ETF Trends CEO Tom Lydon discussed the Xtrackers USD High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (HYLB) on this week’s “ETF of the Week” podcast with Chuck Jaffe on the MoneyLife Show.

HYLB offers broad exposure to “junk” bonds — debt issued by borrowers with a higher risk of default. For taking on the added risk, investors are rewarded with higher yields than those offered on ultra-safe U.S. Treasuries or investment-grade debt issued by the most creditworthy companies. ETFs offer quite a few high-yield options, including active management, so-called “smart” indexing, and even an ETF that screens junk debt based on environmental, social and government criteria.

ETF Trends CEO Tom Lydon discussed the Xtrackers CSI 300 China A-Shares ETF (ASHR) on this week’s “ETF of the Week” podcast with Chuck Jaffe on the MoneyLife Show.

ASHR was the first U.S.-listed ETF to offer direct exposure stocks listed in mainland Chinese markets in Shenzhen and Shanghai.

ASHR tracks an index of 300 biggest and most liquid stocks. Unlike some other ETFs that use derivatives to mimic A-shares, ASHR buys the stocks directly. ASHR has weathered significant disruptions in the A-shares market, but investors should be aware that tracking can diverge from the index. Investors should be aware that ASHR does not invest in Chinese companies listed outside mainland markets, so popular stocks listed solely in Hong Kong won’t be in its portfolio.

ETF Trends CEO Tom Lydon discussed the Amplify Online Retail ETF (IBUY) on this week’s “ETF of the Week” podcast with Chuck Jaffe on the MoneyLife Show.

IBUY seeks to provide investment results that, before fees and expenses, correspond generally to the price performance of the EQM Online Retail Index. The Index is a globally-diverse basket of publicly-traded companies that obtain 70% or more of revenue from online or virtual sales.

ETF Trends CEO Tom Lydon discussed the Invesco NASDAQ Next Gen 100 ETF(QQQJ) on this week’s “ETF of the Week” podcast with Chuck Jaffe on the MoneyLife Show.

QQQJ tracks a modified market-cap-weighted, narrow index of 100 non-financial stocks that are next-eligible for inclusion in the NASDAQ-100 Index.

ETF Trends CEO Tom Lydon discussed the Invesco Solar Ticker (TAN) on this week’s “ETF of the Week” podcast with Chuck Jaffe on the MoneyLife Show.

The Invesco Solar ETF (the "Fund") is based on the MAC Global Solar Energy Index (the "Index"). The Fund will invest at least 90% of its total assets in the securities, American depositary receipts (ADRs) and global depositary receipts (GDRs) that comprise the Index. The Index is comprised of companies in the solar energy industry. The index is computed using the net return, which withholds applicable taxes for non-resident investors. The Fund and the Index are rebalanced quarterly.

ETF Trends CEO Tom Lydon discussed the iShares U.S. Home Construction ETF (ITB) on this week’s “ETF of the Week” podcast with Chuck Jaffe on the MoneyLife Show.

This ETF offers exposure to the U.S. homebuilding industry, and as such offers exposure to a corner of the domestic economy that tends to be cyclical in nature. In addition to pure play homebuilders, this fund includes companies related generally to the homebuilding industry, such as Home Depot. For homebuilder exposure, ITB is competitive in terms of expense ratio, but may be significantly more concentrated than other options such as PKB or XHB.

ETF Trends CEO Tom Lydon discussed the Pacer US Cash Cows 100 ETF (COWZ) on this week’s “ETF of the Week” podcast with Chuck Jaffe on the MoneyLife Show.

A strategy driven exchange traded fund that aims to provide capital appreciation over time by screening the Russell 1000 for the top 100 companies based on free cash flow yield.

ETF Trends CEO Tom Lydon discussed the Renaissance IPO ETF (IPO) on this week’s “ETF of the Week” podcast with Chuck Jaffe on the MoneyLife Show.

The Renaissance IPO ETF adds positions of the most significant U.S. listed companies after they go public. They are added on a fast entry basis on the stock's fifth day of trading or upon quarterly review. Positions are then removed after two years of trading.

ETF Trends CEO Tom Lydon discussed the VictoryShares Nasdaq Next 50 ETF (QQQN) on this week’s “ETF of the Week” podcast with Chuck Jaffe on the MoneyLife Show.

The investment seeks to provide investment results that track the performance of the Nasdaq Q-50 Index before fees and expenses. The fund seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing at least 80% of its assets in securities in the index. The index is composed of the 50 largest non-financial domestic and international companies listed on The Nasdaq Stock Market based on market capitalization after excluding the companies included in the Nasdaq-100 Index.

ETF Trends CEO Tom Lydon discussed the VanEck Vectors Brazil Small-Cap ETF (BRF) on this week’s “ETF of the Week” podcast with Chuck Jaffe on the MoneyLife Show.

BRF offers targeted exposure to Brazil's small cap segment, making it a powerful tool that can be used to fine-tune equity portfolios. Given the granularity of this fund, BRF likely has some appeal to long-term investors with a buy-and-hold philosophy but it is more likely to appeal to those looking to implement a tactical shift or capitalize on perceived mispricings over a relatively short time horizon. However, some might view the product as a more accurate representation of the Brazilian economy instead of the top-heavy-- as well as energy and financial heavy-- EWZ. Small and mid caps are thought by many to offer more of a pure-play on national economies but small caps are likely to offer less stability than their mid cap brethren but could offer higher returns over the long run. However, this targeted exposure comes at a price as the fund has only about 40 holdings in total and it has high levels of concentration in some of its top holdings. But for efficient, targeted exposure to Brazil's small caps, BRF can certainly deliver. The expense ratio on this fund is comparable to other products in the category, and given its focus on small caps, this suggests that the fund is a pretty good value for investors and traders alike.