ETF Prime Podcast

Listen to The ETF Store Show every Saturday at 4pm on KCMO Talk Radio 710AM as we cover everything you need to know about Exchange Traded Funds and the world of investing.

On our most recent radio show, we delved into a number of ETFs including MUB, SPLV, SLV, and PCY.  We also discussed what’s driving the various financial markets right now including the recent mixed US economic data and the latest on the European Debt Crisis.

And, as we approach the end of the year, we explained why you may want to consider getting rid of your mutual funds and switching to ETFs to avoid taxable capital gain distributions.  ishares, the largest ETF provider, recently announced that 231 of its 233 ETFs (99%) are not expected to pay capital gain distributions this year.

Listen to the full show here.

Listen to The ETF Store Show every Saturday at 4pm on KCMO Talk Radio 710AM as we cover everything you need to know about Exchange Traded Funds and the world of investing.

Does your financial advisor only have you invested in stocks and bonds or maybe some equity and fixed income mutual funds?  On our most recent radio show, we explained why you might be missing an important piece of a well-diversified portfolio – alternative assets.  Many people hear “alternative assets” and immediately think of some far-fetched or strange investments.  That shouldn’t be the case.  Investments like gold, real estate, and agricultural commodities can help lower the overall risk of your portfolio without sacrificing the returns.  Many alternative asset classes have a lower correlation with traditional investments like stocks and bonds.  So when stocks zig, maybe gold zags.  This has the effect of lowering the volatility of your portfolio and potentially, enhancing the returns.

It’s critical to have uncorrelated assets in your portfolio so when the markets take a nosedive (think 2008 for example), you have investments that can counteract some of the decline.  Even as recently as ten years ago, it could be extremely difficult for the average investor to access alternative asset classes.  Many alternative assets were unavailable to all but the wealthiest and most sophisticated investors.  That all changed in 2004 with the introduction of the first commodity-based ETF, the SPDR Gold Trust, ticker GLD, which invests directly in gold bullion.  Since the introduction of GLD, a number of ETFs have been launched that invest in a whole range of other commodities – things like silver, platinum, palladium, oil, natural gas and agricultural crops.  ETFs have become the everyday investor’s gateway to alternative investments.

So next time your advisor says, “alright, we’re placing you in a portfolio of 60% stocks and 40% bonds – now your diversified”, you may want to ask them where your alternative assets are.

Listen to the full show here.

Listen to The ETF Store Show every Saturday at 4pm on KCMO Talk Radio 710AM as we cover everything you need to know about Exchange Traded Funds and the world of investing.

On our most recent radio show, we explained why the European Debt Crisis matters to your investments and suggested some ways that you can navigate through these volatile markets.  We also discussed the following topics:

How to generate income in your portfolio using ETFs

Investing in an individual stock versus an ETF that holds that particular stock

Listen to the full show here.

Listen to The ETF Store Show every Saturday at 4pm on KCMO Talk Radio 710AM as we cover everything you need to know about Exchange Traded Funds and the world of investing.

On our most recent radio show, we discussed the recent surge in both the equity markets and the price of gold and suggested some gold ETFs you might want to consider.  We also spent some time answering a number of questions we commonly receive regarding ETFs.  Among the questions we covered were:

What do ETFs actually own?

Do ETFs pay dividends and interest?

Are ETFs any riskier than mutual funds?

Get the answers to these and other ETF related questions by listening to the full show here.

Listen to The ETF Store Show every Saturday at 4pm on KCMO Talk Radio 710AM as we cover everything you need to know about Exchange Traded Funds and the world of investing.

On our most recent radio show, we concluded our series of case studies on how we believe individuals at different stages of their lives should be approaching investing and planning for retirement.  For our last case study, we focused specifically on those individuals just getting started out in their careers who need to begin the process of building wealth and investing for their future.  ETFs can be the perfect investment for these individuals because of the ease in which you can build a well-rounded portfolio with only a handful of ETFs.

For many individuals just starting out, the process of beginning to build a nest egg and planning for retirement can be a daunting task, so we explained how ETFs can actually make this process easier and less stressful.  When you consider the low cost structure of ETFs, the transparency of ETFs, and the ability to build highly diversified portfolios, it becomes clear why The ETF Store believes they’re the best way to approach retirement rather than with more expensive actively managed mutual funds where you don’t always know exactly what you’re holding and where you may be at the mercy of an underperforming fund manager.

Listen to the full show here.