Tag: ETF ideas

Oil and Gas ETFs Are Having a Good 2018

Posted on by Matt Thalman

Thus far in 2018, the oil and gas industry has been booming. Rig counts in the US are up, prices at the pump are up, and the oil and gas ETFs tracking the sector are up by a lot.

Investors who have been following the industry over the past year could have made some serious money as a few of the leveraged ETFs are up 238% or more. The Velocity Shares 3X Long Crude Oil ETN (UWT) is up 247% over the last 12 months and is up more than 70% year-to-date. The UBS ETRACS ProShares Daily 3X Long Crude ETN (WTIU) has risen 240% over the last year and 64% year-to-date. Finally, the Proshares UltraPro 3X Crude Oil ETF (OILU) is up 238% over the last 12 months and 63% year-to-date.

But, perhaps your less risky and don’t like investing in the leveraged ETFs? Well, you still could have done well as the United States Brent Oil Fund LP (BNO) is up 71% over the last year and 19.9% since the start of 2018. Or perhaps you went with the ProShares K-1 Free Crude Oil Strategy ETF (OILK) which is up 62% in the past 12 months and 23% year-to-date. Or either the iPath Series B S&P GSCI Crude Oil ETN (OILB) or the United States Oil Fund LP (USO) which are both up more than 61% over the last year and 23% year-to-date.

There have been some reasons why the industry has been on a tear over the last, and many of that reason don’t show signs of changing in the short term. OPEC is committed to increasing the price of oil (despite its recent modest increase in production), smaller US outfits still need slightly higher prices before they can add additional rigs and become profitable, the economy appears to be healthy and growing, US consumers have not yet begun to fell the “pain at the pump” again really. Continue reading "Oil and Gas ETFs Are Having a Good 2018" →

One ETF Betting On High Customer Satisfaction

Posted on by Matt Thalman

Matt Thalman - INO.com Contributor - ETFs -ETF Betting High Customer Satisfaction


The American Customer Satisfaction ETF (ACSI) is an Exchange Traded Fund that is built around the idea that companies who have high customer satisfaction, will perform well in the long run, and here is a hint, but there is a lot of evidence to prove this thinking right.

Let's review some of this evidence before we go any further.

  • According to a 2011 American Express Survey, 78% of consumers have bailed on a transaction or not made an intended purchase because of poor service experience.
  • According to a White House Office of Consumer Affairs report, on average, loyal customers are worth up to 10 times as much as their first purchase.
  • Marketing Metrics reports tells us that you have a 5-20% probability of selling to a new prospect but a 60-70% probability of selling to an existing customer.
  • “Understanding Customers” by Ruby Newell-Legner says it takes 12 positive experiences to make up for one unresolved negative experience.
  • According to a White House Office of Consumer Affairs report, It is 6-7 times more expensive to acquire a new customer than it is to keep a current one.
  • According to a 2011 American Express Survey, 3 in 5 Americans (59%) would try a new brand or company for the better service experience.
  • According to a White House Office of Consumer Affairs report, News of lousy customer service reaches more than twice as many ears as praise for the good customer service experience.
  • According to a 2011 American Express Survey, in 2011, 7 in 10 Americans said they were willing to spend more with companies they believe provide excellent customer service.
  • According to Lee Resources, 91% of unhappy customers will not willingly do business with you again.
  • A report from the Customer Experience Impact Report by Harris Interactive/RightNow, 2010, found almost 9 out of 10 U.S. consumers say they would pay more to ensure a superior customer experience.

The list could go on and on, but I think you are getting the point. Now think about the list above and think about this list of companies; Amazon.com Inc (AMZN), Apple Inc (AAPL), Vonage Holdings Corp (VG), Alphabet Inc (GOOG), Humana Inc (HUM), FedEx Corp (FDX), JetBlue Airways Corp (JBLU), The Hershey Co (HSY), Coca-Cola Co (KO). Continue reading "One ETF Betting On High Customer Satisfaction" →

Tech Stocks On a Run; ETFs To Buy 'IF' you Think It Will Soon Come to An End

Posted on by Matt Thalman

Matt Thalman - INO.com Contributor - ETFs


The Bears have been referring to the current situation with technology stocks as the building up of the next dot com collapse. Price to earnings ratios are high, earnings expectation may be overinflated, and the unknown that surrounds all aspects of the current political landscape and how that could affect businesses are all reasons to be doubtful that technology stocks can continue on their massive run.

One analyst believes you should buy any of the technology stocks that garner a large portion of their revenue from advertisements. The analysts noted that companies like Facebook (NYSE:FB) and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG) are likely to experience a revenue slowdown in the future because, at the end of the day, there is only so much money that can be thrown at web-based advertising.

Others think Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) may be getting too big and trying to do too much, and it could end up destroying itself. Sounds similar to what the bears say about Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA).

At the end of the day, a negative case can be made about every single technology stock. If you agree with those cases and you want to start looking for some opportunities to make money when technology stocks start falling, then let's take a look at some or your options I have outlined below. Continue reading "Tech Stocks On a Run; ETFs To Buy 'IF' you Think It Will Soon Come to An End" →

Niche ETFs You May Want To Look Into: Part 2

Posted on by Matt Thalman

Matt Thalman - INO.com Contributor - ETFs


I recently noted a few niche Exchange Traded Funds that I have come across during my time researching the wide world of ETFs. In that piece I noted three niche ETFs that I could actually see myself buying. Today, I would like to shares a few more niche ETFs, some of which I would consider owning and others that I wouldn't touch.

The first two that I would like to point out are PureFunds ISE Cyber Security ETF (HACK) and the First Trust NASDAQ Cybersecurity ETF (CIBR). HACK was the first ETF that focused solely on cybersecurity, which is why I lean towards owning it instead of CIBR, which was started due to the interest and success of HACK. HACK goes after both the hardware and software side of cybersecurity and the service aspect. It splits the two segments of the business and weights them by market cap. HACK has an inception date of November 2014 and since then is up a little more than 10%.

While that is certainly not very impressive performance, it is hard to argue that we will see less of a need for cybersecurity in the future. With the ever-increasing demand for more cybersecurity, investors who get in on this market today will likely see big upside in the future.

Or maybe long-term buy and hold isn't your thing! Continue reading "Niche ETFs You May Want To Look Into: Part 2" →

A Few Crazy Niche ETFs, But May Be Worth Owning

Posted on by Matt Thalman

Matt Thalman - INO.com Contributor - ETFs


Through my search to find great Exchange Traded Funds to tell I have run across a number of very niche ETFs that at first seem a little crazy. But after further research into some of them, they may have actually found a profitable market opportunity that you can now own.

Before we get into three of the more interesting ETFs, I would like to note that these ETFs are on the riskier side and it really wouldn’t be prudent for investors to go "all-in" with these funds.

Now that we have gotten the disclosure out of the way let's dig in. Continue reading "A Few Crazy Niche ETFs, But May Be Worth Owning" →