Most ETFs Tax Efficient In 2008

Despite the huge distributions expected in some leveraged exchange-traded funds, most ETFs should wind up proving to be highly tax efficient this year, concludes Ian Salisbury in the Wall Street Journal.

You can read the story here.

Arnott Talks Fundamental Indexing, Emerging Markets

Research Affiliates' Rob Arnott is the Q&A subject in Barron's  this week. He discusses the importance of not chasing returns, sticking to your discipline and taking advantage of short-term dips in long-term favorite holdings.

Among those, Arnott is particularly high on prospects for Treasury Inflation Protected Securities and emerging markets—both stocks and bonds. He also believes convertibles have been overly punished and might benefit over time by hedge funds selling off convertibles.

You can read the story here.

Losers: Die-Hard ETF Supporters

In his Lumps of Coal awards for the funds industry in 2008, MarketWatch columnist Chuck Jaffe points to an irrational exuberance hanging over ETFs entering the year. That set up the entire industry for a fall, landing ETFs as one of 2008's biggest losers, according to the veteran mutual funds writer.

"Don't get me wrong, I love the ETF structure. But ETFs are not immune to the problems plaguing traditional funds, particularly when it comes to performance," wrote Jaffe.

Then, he follows with: "Since the first ETF was launched in 1989, according to Morningstar, the ETF industry collectively has produced a net loss for investors."

You can read the story here.

More Than Window Dressing

Think you've heard it all? Try reading Jason Zweig's latest column in the Wall Street Journal. It takes a look at the games some fund managers play to improve returns at year's end.

If nothing else, it will really make you feel better about those exchange-traded funds in your portfolio (and index-based mutual funds, of course).

You can read the story here.