How Well Has Your Portfolio Done Year-to-Date

The first six months of 2019 have been odd, but there is never a better time than now to look at where your money is and how it has performed as we pass over the half-way point of the year.

The year started with the markets rallying back after a disastrous end of 2018, then the trade wars heated up, the economy has begun showing signs of weakness, the Federal Reserve is holding off on interest rate increases and even considering rate cuts, but the markets continue to set new record highs.

If you have been heavily invested in certain sectors you have had a losing 2019, maybe a mediocre year or a great year. On July 1st, the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) was up 17.42% year-to-date. All of the major indexes and their corresponding Exchange Traded Funds have performed well during the first half of the year. The SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF Trust (DIA) is up 15% year-to-date, while the Fidelity NASDAQ Composite Tracking Stock (ONEQ) is up 19.92% year-to-date. Even the broader indexes and their ETF’s such as the iShares Russell 1000 ETF (IWB) or the Vanguard Russell 3000 ETF (VTHR) are up 17.53% and 17.47% as of the morning of July 1st.

While the indexes all performed better than average years, if you were more industry-focused then as I said before, it depended on what industry you wherein during the first half of the year on whether or not you kept up with the market. The worst performing ETF during the first half of the year, outside of leveraged or any specialty products focusing on futures, was the Breakwave Dry Bulk Shipping ETF (BDRY) which has lost 29.22% since the start of 2019. The best performing ETF following the same guidelines was the Invesco Solar ETF (TAN), which is up 47.22% in 2019. Continue reading "How Well Has Your Portfolio Done Year-to-Date"

Now Is The Time To Believe In Solar Energy

Matt Thalman - INO.com Contributor - ETFs - Solar Energy


On May 9th the California Energy Commission approved a proposal to require most new homes built after January 1st, 2020 will be required to have solar panels installed on them. The new regulations will undoubtedly be a boom for an industry that had a rough time in 2017, the first-year installations declined.

The new ruling piggy-backs on a 2013 requirement that all new homes be “solar-ready.” The solar-ready rule indicated that new homes be built with a certain amount of roof space so that a future homeowner had the option to add solar panels at a later date.

The most recent rule will no longer give homeowners or builders the option to forgo the upfront cost of solar panels, which some estimate will be high as $30,000 per home. The most persuasive arguments against the new rule are just that, the additional costs of the home. California is by most measures already in a housing crisis regarding costs; many believe this will only compound the problem.

But, that also leads to some excellent investment opportunities. The solar panel industry is going to see a massive, built-in installation base. In 2017 California saw over 53,000 single family homes built and most would agree that number needs to be higher in a state with an ever-growing population.

On a very conservative basis, that number will grow to 55,000 in 2020. It is currently estimated that only about 600,000 homes in California currently have solar panels. So, to think that number of easily more than double in a few years when all new homes are required to have solar power, it's clear the investment opportunity in solar is huge. And remember, this is just California we are talking about, other states such as Arizona and Florida, (parts of Miami already have) also could pass similar regulations.

So, how do you cash in on this opportunity? Continue reading "Now Is The Time To Believe In Solar Energy"