May 6, 2015

Vanguard CA Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Fund (VCAIX)

Vanguard CA Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt fund (VCAIX) is an actively managed mutual fund. This popular fixed income fund invests mainly in high-quality municipal bonds issued by California state and local governments, as well as by regional governmental and public financing authorities. Most of assets (80%) will be invested in securities whose income is exempt from federal and California state taxes.

VCAIX Fund Profile

    Vanguard CA Intermediate-Term Tax-Exempt Fund (VCAIX)
  • Fund Inception Date: 03/04/1994
  • Ticker Symbol: VCAIX
  • CUSIP: 922021308
  • Beta (3yr): 0.93
  • Rank in category (YTD): 39%
  • Category: Muni California Intermediate
  • Distribution Yield: 2.94%
  • Capital Gains: -
  • Expense Ratio: 0.20%
  • Net Assets: $ 9.29 billion
  • Number of Years Up: 17 years
  • Number of Years Down: 3 years

May 5, 2015

Aerospace Defense Products & Services Stocks

Aerospace defense products & services stocks are part of industrial goods stock industry. These companies mainly engage in the production of defensive systems. They may also relate to the aerospace field. A number of these firms depend heavily on government contracts for their revenues.

Most of the stocks in this category pay dividends below the wider market average. The companies may produce rocket ships to airplanes to nuclear submarines and main battle tanks. Aerospace and defense are two industries that stock market analysts traditionally group into one.

Aerospace Defense Products & Services Companies List

Globally, the market for defense products and services is estimated to be worth about $1.7 trillion annually. The nonprofit Space Foundation recently clocked the global space economy at $300 billion in annual sales.

Aerospace defense products & services companies are:
    Aerospace Defense Stocks
  • The Boeing Company (BA)
  • United Technologies Corporation (UTX)
  • Lockheed Martin Corporation (LMT)
  • General Dynamics Corporation (GD)
  • Raytheon Company (RTN)
  • Rockwell Collins Inc. (COL)
  • TransDigm Group Incorporated (TDG)
  • L-3 Communications Holdings Inc. (LLL)
  • Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc. (SPR)
  • Huntington Ingalls Industries, Inc. (HII)
  • B/E Aerospace Inc. (BEAV)
  • Embraer SA (ERJ)
  • Hexcel Corp. (HXL)

May 4, 2015

Best Emerging Markets Stock Mutual Funds 2015

See best emerging markets stock mutual funds 2015. Top funds are William Blair Emerging Markets Small Cap Growth Fund, HSBC Frontier Markets Fund, etc.

Top Performing Equity Funds

Diversified emerging markets stock mutual funds are part of international stock funds. These funds use their assets to purchase stocks of developing countries. These countries are located in Eastern Europe, Africa, Middle East, Latin America, Far East, and Asia. Some of popular emerging market countries are China, Brazil, India, Russia, South Africa, Indonesia, etc.

From this best performing funds list, you may find each individual fund review. You can find the fund performance, expense ratio, and yield or dividend. The list is sorted based on its 3 years return up to May 1, 2015.
Best Emerging Markets Stock Mutual Funds
Best emerging markets stock mutual funds 2015 are:
  1. William Blair Emerging Markets Small Cap Growth Fund (WESNX)
  2. City National Rochdale Emerging Markets Fund (RIMIX)
  3. HSBC Frontier Markets Fund (HSFAX)
  4. Driehaus Emerging Markets Small Cap Growth Fund (DRESX)
  5. Wasatch Frontier Emerging Small Countries Fund (WAFMX)
  6. Seafarer Overseas Growth and Income Fund (SFGIX)
  7. Baron Emerging Markets Fund (BEXFX)
  8. Harding Loevner Frontier Emerging Markets Fund (HLFMX)

May 3, 2015

Big Gains for Copper Stocks

Find why copper stocks have big gains in week 18, 2015? Are investors rotating back to Copper equities for economy comeback? Top stock market industries are copper, gold, silver, etc.

Top Metal Stocks

This post will look into the top performing stocks, industry, and sector. The S&P 500 index has a weekly return of -0.42%. NASDAQ Composite has a weekly return of -1.70%. Dow Jones Industrials Average has a weekly return of -0.31%. The small cap (Russell 2000) has a return of -3.09%.

Top performing stock industries in week 18, 2015 (April 27, 2015 to May 03, 2015) are:
    Copper Stocks
  1. Photographic Equipment & Supplies 11.58%
  2. Copper 10.06%
  3. Mortgage Investment 5.36%
  4. Drug Delivery 4.53%
  5. Silver 4.43%
  6. Gold 3.94%
  7. Confectioners 3.26%
  8. Meat Products 3.13%
  9. Farm & Construction Machinery 3.02%
  10. Agricultural Chemicals 2.84%
  11. Oil & Gas Equipment & Services 2.62%
  12. Semiconductor - Broad Line 2.61%
  13. Aluminum 2.11%
  14. Industrial Metals & Minerals 2.08%
  15. Metal Fabrication 1.96%

May 2, 2015

Aberdeen Asia-Pacific Income Fund (FAX)

Aberdeen Asia-Pacific Income Fund (FAX) is a popular bond closed end fund. The fund objective is to seek income with incidental capital appreciation. This debt fund utilizes its assets to purchase Australian and Asian debt securities.

FAX Fund Profile

    Aberdeen Asia-Pacific Income Fund | FAX
  • Fund Inception Date: 04/24/1986
  • Ticker Symbol: FAX
  • CUSIP: 003009107
  • Rank in category (YTD): 56%
  • Category: Emerging Markets Bonds
  • Distribution Rate: 7.65%
  • Effective Leverage: 25.87%
  • Capital Gains: -
  • Base Expense Ratio: 1.13%
  • Net Assets: $ 2.20 billion

Copper Stocks

Copper stocks are part of basic materials in stock market industry. Copper companies involve in the mining and production of the raw material. These companies also engage in the manufacture of copper-based goods such as electrical wire used in homes, businesses, and industrial buildings.

Copper StocksAs is the case with other commodity stocks, the dividend yields offered by these companies can vary. Typically, the companies are offering similar level of dividend as the wider market average.

Copper Companies List

While gold is seen as a valuable metal that can prop up a portfolio, it's not the most cherished of metals. Copper is a metal often in demand. It can be used in construction, for example, for piping. The recovering real-estate market bodes well for the future of copper stocks.

Copper companies are:
  • Southern Copper Corp. (SCCO)
  • Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (FCX)

May 1, 2015

Major Diversified Aerospace Defense Stocks

Major diversified aerospace defense stocks are part of industrial goods stock sector. These aerospace defense companies produce and distribute everything from NASA rocketships and commercial jetliners. It may provide products to government such as Air Force fighter jets, Navy nuclear submarines, and Army main battle tanks.

These companies may provide dividend for investors. Some of the yield is larger than typical S&P 500 index companies.

Major Diversified Aerospace Defense Companies List

Aerospace Defense StocksThe 3 largest major diversified aerospace defense companies are Northrop Grumman Corporation, Textron Inc, and GenCorp Inc. Globally, the market for defense products and services is projected to be worth about $1.72 trillion annually.

Major diversified aerospace defense companies are:
  • Northrop Grumman Corporation (NOC)
  • Textron Inc. (TXT)
  • GenCorp Inc. (GY)
  • Erickson Incorporated (EAC)
  • Tel-Instrument Electronics Corp. (TIK)

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