First Trust

Back in September, we graded the oil services ETFs. So popular was that piece that we received scores of emails asking for rankings of various ETF groups. We're happy to oblige and do so with a look at an area of the market that nearly every investor is talking about these days: Dividends. And not...

There's no shortage of ETFs out there tracking large-cap U.S. stocks. One might even say there's an over abundance of them, perhaps even of plethora of ETFs that investors can use to tap myriad blue chip names. In other words, it can be tough for a new ETF to distinguish itself in this particular...

For so long, many ETF pundits lamented that there were no ETFs devoted to the auto industry available to U.S. investors. That changed earlier this with the debut of the First Trust Nasdaq Global Auto Index Fund (Nasdaq: CARZ). Global X quickly followed suit with the Global X Auto ETF (NYSE: VROM...

First Trust, the eleventh-largest U.S. ETF issuer, has filed plans with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to possibly list an actively managed preferred stock ETF. No ticker or expense ratio was disclosed in the filing. Under normal market conditions, the new First Trust ETF would...

First Trust, the eleventh-largest U.S. ETF issuer, has filed plans with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to possibly list an actively managed preferred stock ETF. No ticker or expense ratio was disclosed in the filing. Under normal market conditions, the new First Trust ETF would...

The First Trust ISE Cloud Computing Index Fund (Nasdaq: SKYY) deserves some praise. Raking in $49.4 million in assets in less than three full trading weeks is nothing short of impressive. That's an AUM total some ETFs that are three years old would die for. That speaks to the fact that the folks...

Global X, the New York-based ETF issuer now known almost as much for the its rapid pace of new product introductions as it is for its unique commodities and emerging markets offerings, is looking to tap into the social media/networking craze after filing plans for the Global X Social Media ETF....

There is more to the world of industrials stocks than just Dow components Caterpillar (NYSE: CAT) and General Electric (NYSE: GE), though those are fine stocks in their own right. And there is more to world of industrials ETFs than just a Dow tracking ETF or the Industrial Select Sector SPDR (NYSE...

PowerShares S&P SmallCap Health Care (NYSE: PSCH) is up nearly 22% year to date. The investment seeks to replicate the S&P SmallCap 600 Capped Health Care index, which is comprised of common stocks of U.S. health care companies. Top holdings include Regeneron Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: REGN...

First Trust Consumer Staples AlphaDEX (NYSE: FXG) is up more than 20% year to date. The investment seeks results that correspond generally to the price and yield of an equity index called the StrataQuant Consumer Staples Index. Top holdings include Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (NASDAQ: GMCR),...

Throughout the years of rapid sector-specific expansion in the exchange traded products universe, one industry was always conspicuous by its absence: The automotive industry. Considering this is a key industry in the U.S. and in major developed economies such as Germany and Japan, the lack of an...

As has been said so many times in the past, the exchange traded products universe has grown so rapidly that there are bound to be a few ETFs and ETNs that fly under the radar. That's the lay of the land and that's the point of “Under The Hood”: To unearth some hidden ETF gems that aren't getting a...

First Trust, the Illinois-based ETF issuer with 59 funds on the market and over $8.2 billion assets under management, filed plans with the Securities and Exchange Commission to introduce the First Trust ISE Cloud Computing Index Fund. The ETF will track the ISE Cloud Computing Index and trade on...

First Trust, the fastest growing of the 10 largest U.S. ETF issuers, has filed plans with the SEC to introduce the First Trust ISE Global Oil Refiners Index Fund, which will track the ISE Global Oil Refiners Index. The filing did not disclose a ticker or an expense ratio for the new ETF. While the...

In April and May alone, a combined 82 new exchange traded products came to market, again indicating issuers are nowhere close to running short of ideas for new ETFs and ETNs. That's good news for investors, but not everything that is new, ETFs included, is worth embracing. New ETFs are a lot like...