Todd Rosenbluth
Director of ETF and Mutual Fund Research, S&P Capital IQ Equity Research
Dividend and Low Volatility-Investments
It’s been a tough start to the new year for the S&P 500®, with a 6.4% decline (as of Feb. 3, 2016). However, the year-to-date performance of certain factor-focused smart-beta indices tied to subsets of the S&P 500 is relatively bright. The S&P 500 is a well-diversified US equity index, seeking to provide exposure to…
Active Versus Passive Through Municipal Bonds
Municipal bond mutual funds gathered USD 2.8 billion in the four-week period ending Oct. 28, 2015, according to the Investment Company Institute, while muni bond ETFs added USD 593 million of inflows in October, according to SSGA. Despite this low number, at the recent S&P Dow Jones Indices Municipal and Global Bond Forum, various panelists…
- Categories Fixed Income
- Tags Active vs. Passive, ETFs, muni bond ETFs, municipal bonds, munis
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- Fixed Income
Why the S&P 500 Utilities Sector Shined in Q3
While the S&P 500 Utilities index has been one of the weakest in the S&P 500 index in 2015, in the third quarter it was a bright spot. As global economic concerns increased, we think investors found the domestic focused, stable dividend, and earnings provided by the sector appealing. While the Federal Reserve’s possible increase…
Global Infrastructure Investments
Once every four years, America’s civil engineers provide a comprehensive assessment of the nation’s major infrastructure categories. The latest report card has a poor cumulative GPA for infrastructure of D+, with rail and bridges each earning a C+. While Congress continues to debate whether, and how, to fund the projects to improve the quality of…
- Categories Uncategorized
- Tags infrastructure, S&P Global Infrastructure index
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- Uncategorized
High Quality Holding up Well
Although the broader S&P 500® was down 7.2% between July 1, 2015, and Sep. 1, 2015, not all related indices performed as poorly. Indeed, the S&P 500 High Quality Rankings Index was down just 5.3% during the same period. The S&P 500 High Quality Rankings Index is a benchmark with constituents that must earn an…
Tracking Activist Hedge Fund Activities
As my S&P Capital IQ colleagues recently noted we have reached a golden age of investor activism. In the past five full years, activist engagements increased fourfold. The success of investor activism has helped these firms both attract more capital and deliver greater returns as their principals now regularly make news and headline events. The S&P U.S. Activist…
- Categories Equities
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- Equities
Fundamental Drivers for Airlines
In the first seven months of 2015, the S&P 1500 Airline index declined 11%, as we think investors focus on capacity additions with a worrying eye. However, S&P Capital IQ thinks that airline execs have learned from past costly mistakes on adding too much capacity and forecasts 2015 as a record profitability year, driven by…
- Categories Equities
- Tags airline index, ETFs, S&P 1500 airline index
- Categories
- Equities
Large Cap Funds: Active Versus Passive
In the first half of 2015, investors pulled $22 billion out of large-cap core U.S. equity mutual funds, but added $19 billion to S&P 500® Index-linked mutual funds. While this confirms that active management is losing share to passive, we think there are still strong active large-cap mutual funds to choose from. According to S&P Dow…
- Categories Equities, S&P 500 & DJIA
- Tags Active vs. Passive, ETFs, SPIVA
- Categories
- Equities, S&P 500 & DJIA
Did Apple Weigh Down Your ETF?
Despite posting second quarter 44% earnings growth, Apple declined 4.3% on Wednesday July 22. According to S&P Capital IQ, 33% sales growth was more modest than expected and the company’s third-quarter revenue guidance was below Capital IQ consensus. Further, iPhone and iPad shipments were weaker than expected. As the largest company in the U.S., with…
Should You Make Chemical Enhancements To Your Portfolio?
Most diversified index-based materials products have significant exposure to the chemicals industry, though the weightings can be different. For example, chemicals comprised approximately 70% of the S&P 500 Materials Index as of late June. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 Equal Weight Materials index had a 54% weighting in chemicals, with more exposure in containers & packaging…
- Categories Equities, S&P 500 & DJIA
- Categories
- Equities, S&P 500 & DJIA