Tag: BlackRock (BLK)

When the War In the Ukraine Ends

Posted on by Matt Thalman

A recent publication from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University discussed the benefits of the post-war reconstruction as a good investment. They use post-World War II as an example of how much money should be spent and how it benefits the war-torn country very quickly.

The paper pointed to specifically The Marshall Plan following World War II. The Marshall Plan had two goals; European economic recovery and the containment of the Soviet Union. Stabilizing Europe’s economies were vital to promoting income growth around the world and entrenching democracies in Europe.

Whenever the Ukraine War is over, I think the Marshall Plan should be adopted identically from what happened 80 years ago since we will essentially be trying to do the same thing in Ukraine as we did all over Europe back then.

However, it will be much more expensive this time around. Post World War II, American leaders sent roughly $130 billion (In 2010 dollars) to help with the European reconstruction of railways, utilities, roads, and airports, the same type of facilities that will need to be rebuilt in Ukraine.

However, economists estimate that restoring the lost infrastructure in Ukraine will cost at least $200 billion, and that figure will climb the longer the war continues. And remember, $200 billion is to rebuild Ukraine.

After World War II, the Marshall Plan not only gave funds to countries that had been friendly to the US during the war but also to Germany and Italy.

The belief back then and now is that not helping to rejuvenate all parties involved after the war ended would only cause more issues later down the road. That has some people thinking that Russia and even Belarus could see new investments from outsiders when the war ends, perhaps not in a straightforward financial manner but in other ways, such as new business opportunities and deals.

At this time, no money has started flowing back into Ukraine to help rebuild the country or increase business and the economy.

But, a deal has already been made between Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy and BlackRock’s (BLK) CEO Larry Fink that has BlackRock coordinating the investments to help rebuild Ukraine when the war is over. Continue reading "When the War In the Ukraine Ends" →

4 Companies You Can Own That Operate Your Favorite ETFs

Posted on by Matt Thalman

Matt Thalman - INO.com Contributor - ETFs


SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), Schwab U.S Broad Market ETF (SCHB), State Street Corporation (STT), Invesco (IVZ), Wisdom Tree (WETF), BlackRock (BLK), ETF investing, ETF's, benefits of etfs,

But first, maybe you are wondering what an ETF operator does and how do they make money?

Plan and simply an ETF operator sponsors and runs an exchange traded fund. ETF's are either managed or unmanaged. Managed would mean someone is actually deciding which investments to hold in the ETF in order to gain the highest return. Unmanaged ETF's are ones that simply track a corresponding index; such is the case with the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) which tracks S&P 500.

An ETF operator makes its money by charging a fee to manage the ETF. These fees are usually displayed as a percentage. These fees or the annual expense ratio, as it is often called, can range in amounts from as little as 0.04% which is the case with the Schwab U.S Broad Market ETF (SCHB), up to more than 3% with some of the exotic funds. Managed funds always carry a higher expense ratio as they require daily monitoring by the managers. Whereas with unmanaged funds a manager only has to make changes when the index the fund tracks changes, which is not usually very often. Think of it this way, managed means constant attention baby-sitting while unmanaged means no to little baby-sitting and the more baby-sitting, the higher the price.

So now that we know how they operate and were the revenue comes from let's take a look at a few ETF operators. Continue reading "4 Companies You Can Own That Operate Your Favorite ETFs" →