How You Can Make Money in Tough Markets

Sector ETFs: Invest in the Best Sector ETF
ConsistentlySam Subramanian PhD, MBA Sector ETFs are among the most potent investment vehicles that allow individual investors to exploit advantages previously available only to large institutions.You can beat the market by investing in the right sector ETF at the right time. In fact, you can actually make money even when the overall market is tanking.

However all too often, investors use sector ETFs inappropriately and get their fingers burnt.

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Protect Your Money in an Assured Growth Haven in Tough Times

E-commerce ETF and E-commerce Fund: Two Investments to Profit from Guaranteed GrowthSam Subramanian PhD, MBA During times when sustained growth of the U. S. economy appears less than certain, e-commerce ETF and e-commerce fund represent two investments that can deliver solid gains from virtually assured growth of the e-commerce industry.

According to Forrester Research, the U. S. e-commerce industry grew 12.6% in 2010 to $176 billion. The market research firm expects the U. S. e-commerce industry to expand by 60% to $279 billion in 2015.

The growth of e-commerce in retailing & entertainment, advertising, and travel can support the industry's expansion.E-commerce Stocks in Retailing & EntertainmentThe number of consumers shopping online is increasing as unemployment levels rise, transportation costs soar, and e-retailers provide incentives like free shipping. Smartphones and tablet computers are the most popular items sold online.

Improvement in download speed and reliability is prompting increasing number of consumers to fulfill their entertainment wants online. Purchases or renting of books, music, video, and games are rapidly moving online.

Amazon.com (AMZN) and eBay (EBAY) are dominant online retailers while Netflix (NFLX) has entrenched itself in online movie delivery. Groupon, which is reshaping e-commerce with short-life discount coupons from local stores, has filed an S-1 with the intent of becoming public.E-commerce Stocks in AdvertisingOnline ad spending in the U. S. is poised for strong growth as more people spend more time online. eMarketer forecasts ad spending to increase by over 20% to $31 billion in 2011 as new formats like video and new channels like mobile and social media gain adoption.

While search accounts for a major share today, growing popularity of video and brand-building ads is helping display ad spending to power ahead. Spending on display ads is expected to exceed spending on search ads by 2015.

Investment opportunities here include shares of search leaders Google (GOOG), Yahoo! (YHOO), and Microsoft (MSFT). Smaller service providers like ValueClick (VCLK) represent potential takeover plays. Facebook and LinkedIn (LNKD) are capitalizing on the growing popularity of social media.E-commerce Stocks in TraveleMarketer estimates online sales of leisure and unmanaged business travel in the U. S. will increase 8.5% this year on higher airfares, hotel rates, and ancillary fees. Nearly 11.8 million new users are forecasted to make their travel booking through mobile devices.

Overseas, online airline ticket purchases and hotel reservations are increasing at a breakneck pace. Growth is notably strong in China, South Korea, Brazil, Russia and India from both increasing domestic and international travel.

Online travel and related services companies like Expedia (EXPE), priceline.com (PCLN), and to a lesser extent Orbitz Worldwide (OWW) stand to benefit from the increase in online bookings.Investing in E-commerce ETF and E-commerce FundE-commerce ETF Examples First Trust DJ Internet Index ETF, FDN
PowerShares NASDAQ Internet, PNQI
E-commerce Fund Examples Fidelity Select IT Services, FBSOX
Fidelity Select Software, FSCSX
Firsthand Technology Opp Fund, FTEQX
Internet UltraSector ProFund, INPIX
Jacob Internet, JAMFX
Kinetics Internet, WWWFX
Rydex Internet, RYIIX
You can profit from the e-commerce industry's growth by investing in e-commerce stocks mentioned above. However, investing in an individual e-commerce stock carries company-specific risk. You can reduce such risk by investing in e-commerce sector ETFs and sector mutual funds. E-commerce ETF and e-commerce fund examples are provided in the inserts.Beat the Market with Best E-commerce ETF and E-commerce Fund InvestmentsWhile secular growth characteristics make e-commerce ETF and e-commerce fund investments suitable for long-term investing, you can use such investments as part of a broader sector investing strategy to earn bigger rewards.

Like most sector investments, e-commerce ETF and e-commerce fund investments periodically come in and go out of favor based on investor

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Beat Inflation with Income from Natural Gas Plays

Best Natural Gas Mutual Funds, Natural Gas ETFs, and Natural Gas Stocks for Growth and IncomeSam Subramanian PhD, MBARead this article to learn how you can maximize return from the best natural gas mutual funds, best natural gas ETFs, and best natural gas stocks.

Excess natural gas production from shale formations resulted in a supply glut in 2010 and pressured natural gas prices.

Planned cuts in natural gas production at the beginning of this year crimped supply. Rising industrial demand, a colder-than-normal winter, and an extremely hot July have since then contributed to an increase in demand. The shrinking gap between natural gas demand and supply has helped to work off excess inventories. Natural gas inventory levels have declined over 4% from the year-ago level; they are now 2% below their 5-year average.

Inventories are likely to tighten further if power producers continue shifting from coal and fuel oil to cleaner burning natural gas. Natural gas prices can increase as inventories tighten.Natural gas futures traders support this bullishness. NYMEX natural gas futures rise from $3.93 per MMBTU for October 2011 delivery to $4.25 for December 2011 delivery. The price for December 2012 delivery rises 26% to $4.95. The price curve rises through 2014 in a virtual straight-line tagging another 12%. The contract for December 2014 delivery changes hands at $5.56.

