Author: Matt Thalman

Now May Be the Time to Buy Retail ETFs

Posted on by Matt Thalman

Matt Thalman - INO.com Contributor - ETFs


A Wells Fargo analyst recently said retail has bottomed and now may be time to start buying into the sector. With a weak holiday shopping season, followed by poor retail numbers in January and February retail stocks have hit hard times.

Compound that with the need for clarity on a possible border tax and other political issues hanging in the background, uncertainty in the industry is high. But while high uncertainty leads to lower stock prices, it also brings opportunity for smart investors.

Currently we are seeing specialty retailers outperforming the big box retailers like Macy's, Kohl's, Sear's, and JCPenny's. The downsizing of the big box retailers is also a good thing for the smaller players since it gives shoppers fewer options to choose from. But as a whole, this downsizing is hurting the group's overall performance as share prices of the big names companies have been beaten up. Continue reading "Now May Be the Time to Buy Retail ETFs" →

Bitcoin ETF Rejected

Posted on by Matt Thalman

Matt Thalman - INO.com Contributor - ETFs


Late Friday afternoon the Securities and Exchange Commission released their ruling on the proposed Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust, what would have been the first Bitcoin ETF. Bitcoin's had traded as high as $1,300 per coin on Friday prior to the announcement from the SEC, but following the ruling, the price had fallen more than 20% at one point, leveling off down 10%.

What Happened?

The Security and Exchange Commission released their ruling denying the proposed Bitcoin ETF and within the ruling, the SEC's reasoning for denying the application follows below.

"As discussed further below, the Commission is disapproving this proposed rule change because it does not find the proposal to be consistent with Section 6(b)(5) of the Exchange Act, which requires, among other things, that the rules of a national securities exchange be designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices and to protect investors and the public interest. The Commission believes that, in order to meet this standard, an exchange that lists and trades shares of commodity-trust exchange-traded products (“ETPs”) must, in addition to other applicable requirements, satisfy two requirements that are dispositive in this matter. First, the exchange must have surveillance-sharing agreements with significant markets for trading the underlying commodity or derivatives on that commodity. And second, those markets must be regulated."

In plain English the SEC is saying the Bitcoin ETF was rejected because the underlying commodity, in this case Bitcoin, needs to be regulated, which that’s the whole purpose of Bitcoin, it's not regulated. Bitcoin was designed to be unregulated, with no ties to banking institutions or governments. With relationships with either of those entities, the currency therefore is an unregulated form of investment. The reason this matters is because at the end of the day, the SEC is required to do its best at protecting the general investing public from fraudulent and easily manipulated investments. And because Bitcoin is unregulated in some terms, the SEC can't allow the ETF. Continue reading "Bitcoin ETF Rejected" →

Are Long-Shot Investments Worth Your Time Or Money?

Posted on by Matt Thalman

Matt Thalman - INO.com Contributor - ETFs


We all know the story of the tortoise and the hare and the conclusion that slow and steady wins the race. But regardless of us knowing the story and how it turns out, we still get caught up in the idea, or dream if you will, that we can get rich quick though the means of chasing long-shot investment opportunities.

We have all seen and heard of new investment opportunities that will make you rich; penny stock ideas that will show 1,000% returns, "the next big Initial Public Offering" that you have to own, or perhaps a friend, family member or colleague tells you about a great idea. We all wonder whether or not we should go ahead and pull the trigger on these "once in a lifetime opportunities" and if we made a huge mistake when we don’t.

Well let's look at some numbers, which will hopefully help make your decisions on whether or your time and money are best served chasing these dreams. Continue reading "Are Long-Shot Investments Worth Your Time Or Money?" →

Niche ETFs You May Want To Look Into: Part 2

Posted on by Matt Thalman

Matt Thalman - INO.com Contributor - ETFs


I recently noted a few niche Exchange Traded Funds that I have come across during my time researching the wide world of ETFs. In that piece I noted three niche ETFs that I could actually see myself buying. Today, I would like to shares a few more niche ETFs, some of which I would consider owning and others that I wouldn't touch.

The first two that I would like to point out are PureFunds ISE Cyber Security ETF (HACK) and the First Trust NASDAQ Cybersecurity ETF (CIBR). HACK was the first ETF that focused solely on cybersecurity, which is why I lean towards owning it instead of CIBR, which was started due to the interest and success of HACK. HACK goes after both the hardware and software side of cybersecurity and the service aspect. It splits the two segments of the business and weights them by market cap. HACK has an inception date of November 2014 and since then is up a little more than 10%.

While that is certainly not very impressive performance, it is hard to argue that we will see less of a need for cybersecurity in the future. With the ever-increasing demand for more cybersecurity, investors who get in on this market today will likely see big upside in the future.

Or maybe long-term buy and hold isn't your thing! Continue reading "Niche ETFs You May Want To Look Into: Part 2" →

If The Bitcoin ETF Is Approved, Should You Buy It?

Posted on by Matt Thalman

Matt Thalman - INO.com Contributor - ETFs


On March 11th, the Securities and Exchange Commission will release its ruling on whether or not a Bitcoin ETF will be approved. Back in 2013 the Winklevoss twins, you may remember them from the story on how Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) was started, filed for their Bitcoin Trust ETF to be approved. Others have been submitted since then, but that ETF will be the first to be approved or denied by the SEC.

Some experts believe the Bitcoin ecosystem could attract as much as $300 million within the first week of the ETF being approved. That sort of cash flow would certainly help the currency move higher from its current $950 per coin value. But, with all the secrecy surrounding the cryptocurrency is this something you want to be involved in from either owning Bitcoins outright or from the convenience of an ETF? Continue reading "If The Bitcoin ETF Is Approved, Should You Buy It?" →