Bond Investment: Mutual Funds, ETFs, CEFs

Bond investment is popular among any investors. Bond is an instrument of indebtedness of the bond issuer to the bond holders. Typically bond issuer will pay certain yield on certain period for the holders. Bond may be issued by government or corporation. Bond issued by U.S. government is also known as U.S. Treasuries.

Bond features include:

• Principal: Nominal or face amount on which bond issuer pay interest.
• Maturity: The date when the issuer needs to repay the nominal amount is known as maturity.
• Coupon: The coupon is the interest rate that the issuer pays to the holder.
• Yield:  The rate of return received from investing in the bond is known as yield.
• Credit Quality: Credit rating agencies may grade the bond quality issued by government or corporation.
• Market Price: The present value of your bond is also known as market price.

How to Invest in Bond

There are many ways for investors to invest in bond. You can invest in individual bond through your brokerage. Other ways to invest is through bond funds including mutual fund, exchange traded fund, and closed end fund. You can also buy bond funds through your brokerages.

Precious Metals Stocks Fight Back in 2015

Will precious metals stocks find their mojo in 2015 again? Top performing sectors in week 12, 2015 are silver, major airlines, gold.

Top Silver & Gold Stocks

This post will look into the top performing stocks, industry, and sector. The S&P 500 index has a weekly return of 2.67%. NASDAQ Composite has a weekly return of 3.17%. Dow Jones Industrials Average has a weekly return of 2.13%. The small cap (Russell 2000) has a return of 2.79%.

Top performing stock industries in week 12, 2015 (March 16, 2015 to March 22, 2015) are:

1. Silver 7.45%
2. Major Airlines 7.18%
3. Industrial Metals & Minerals 7.16%
4. Basic Materials Wholesale 7.08%
5. Biotechnology 6.69%
6. REIT – Office 5.91%
7. Gold 5.91%
8. Water Utilities 5.83%
9. REIT - Industrial 5.71%
10. Resorts & Casinos 5.66%

Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US ETF (VEU)

Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US ETF (VEU) is an international stock exchange traded fund. This index ETF invests in non-US stocks of developed countries.

Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US ETF invests its assets to buy stocks of companies across developed and emerging non-U.S. equity markets around the world. This fund will invest in companies located in Japan, UK, Canada, Germany, and more. This equity fund is tracking the return of the FTSE All-World ex US Index.

VEU Fund Profile

• Fund Inception Date: 03/02/2007
• Ticker Symbol: VEU
• CUSIP: 922042775
• Rank in category (YTD): -
• Category: Foreign Large Blend
• Yield: 2.69%
• Capital Gains: -
• Expense Ratio: 0.11%
• Total Assets: $ 18.29 billion

Best Performing National Intermediate Municipal Bond Mutual Funds 2015

Find best performing national intermediate municipal bond mutual funds 2015. These national intermediate municipal bond mutual funds invest mainly in municipal debts with duration between 5-7 years. The income yield is usually tax free from federal income & possibly state tax or local tax.

The list is compiled based on the fund performance for the past 1 year up to March 8, 2015. You can find other fund information such as review, expense ratio, management, risk, top holdings, fund sector, etc.

Top Muni Bond Funds

Best performing national intermediate municipal bond mutual funds 2015 are:

1. Schroder Broad Tax-Aware Value Bond Fund (STWTX)
2. Eaton Vance Municipal Opportunities A (EMOAX)
3. Transamerica Enhanced Muni A (TAMUX)
4. Performance Trust Municipal Bond Retail (PTRMX)
5. Vanguard High-Yield Tax-Exempt Fund (VWAHX)
6. BNY Mellon Municipal Opportunities Fund (MOTIX)

Top & Worst Performing Stocks in S&P 500 Index

Finding top & worst performing stocks in S&P 500 index is important. While year 2015 just hit month of March, investors can adjust their strategy based on the trend.

S&P Index

The S&P 500 index is common known as the best single gauge of large-cap U.S. equities. There is more than $7 trillion of assets are benchmarked to the index, with index assets comprising approximately USD 1.9 trillion of this total. The index includes 500 leading US companies.

Top performing stocks in S&P 500 index in 2015 based on YTD performance are:

1. Hospira Inc (HSP) 42.96%
2. First Solar, Inc (FSLR) 35.87%
3. Martin Marietta Materials Inc (MLM) 28.91%
4. Vulcan Materials Company (VMC) 28.88%
5. Netflix, Inc (NFLX) 28.33%
6. Urban Outfitters Inc (URBN) 27.61%
7. Boston Scientific Corporation (BSX) 25.36%

Eaton Vance Tax-Managed Dividend Equity Income Fund (ETY)

Eaton Vance Tax-Managed Dividend Equity Income Fund (ETY) is an actively managed closed end fund. The fund’s objective is to provide income exempt from Federal income tax and capital appreciation. This fund invests mainly in dividend paying common stocks and through utilizing an options strategy.

ETY Fund Profile

• Fund Inception Date: 05/30/2003
• Ticker Symbol: ETY
• CUSIP: 27828N102
• Rank in category (2014): 77%
• Category: US Equity - Covered Call
• Yield: 8.80%
• Effective Leverage: -
• Capital Gains: -
• Premium/ Discount: -8.28%
• Base Expense Ratio: 1.08%
• Net Assets: $ 1.87 billion

Will REIT Stocks Soar in 2015?

Will REIT Stocks Soar in 2015? Will REIT stocks be the leader in 2015 again? Top performing sectors in week 11, 2015 are Drug Related Products, Major Airlines, hotel/motel REIT, and retail REIT.

Top Real Estate Stocks

This post will look into the top performing stocks, industry, and sector. The S&P 500 index has a weekly return of -0.80. NASDAQ Composite has a weekly return of -1.13%. Dow Jones Industrials Average has a weekly return of -0.52%. The small cap (Russell 2000) has a return of 1.25%.

Top performing stock industries in week 11, 2015 (March 9, 2015 to March 15, 2015) are:

1. Drug Related Products 5.84%
2. Major Airlines 4.24%
3. REIT - Hotel/Motel 3.13%
4. REIT – Retail 3.02%
5. Publishing – Newspapers 2.91%
6. REIT – Residential 2.90%
7. Home Furnishing Stores 2.78%
8. Surety & Title Insurance 2.64%
9. Investment Brokerage – Regional 2.55%
10. Long Distance Carriers 2.54%