Here is what others outside of IU.com are writing about ETFs, index funds and indexes on Monday. 

Editor’s Note: The following is a roundup of outside articles that might be of interest to IndexUniverse readers. It will be updated throughout the day. If you find a story relating to ETFs, index funds or indexes, please feel free to share by emailing a link and/or your comments to: mcoleman@indexuniverse.com or mhougan@indexuniverse.com. 

WSJ Reduces ETF Listings

The grande dame of business newspapers, The Wall Street Journal, has cut the number of exchange-traded funds listed in the paper. Starting on Monday, only the biggest 100 ETFs appear, which might not please a lot of investors but should save some additional trees.

In a small article, the paper pointed out that a fuller list of ETFs will be carried at WSJ.com. Even with the reduction, the WSJ notes that besides more listings online, the company’s Web site includes “at least 14 criteria, including dividend yield and expense ratio,” to filter data.

Not to toot our own horn, but IU.com’s data section has 49 different data points to select from and 34 different ways to screen among 46 different types of asset categories. And it’s all free! (Okay, sorry … couldn’t resist. The WSJ remains a wonderful paper, even if they’re following the rest of the newspaper world by reducing listings.)

Sector ETFs Skew Picture

ETFs continue to gain market share against traditional funds, but those gains are not being shared equally, the Associated Press reports, citing a Morgan Stanley study.

The average market capitalization of the 114 ETFs launched this year is $25 million. That compares to the SPDR S&P 500 Trust (NYSE: SPY), which has approximately $79 billion in assets. Of the 716 ETFs that Morgan Stanley now counts in the U.S. marketplace, just over one-fifth mirror specific sectors or industries.

For the complete wire service story, check here.

More Bad News For Mutual Funds

A new study  finds that ETF assets from investors with more than $100,000 increased from 7% to 9% in the past two years, according to InvestmentNews. In reporter Sue Asci’s scoop (the research report isn’t due to be published for another month or so), she details how investors in mutual funds have an average 40% of their assets in those funds, down from 53% in 2006.

Even among the big fund brands, the numbers are not encouraging. The study found that 9% of investors surveyed in October used funds from Franklin Templeton Investments, down from 12% in 2006.

But there are a lot more juicy tidbits in the story. You can find it here.

Selling At The Bottom

Los Angeles Times personal finance columnist Kathy Kristof explains in her latest column, now available free online, how she’s not crazy for selling her index mutual funds when prices are low, low, low.

Actually, Kristof is simply tax-loss harvesting. She’s booking losses in her funds for year-end tax purposes with plans to climb back aboard once the 30-day wash rule is met. A prime example she gives is selling the Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund (VTSMX) for the Vanguard Large-Cap ETF (NYSE: VV).

Expect more of these tax-loss harvesting articles in coming months. But Kristof uses the personal approach a column affords to take what could be rather dry subject matter and make it quite interesting as well as informative. You can check it out here. 

China’s Stimulus Plan & ETFs

Oxford Publishing takes a look at what’s spurring China’s $586 billion economic stimulus for its domestic economy. But the article also digs into what exactly that might mean for investors interested in the various ETFs that track that particular emerging market.

A key focus of the authors is on the iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index (NYSE: FXI), an ETF that tracks 25 of China’s largest companies.

“One point to keep in mind with FXI is the notion that a number of its holdings are government-owned entities. While some of these companies have prospered in the past, investors might be better served by investing in Chinese companies that are driven solely by sound business practices and are less prone to having national interests guide or influence the direction of the business,” the story relates.

It notes differences in approaches, comparing FXI to the Claymore/AlphaShares China Small Cap ETF (NYSE: HAO) and the Claymore/AlphaShares China Real Estate ETF (NYSE: TAO). It also brings up the UltraShort FTSE/Xinhua China 25 ProShares Fund (NYSE: FXP). The article, written by Billy Fisher, can be found here.

GLD Turns Age 4

On Seeking Alpha, Adam Hamilton notes that the SPDR Gold Shares (NYSE: GLD) this week becomes four years old.

The story, complete with charts and graphs, chronicles the often-rough going for all that glitters. Even though becoming a darling of Wall Street in rather short order, GLD, as every such fund, has plenty of ups and downs embedded in its short history.

To read the full story, check here.

Rise Of Target-Date ETFs

Ace MarketWatch reporter John Spence notes that Barclays Global Investors entering the target-date retirement market might spell big changes for ETFs, which have struggled to find mass appeal in 401(k) plans.

He notes industry data that showed through 2007, $3 trillion of total assets was held in 401(k) plans, $1.7 trillion of which was in mutual funds. Spence lists administrative and other back-office issues as part of the reason why ETFs haven’t been able to garner a bigger following in retirement plans.

He talked to Noel Archard, head of BGI’s U.S. iShares product research and development, who indicated that newly launched ETFs such as the iShares S&P Target Date 2020 Index Fund (NYSE: TZG) could be a big development. Archard said the firm’s new target-date retirement fund series were particularly well suited to IRA rollovers or small-sized 401(k) plans.

The article also takes a look at other target-date retirement ETFs on the market and goes into more details about the various new BGI offerings. See the story here.

Carrel Tours Buffalo

Larry Carrel, the veteran ETF journalist and frequent IU.com contributor, has been on the road lately promoting his new book, “ETFs for the Long Run.” His visit to a bookstore in Clarence, N.Y., sparked a local article in The Buffalo News about the virtues of ETFs.

Carrel doesn’t disappoint in this fairly basic yet interesting look at how the mainstream media is starting to treat funds with the most transparency, flexibility and cost benefits for a generalized audience. Way to go, Larry! See story here.

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