Today, March 28, 2013, is the 10th anniversary of the 1st ever Gold ETP. Since the first one debuted in 2003, Gold prices have risen 376% - an outstanding mark compared to the performance of most equities over the same period.
There are now over 50 physically backed gold ETPs in existence that trade around $2 billion per day on global exchanges. Gold ETPs have opened up the investing world in many ways: allowing investors to “own” physical gold without spreads and entry/exit charges, bringing commodity and equity markets together, and establishing uncorrelated returns.
Recently Gold ETPs have been experiencing record outflows, which has brought to market many short and leveraged Gold ETPs to help leverage the volatility. Two of these are the Boost Gold 3x Leverage Daily ETP (3GOL) and the Boost Gold 3x Short Daily ETP (3GOS), both of which track to the NASDAQ Commodity Gold Index (NQCIGCER).
Visit the NASDAQ Commodities Gold Index page or the Boost ETP page to learn more.
Source: Boost ETP
Neither the NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc nor any of its affiliates (collectively "NASDAQ OMX") makes any recommendations to buy or sell any security or any representation about the financial condition of any company. Investors should undertake their own due diligence and carefully evaluate companies before investing.
Sequestration, a process that automatically cuts the federal budget across most departments and agencies, took effect on Friday, March 1, 2013, as Congress and President Obama failed to reach an accord. The $1.2 trillion in cuts will be phased in with half the cuts focused on the Department of Defense (DoD) budget. The first phase of the cuts in 2013 will remove $85 billion, which pulls $46 billion from the DoD budget.
Sequestration has been in the news for months as the public has speculated that Congress would be unable to prevent these large scale cuts. Yet the equity markets were not negatively impacted, and we’ve seen a strong start to 2013. In fact, the NASDAQ U.S. Benchmark Index (NQUSB) has gained 6.71% since January 1, and the individual sector with the highest exposure to the government cuts, Defense, has also faired exceptionally well with a gain of 6.90%. Will the Defense sector be able to maintain its performance streak into 2013 as these cuts begin to be implemented?
Follow the PHLX Defense Sector in the days and months to come to track the impact of government spending cuts on the sector most impacted.
Nasdaq Indexes
As an investor you’re looking to make the most of your portfolio. The new NASDAQ Dividend and Income Index Family tracks securities that generate income just for that reason. These companies create value through dividends, buybacks, preferred shares and other income-generating strategies.
Visit the new page, dedicated just to these indexes: http://www.nasdaqomx/incomeindexes
World Water Day brings awareness to our most precious natural resource, so it’s only fitting that we highlight the NASDAQ OMX U.S. Water Index, which tracks companies who conserve,purify, treat and distribute water.
The NASDAQ OMX U.S. Water Index (GRNWATUSL) has 26 of its 28 companies tracking positive returns from the start of this year through 3/20/2013. In that same period, the index has also outperformed the S&P 500 by 2.35%. Year-over-year GRNWATUSL beat the S&P 500 by 11.5%.
While the water segment was hit hard by the financial crisis, the NASDAQ OMX U.S. Water index has fully recovered and is now hitting all-time highs*. The risk factors for the index have also begun to diminish, with 3-month volatility at its lowest levels since 2007– going below 15% in October 2012 and averaging 13% to date through 2013. The realized volatility of the U.S. Water index is now in line with the broader market, something that has not been seen for some time.
