ETFs vs. ETNs

While ETFs are essentially market-traded products that are similar to mutual funds, ETNs are actually more like a variable rate fixed income product that is "guaranteed" by the issuer. This difference adds a significant element of counterparty risk. Further, most ETNs are treated like partnerships, which means that taxes on gains (and losses) are treated differently, with recognition required each year (Statement K-1) rather than simply at sale. See a brief article here, USA Today.

Selling Fear = Making Money

Buying put options is commonly understood to provide a measure of insurance against price declines. As such, the cost of options is strongly correlated to the amount of fear in the market. It might be prudent in these cases to make the opposite trade -- selling put options. The seller (or writer) collects the premium, which during times of fear is very large. The risk is a significant decline in prices. See the article here, Forbes.

Control Yourself!

Sometimes we are our own worst enemies. Research shows that our brains are wired to trade stocks actively, and this often works against us. Even professional managers (such as mutual funds) have a hard time generating consistent outperformance. So, the best managers may be those that understand the psychology of investing and are able to control themselves. See the article here, Wall Street Journal. A good book on the topic is Psychology of Investing, by John Nofsinger.

Negative Bond Yields

During the Crash of 2008, a "flight to quality" drove yields to unprecedented low levels. In fact, many Treasuries were being issued with negative yields, meaning investors were paying the government to safely hold their money. Recently, with the crisis in Europe, German bonds have exhibited similar negative yields.See link here, CNN Money.

Contrarian Indicator - Short Sales?

Short positions spiked recently, eclipsing the recent peak in 2011. After the previous peak, stock prices stages a five-month rally. Hopefully it will be the same this time. See article here, Bloomberg.

Don Quixote -- Investment Guru??

Don Quixote is a well-known literary figure, most commonly remembered for seeing the world through his own lens. He fights windmills thinking they are giants and slaughters a flock of sheep because they look like a mighty army. As investors do we make similar mistakes--seeing an asset the way we want to instead of the way it actually is? See article here, CFA Magazine.

Improving Alpha

Alpha is a measure of risk-adjusted performance. Positive alpha means an investment manager has generated returns in excess of what should have been earned given the level of risk taken. However, what if two funds have the same alpha--are they equally good? Well, tracking error helps to distinguish which fund might be better, as a lower tracking error might mean less risk and a more significant alpha. (See article here, Wall Street Journal.) The Information Ratio divides alpha by tracking error to provide a more comparable performance metric.

Even the Best Investors Can't Time the Market

Warren Buffett is considered to be one of the greatest investors ever; however, even he is not perfect. In fact, his company (Berkshire Hathaway) is named after one of his failed investments. More recently, his timing on the purchase of GM stock has not worked so well. Fortunately, his holding period is generally very long, thus it could turn out to be a favorable investment over the long-term. See article here, Bloomberg.