Canadians worried about estate tax implications of holding cheaper US-based emerging market ETFs such as the Vanguard Emerging Markets ETF (VWO). Unlike the soon to be announced BMO Emerging Markets ETF, CWO is truly a [...]

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Thank goodness for eagle-eyed readers! My initial enthusiasm for a new clutch of ETFs from BMO has evaporated based on reader feedback to yesterday’s post. I initially thought the BMO US Equity ETF and the BMO Emerging Markets Equity ETF fill gaps in the Canadian ETF lineup but I was mistaken. Here are the problems [...]

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