Tag: ARK WEB x.0 ETF (ARKW)

Maybe FAANG Isn't For You, But BAT May Be

Posted on by Matt Thalman

Long before the trade war started, investors have been arguing over whether it’s better to invest in an established market like the US or growing, larger population market like China. This debate has stretched for years, well before the terms FAANG (Facebook (FB), Apple (AAPL), Amazon.com (AMZN),Netflix (NFLX), and Alphabet (GOOG)(GOOGL)) or BAT (Baidu (BIDU), Alibaba (BABA), and Tencent (TCEHY)) were coined.

But now, as the trade war between China and the US continues to heat up, investors have been battling over another China Vs. US technology investments. Perhaps because these stocks have been monster winners and some believe that since these companies are mainly technology stocks, they will be exempt from the pain that could come from the trade war. However, while it is unknown how much the trade war will affect these big technology companies, it should be noted that if each country’s economy suffers from the new tariffs, that the FAANG and BAT stocks could feel some adverse effects.

But in the meantime, if you are still interested in finding some Exchange Traded Funds which will give you exposure to FAANG and BAT stocks, you are in luck. I recently highlighted a few FAANG related ETFs which you can read about here, or continue below for some BAT related ETFs. Continue reading "Maybe FAANG Isn't For You, But BAT May Be" →

Bitcoin Helped ARK Win 'Top ETF' in 2017

Posted on by Matt Thalman

ETF.com’s “ETF of The Year” award went to the ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) for 2017. The award was given to ARKK for a number of reasons, but the top two were due to its exposure to disruptive technology in 2017 and its strong performance. Both of those key metrics for winning the award were partly due to the fund's exposure to Bitcoin.

ARKK owned Bitcoin through buying shares of the Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC). ARKK had anywhere between 6% and 10% of its assets in GBTC during 2017 while the cryptocurrency rose higher during the end of last year. During that time Bitcoin was often ARKK’s top holding. This helped the fund produce an 85% return for investors in 2017. Just for comparison, GBTC was up roughly 1,550% in 2017.

What’s more interesting though is that while GBTC is now down more than 65% year-to-date in 2018, ARKK is up more than 21% this year. The main reason for this reversal is because sometime in January of 2018 ARKK’s management team started selling their position in GBTC. As of today, ARKK still has a small position in GBTC, but it represents just 0.26% of the fund's assets.

ARK, the issuer of the ARKK ETF recently told ETF.com that it was a “complicated decision” to cut its Bitcoin investments, but that it was driven largely by regulatory and tax concerns, more so than the true “merits” of Bitcoin. Continue reading "Bitcoin Helped ARK Win 'Top ETF' in 2017" →

2017's Best Performing Non-Leveraged ETFs

Posted on by Matt Thalman

Matt Thalman - INO.com Contributor - ETFs


The stock market had an amazing year in 2017, with the S&P 500 increasing more than 19.9%, but some Exchange Traded Funds performed substantially better. Most investors wouldn’t expect a large fund to outperform the S&P 500, unless they were using leverage, taking on outsized risk through trading in volatility, or investing entirely in international/developing markets.

But, surprisingly there were a few ETF’s that not only outperformed the S&P 500 but crushed it while just being mildly risky. Below is a list of a few of them and then an explanation as to why they performed well and whether or not their hot streak can continue in 2018.

Best Performing ETFs of 2017

While this list was intended to help investors find ETF’s which offered lower risk than one would find with leveraged ETF’s, the best performer still had a little more risk than most investors should be comfortable with. The outsized risk with ARK WEB x.0 ETF (ARKW) is that its largest holding is in the Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC), which makes up 6.71% of the fund. The next largest is Amazon.com (AMZN) making up 6.08% of the fund. Twitter (TWTR), Athenahealth (ATHN), 2U (TWOU), Tesla (TSLA), Netflix (:NFLX), NVIDIA (NVDA), Alphabet (GOOG)(GOOGL), and JD.com (JD) round out the fund top ten holdings. GBTC’s performance in 2017 was primarily the reason ARKW crushed the overall market, but moving forward investors shouldn’t bet on that continuing to happen.

Ever since the Bitcoin futures began trading on the CBOE and CME, the price of Bitcoin has stabilized. If you are considering buying ARKW, just know that you are taking on more risk than a typical ETF due to its exposure to Bitcoin, but maybe that is why you want to own ARKW. Personally, though if I were thinking about investing in Bitcoin, I would just invest directly into the crypto-currency, not muddy the waters with GBTC due to its pricing. Continue reading "2017's Best Performing Non-Leveraged ETFs" →

3 Niche Technology ETF's You Don't Know About and Are Worth Owning

Posted on by Matt Thalman

Matt Thalman - INO.com Contributor - ETFs


Every day I am more and more amazed by not only the number of ETF's available to investors, but how specific their investment strategies have become. The ETF industry has almost grown to the point that nearly not only every industry, but every niche segment of every industry has its own ETF tracking companies who operate in that field.

I recently highlighted a little-known ETF called PureFunds ISE Cyber Security ETF (HACK), which invests in companies who are making software and hardware to help others increase their own cyber security and fight hackers. Since the cyber security field is likely going to continue to show massive growth rates, investors buying into the fund today and holding on, can benefit from those growth rates without worrying about picking a losing company and missing out on the big winners.

I have recently found a few more hidden technology ETF's that investors should at the very least take a look at, if not consider owning. Continue reading "3 Niche Technology ETF's You Don't Know About and Are Worth Owning" →