Over the past month, a plethora of widely followed and heavily
traded ETFs have notched sub-par performances. For example, the
SPDR S&P 500 (NYSE:
SPY
), the world's largest ETF by assets, has slipped by 0.4 percent.
The U.S. Oil Fund (NYSE:
USO
) has plunged 13.6 percent.
As fears have grown about the depth of Europe's sovereign debt
crisis and the intensity of the global economic slowdown, some
investors have been quick to reduce risk, punishing higher beta
country and sector ETFs in the process.
With that scenario playing out on a daily basis, it is easier
to find negative recent performances for an array of ETFs than it
is to locate bullish moves. Still, there are a few ETFs that have
surprised to the upside in recent weeks--and are getting little
credit for having done so.
Market Vectors Poland ETF (NYSE:
PLND
)
It is easy to blame Europe for the woes experienced by long
emerging markets ETFs over the past several months, but countries
such as Brazil, India and plenty of others have their own
specific issues that compound negative sentiment. So it might
surprise some investors that over the past month, the Vanguard
MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (NYSE:
VWO
) has notched a positive performance.
What is really surprising is the show put on by the Market
Vectors Poland ETF. There are
several compelling reasons to be long-term
bullish on Poland
, but as an emerging market with close proximity to the Eurozone,
Polish equities have been beaten up.
Yet, the recovery in Polish names has already started. Since
May 29, with little fanfare along the way, PLND has jumped 11.6
percent. The rival iShares MSCI Poland Investable Market Index
Fund (NYSE:
EPOL
) has risen 12.4 percent over the same time.
iShares MSCI Turkey Investable Market Index Fund (NYSE:
TUR
)
Turkey has a few things in common with Poland. Both are emerging
markets and investors have more reasons to be bullish than
bearish on both. But when it comes to ETFs, EPOL, PLND and TUR
have all been hurt by the aforementioned Eurozone proximity.
After flirting with the $44-$45 area earlier this month, TUR
rapidly bounced higher and is now found just below $50. That run
higher may be a clue that some investors are willing to overlook
Turkey's spot on the map to focus
on the country's economic fundamentals
instead
.
Guggenheim Solar ETF (NYSE:
TAN
)
The fact that a solar ETF makes a list of ETFs with surprisingly
bullish performances over any time period might cause some folks
to think the sun is in their eyes. That is understandable given
the savage repudiation endured by solar stocks and ETFs for much
of 2012. Three data providers were checked and all came back with
the same message: TAN has delivered positive returns over the
past month.
There are still
myriad issues for the solar sector to contend
with
so the best way to treat TAN is as a trade, not as an
investment.
PowerShares Emerging Markets Sovereign Debt ETF (NYSE:
PCY
)
Maybe it is because PCY is an emerging market ETF. Or maybe it is
because this ETF is often overshadowed by the rival iShares
JPMorgan USD Emerging Markets Bond ETF (NYSE:
EMB
). Whatever the reason, PCY is not getting the credit it deserves
for being up almost 3.2 percent in the past month. That is 30
basis points better than EMB. PCY has a 30-day SEC yield of
almost 5.3 percent and pays a monthly dividend.
Market Vectors Emerging Markets High Yield Bond ETF
(NYSE:
HYEM
)
As a group,
junk bond ETFs have been getting plenty of
attention
, but the bulk of the attention is paid to the iShares iBoxx $
High Yield Corporate Bond Fund (NYSE:
HYG
) and the SPDR Barclays Capital High Yield Bond ETF (NYSE:
JNK
).
The Market Vectors Emerging Markets High Yield Bond ETF is not
even two months old yet--that might explain why the fund is not
commanding a lot of headlines. Lack of attention does not mean
lack of performance. In the past month, HYEM has handily
outperformed HYG and JNK. The new Market Vectors fund has a
30-day SEC yield of 8.73 percent.
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.
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