I’ve gotten a few questions from readers and colleagues about what sources I turn to for information about the markets, exchange-traded funds and related topics.

The list is long and varied, and ebbs and flows over time. But here are some of the sources (public, private and otherwise) that I turn to in my day-to-day reading. I’m sure I’m leaving out quite a few sites, but this at least is a partial list.

NATIONAL PUBLICATIONS

IndexUniverse.com and IndexUniverse.eu: It goes without saying that IndexUniverse.com and IndexUniverse.eu are the best sites on the Web for information about ETFs and how they are used in portfolios.

IndexUniverse.com

IndexUniverse.eu

Slate/The Big Money: Those two Web sites aside, I start my day at Slate.com, and its sister finance site The Big Money. I find the daily news summary (and weekly magazine summaries) the best meta-journalism on the Web. They offer quick, succinct and erudite summaries of the major national, international and business news of the day. Five minutes and I’m up to speed.

Today’s Papers

Today’s Business Press

Weekly Magazines

Wall Street Journal: After Slate, I usually turn to WSJ.com. Rupert Murdoch or no, the Wall Street Journal is still the organ of the finance industry, and has some great reporters. I read much of the paper, but make sure never to miss columns or articles by Jason Zweig, Shefali Anand, Eleanor Laise, John Spence or Ian Salisbury, among others.

For what it’s worth, I stopped getting the paper version of the WSJ last year, after subscribing for nearly a decade. I miss it, but it seemed like a waste of trees.

http://www.wsj.com/

Financial Times: As good as the WSJ is, the FT is smarter about the markets, and I read it on a daily basis as well. I scan for ETF stories and read the commodity section in full; I also monitor the Lex columns. I don’t follow their Alphaville section much, but I’m always impressed when I do get there.

http://www.ft.com/

MarketWatch: John Spence, as mentioned above, is one of the best ETF reporters out there (and an IndexUniverse.com alum). I keep an eye on his columns at MarketWatch, and also read Chuck Jaffe regularly.

http://www.marketwatch.com/

Barron’s: I wish I read Barron’s more than I do, but I check in periodically. When I do, I find that I like Tom Sullivan’s column quite a bit. I’ve also started to regularly read Mike Santoli, who is smart, funny and to the point.

http://www.barrons.com/

OTHER SOURCES

Yahoo Finance: Yahoo Finance Is the go-to site for news aggregation and (most importantly) total-return data on ETFs and indexes. I love the charting features, and the fact that you can download historical total returns for any stock, index or ETF is simply invaluable.

Finance.yahoo.com

Pimco: If you’re not visiting Pimco’s Web site once a month, you’re doing yourself a disservice. Bill Gross and Paul McCulley’s commentaries are invaluable, and often fun to read. I read Mohamed El-Erian’s commentary too, but less religiously.

http://www.pimco.com/

SEC.Gov: One of the least user-friendly Web sites in the world, but once you’ve cracked the code of the SEC search engine, you can find filings for any ETF that exists or is in registration. I’m on there five times a week reviewing prospectuses.

http://www.sec.gov/

Cumber.com: I keep pace with the commentary of the Cumberland Advisors crew, including David Kotok and Bob Eisenbeis. They’re both smart and frank about how they’re approaching the market, and use ETFs exclusively for the equity side of their business.

http://www.cumber.com/

Random Roger: Ditto Roger Nusbaum, who takes a nice real-world view of the markets, with just the right touch of detached irony.

randomroger.blogspot.com

Ed Yardeni: As a member of the press, I get Ed Yardeni’s summary reports, which are extraordinarily useful. If you’re not a member of the press, it costs big $$$.

http://www.yardeni.com/

Barclays Capital Research: Ditto the research reports from Barclays Capital. I read their weekly reports regularly, and devour their annual Equity Gilt study from cover to cover. Whenever I get my hands on one, I feel like I have received the blueprint to how the universe really works.

http://www.barcap.com/Client+offering/Research/Global+Asset+Allocation/Equity+Gilt+Study

Provider Web sites: Provider Web sites are often the best source of information on ETFs. iShares is probably the best, but nearly all of the providers do a good job and offer a lot of information.

ETF News Aggregators: To gather some of the other stories that I would otherwise miss, I subscribe to a host of ETF news aggregators, including the LinkedIn ETF Group and ETF Express.

Last 5 posts by Matt Hougan

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