Exchange Traded Funds, an alternative way to invest.

tradetime

ozzage wrote: »

This was Halifax's answer when I asked them about another ETF Securities one (ALTP) - also not in an ISA.



Not particularly informative.

Interesting, since iii are one of their counterparties, I assume or vice versa, depending on what they mean by counterparties, I may have to ask. I can see dealing with UK broker BS is likely to be a major problem for me, I expect people to be competent at what they do, I don't think that's a lot to ask. This is a stock trading in Sterling on the LSE, what's to support, either you (the broker) have access to the LSE or you don't. I'm a Joe Nobody, I can pretty much buy anything listed on the LSE, outside of an ISA, certainly anything listed on the NYSEArca or the Nasdaq so I fail to see the problem.

tradetime

It's like the TD Waterhouse rep said to me when she first told me they couldn't fascilitate trade of US ETF's it was because they weren't able to send those prices to me on the website. To which I replied, "Don't worry Ma'am I'm sitting looking at prices from the NYSE now, youl et me worry about the prices, I just want to place limit orders, all you need to do is see they're executed". After that the story evolved into something else, they're full of BS, they probably get back handers from other ETF providers or market makers or whatever to steer you towards other ETF's or away from those. That's the way the US deep discount brokers used to work about 10 years ago, not that you couldn't buy a particular ETF or stock, but they route your business to a particular ECN that they were getting a cut from, which may not have been offering the best price at the time.

tradetime

Interesting new product to hit the market, will be worth watching it to see how it performs.
http://www.indexiq.com/etfs/etfsiqh/etfsiqhmultistrat.html
Designed to try and replicate Hedge Fund strategies for a fraction of the cost, I'd have to confess to being somewhat sceptical. An article on it here.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/128211-can-the-hedge-fund-etf-actually-deliver
and another
http://seekingalpha.com/article/128005-indexiq-s-hedge-multi-strategy-etf-launches-doesn-t-invest-directly-in-hedge-funds

ozzage

As another example of how arbitrary this all seems, here are two ETFs available through ETF Securities:

RONE - tracks the Russell 1000 index
RTWO - tracks the Russell 2000 index

They are both in USD and were launched at the same time as a "matching pair". RONE is tradable through my Halifax account, but RTWO is not!

This is so random that surely it's related to manual action somehow. I can't see any reason why any automatic system would block one but not the other, when they are effectively identical.

sabretoothtigger

2000 contains some smaller riskier companies?

I read alot of the sp500 is technically invalid, the stocks listed dont qualify for the index so they've had to temporarily exempt from being kicked out

ozzage

Indeed it does, but given that I can trade the iShares Far East Small-cap ETF it doesn't look they stop you because something is higher risk (and I would hope not!)

Edit: Either I'm going mad or you edited that! OK I understand the point you were making now.

tradetime

ozzage wrote: »

As another example of how arbitrary this all seems, here are two ETFs available through ETF Securities:

RONE - tracks the Russell 1000 index
RTWO - tracks the Russell 2000 index

They are both in USD and were launched at the same time as a "matching pair". RONE is tradable through my Halifax account, but RTWO is not!

This is so random that surely it's related to manual action somehow. I can't see any reason why any automatic system would block one but not the other, when they are effectively identical.

Yes I agree totally, the whole thing just smacks of random to me, and I can find no-one who can give me any definitive answer as to how they define what qualifies and what does not.
I submitted a list of some 30 ish ETF's to iii yesterday, most of which were approved, however one group, about 3 or 4, they isolated and said "a client cannot trade on the NYSE Arca so this group cannot be traded" To which I have replied saying "Erm.....I think you'll find all the ETF's I submitted trade on the NYSE Arca."
Still awaiting a reply to that one.

tradetime

sabretoothtigger wrote: »

2000 contains some smaller riskier companies?

I read alot of the sp500 is technically invalid, the stocks listed dont qualify for the index so they've had to temporarily exempt from being kicked out

That is correct, it also applies to the Nasdaq and is to do with market cap and or issue price.

tradetime

ozzage wrote: »

Indeed it does, but given that I can trade the iShares Far East Small-cap ETF it doesn't look they stop you because something is higher risk (and I would hope not!)

No it is nothing to do with risk, it is touted to do with the fund structure, but from what I can understand the wording used to define acceptable structure is so ambiguous and badly defined that it's interpretation is subject to a considerable degree of interpretation

ozzage

Thanks tigger and tradetime. I'd never heard anything about this - where is the actual restriction? ie who is applying it? Don't have a link to more info do you - I had a quick Google but couldn't see anything obvious.