iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF (IWD)

iShares Russell 1000 Value ETF (IWD) is an index stock ETF (Exchange Traded Fund). This equity fund is investing in large U.S. companies that are thought to be undervalued by the market relative to comparable companies.

Its objective is to track the investment results of an index composed of large- and mid-capitalization U.S. equities that exhibit value characteristics. This stock fund provides low cost access to this index in a single fund for U.S. stocks.

IWF Fund Details

• Fund Inception Date: 05/22/2000
• Ticker Symbol: IWD
• CUSIP: 464287598
• Rank in category (YTD): 38%
• Category: Large Value
• Yield: 2.17%
• Capital Gains: -
• Expense Ratio: 0.20%
• Total Assets: $ 36.85 billion

Top Performing China Region ETFs 2015

China region ETFs have a great year for the past 1 year. These exchange traded funds are investing mainly in stocks of companies located in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Some fund may invest in certain sectors such as financial, industrial, commodity, etc.

Best Equity Funds

These top performing China region funds are selected based on its 1 year total return in 2014. Unlike mutual fund, these exchange traded funds don’t have a sales load or a transaction fee. You can find the fund review and other fund information below such as the yield, expense ratio, top holdings, top sectors, etc.

Top performing China region ETFs 2015 are:

1. PowerShares China A-Share ETF (CHNA)
2. Market Vectors ChinaAMC A-Share ETF (PEK)
3. Deutsche X-trackers Harvest CSI300 CHN A (ASHR)
4. Global X China Financials ETF (CHIX)
5. iShares China Large-Cap ETF (FXI)

Stock Indices Close at a New High

Stocks indices close at a new high in week 7, 2015. Top performing industries are gaming activities, semiconductor, lodging, etc.

This post will look into the top performing stocks, industry, and sector. The S&P 500 index has a weekly return of 2.10%. NASDAQ Composite has a weekly return of 3.15%. Dow Jones Industrials Average has a weekly return of 1.26%. The small cap (Russell 2000) has a return of 1.50%.

Best weekly performance of industry stocks of week 6, 2015 (February 9, 2015 – February 15, 2015) are:

1. Gaming Activities 12.78%
2. Semiconductor- Memory Chips 9.30%
3. Networking & Communication Devices 7.26%
4. Lodging 7.04%
5. Electronic Equipment 6.48%
6. Computer Peripherals 6.28%
7. Industrial Metals & Minerals 6.17%
8. Copper 6.04%
9. Movie Production, Theaters 5.73%
10. Semiconductor - Integrated Circuits 5.70%

Sprott Physical Gold Trust (PHYS)

Sprott Physical Gold Trust (PHYS) is a popular gold closed end fund with $1.6 billion of assets. It invests in physical gold bullion. The fund objective is to provide an exchange traded alternative for investors interested in gold commodities.

PHYS Fund Profile

• Fund Inception Date: 02/26/2010
• Ticker Symbol: PHYS
• CUSIP: 85207H104 
• Rank in category (YTD): 50%
• Category: US Equity-Commodities
• Distribution Rate: 0%
• Effective Leverage: -
• Capital Gains: -
• Base Expense Ratio: 0.35%
• Net Assets: $ 1.62 billion

Best Performing High Yield Bond Closed End Funds 2015

Find best performing high yield bond closed end funds 2015. Top funds are Babson Capital Corporate Investors Fund, Deutsche High Income Trust Fund, etc.

High Yield Debt Funds

These top performing closed end funds are selected based on its 1 year total return up to February 8, 2015. Most of these high yield bond funds may also be rated among the best in their category. I have also provided some details about its management, performance, expense ratio, initial investment requirement, risk, top holdings, etc.

Best performing high yield bond closed end funds 2015 are:

1. Babson Capital Corporate Investors Fund (MCI)
2. Deutsche High Income Opportunities Fund (DHG)
3. Deutsche High Income Trust Fund (KHI)
4. Putnam High Income Securities Fund (PCF)
5. Wells Fargo Advantage Income Opportunities Fund (EAD)
6. New America High Income Fund (HYB)

Top Guggenheim ETFs for 2015

Finding best ETFs for 2015 is important for investors. The following will look into top Guggenheim exchange traded funds. There are several branches of ETFs including U.S. stock ETF, index ETF, bond fund, international stock fund, etc.

Guggenheim ETFs are offered by Guggenheim Investments. They also provide products such as mutual funds, closed end funds, currencyshares, variable insurance funds, and unit investment trusts. Guggenheim ETFs are popular due to its offerings are different from regular index funds. These ETFs are distributed by Guggenheim Funds Distributors, LLC.

Popular Guggenheim Funds

We review rankings from Morningstar, Lipper, Zacks, TheStreet.com, U.S. News, and Standard & Poor’s. You can learn from our methodology from variety of our previous articles. You can also find the 1 year average returns of these best exchange traded funds from this list.

Top Guggenheim ETFs for 2015 are:

• Guggenheim China Technology ETF (CQQQ)
• Guggenheim Defensive Equity ETF (DEF)
• Guggenheim Mid-Cap Core ETF (CZA)
• Guggenheim Raymond James SB-1 Equity ETF (RYJ)
• Guggenheim Russell 1000 Equal Weight ETF (EWRI)
• Guggenheim Russell MidCap Equal Weight ETF (EWRM)
• Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight Financial ETF (RYF)
• Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight Consumer Staples ETF (RHS)
• Guggenheim S&P 500 Equal Weight Materials ETF (RTM)

Oil & Bank Stocks Are Roaring Back

Oil & bank stocks are roaring back in week 6, 2015. Top performing industries are banks, oil & gas exploration, cement, copper, etc. All indices are having big returns.

This post will look into the top performing stocks, industry, and sector. The S&P 500 index has a weekly return of 3.12%. NASDAQ Composite has a weekly return of 2.36%. Dow Jones Industrials Average has a weekly return of 3.93%. The small cap (Russell 2000) has a return of 3.46%.

Best weekly performance of industry stocks of week 6, 2015 (February 2, 2015 – February 8, 2015) are:

1. Tobacco Products, Other 15.90%
2. Regional - Southwest Banks 10.57%
3. Oil & Gas Drilling & Exploration 9.41%
4. Cement 9.23%
5. Copper 9.06%
6. Regional - Southeast Banks 8.44%
7. Mortgage Investment 8.39%
8. General Contractors 7.52%
9. Investment Brokerage – National 7.52%
10. Regional - Pacific Banks 7.22%