Rising natural gas demand and prices translates into opportunity for companies in different segments of the gas value chain. They include natural gas producers, service firms and natural gas distributors. This in turn opens up investment opportunities for mutual fund, ETF, and stock investors looking for growth as well as income.Best Natural Gas Mutual Funds for GrowthFidelity offers a wide range of actively managed sector mutual funds under the Fidelity Select funds family. Fidelity Select Natural Gas (FSNGX) is a pure-play no-load natural gas mutual fund. See: How to choose the best Fidelity Select fundBest Natural Gas Mutual Funds for IncomeFBR Gas Utility Index (GASFX) appeals to investors seeking income from investments in natural gas transportation and distribution companies. This natural gas mutual fund invests in utilities, master limited partnerships, and other companies included in the American Gas Association Stock Index.Best Natural Gas ETFs for GrowthFirst Trust ISE-Revere Natural Gas Index ETF (FCG) is a pure-play natural gas ETF investing in natural gas exploration, production, and service companies. See: Invest in the Best Sector ETFs ConsistentlyBest Natural Gas ETFs for IncomeJP Morgan Alerian MLP Index ETN (AMJ) and Alerian MLP ETF (AMLP) invest in U. S. energy infrastructure master limited partnerships. While the ETN tends to be more volatile and can offer higher return potential in bull markets, investors seeking tax-deferred distributions usually prefer the ETF structure.Best Natural Gas Stocks for GrowthDevon Energy (DVN) has successfully transformed itself as a high-growth onshore company and emerged as the largest natural gas producer in the Barnett shale. Devon's dominant position in the Barnett shale is complemented with liquids rich-assets in the Permian Basin. Devon has a well-defined program for increasing production and strong cash flow from current operations should help fund growth prospects. Devon Energy

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HedgeWorld.com

Commentary and analysis from HedgeWorld and around the hedge fund industry

Hedge funds dump gold, Chilton wants rules to curb speculation, Barr Rosenbergs SEC settlement and more
By Chris Clair

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Convertible Arbitrage Hedge Fund Strategy

Many hedge funds are still reeling from last month's market turmoil.  Some strategies were typically hit harder than others during the volatility.  Convertible arbitrage was the strategy punished most in August according to recent data.
Hedge funds were impacted by a severe downward swing in August, when the S&P 500 index suffered its heaviest losses since May 2010, dropping 5.43 %. Jumpy investors exacerbated the problem, sending the markets’ implicit volatility to 31.6 %, its highest level since June 2010. Fixed income markets were not spared either, with convertible bonds dropping by 4.49% for a fourth consecutive month of losses. The EDHEC-Risk Institute, which tracks the performance of hedge fund vehicles, reports that convertible arbitrage was the fund strategy punished most by the ‘plummeting convertible bonds and shrinking credit spread’. Convertible arbitrage involves the simultaneous buy-up of convertible securities and the short sale of the same issuer’s common, or corporate equity, stock. SourceRelated to: Fund Marketing and Sales Advice Free Online Hedge Fund VideosHedge Fund Career GuideHedge Fund Terms to Know Geographical GuidesHedge Fund Startup GuideTags:, hedge fund strategies, hedge fund convertible arbitrage, convertible arbitrage fund, arbitrage fund

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http://richard-wilson.blogspot.com/2011/09/convertible-arbitrage-hedge-fund.html

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Hedge Fund Investor Confidence

Although investors are still withdrawing money from hedge funds at a modest rate, it is less than in past months. According to data from the GlobeOp Forward Redemption Indicator, September 2011 was the lowest September in the indicator's history showing that despite a very turbulent market, investor confidence in hedge funds remains largely unshaken.
"September 2011 was the lowest September since the Index began," said Hans Hufschmid, chief executive officer at London-listed GlobeOp Financial Services . "Investor sentiment continues to be positive," he said.

Investors representing 2.71 percent of GlobeOp's assets under administration requested their money back in August, reflecting a rise in redemption demand of 63 basis points against July's data.

Redemption notices hit a high of 19.27 percent in November 2008 shortly after the collapse of Lehman Brothers but since have trended lower as investors back hedge funds to help them ride out some of the most volatile stock and bond markets since 2008.

Hedge fund returns have proved a mixed bag in recent months.
SourceRelated to: Hedge Fund UpdateFund Marketing and Sales Advice Free Online Hedge Fund VideosHedge Fund Career GuideHedge Fund Terms to Know Geographical GuidesHedge Fund Startup GuideTags: , hedge fund investors, hedge fund confidence, hedge fund investors, hedge funds investor, investors in hedge funds, institutional investors, hedge fund investor

Link to This Resource:

http://richard-wilson.blogspot.com/2011/09/hedge-fund-investor-confidence.html

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Asian Hedge Fund Performance 2011

Asian hedge funds appear set to outperform their global counterparts, according to preliminary data.  Asian hedge funds have made pretty steady gains since this year began and have showed no signs of a major backslide.  This is, of course, good news for Asian hedge fund managers who had previously struggled to raise assets under management.
This, after two years of contraction resulting with a bottoming out in 2010 when assets under management fell to US$15 billion.

Asian hedge funds have been attracting net inflows, as money leaves Europe seeking better returns.

Based on research from Eurekahedge, net flows to Asia ex-Japan hedge funds stand at US$5.5 billion, compared to US$2.1 billion of net flows for the whole of 2010. This bodes well for Singapore's financial services sector, which is constantly looking to reinvent itself.

Singapore is now ranked fourth internationally as an asset management centre, behind London, New York and Hong Kong. That is according to the latest Global Financial Centre Index published this March by the Z/Yen, the City of London's commercial think tank.

Brian Thung, Partner (Financial Services) with Ernst & Young and an Executive Committee member of AIMA Singapore, said: "It has very large knock-on and spin-off effects on the service providers here in Singapore - the legal industry, the fund administration industry and that has created quite a bit of employment.  Source

Related to: Hedge Fund UpdateFund Marketing and Sales Advice Free Online Hedge Fund VideosHedge Fund Career GuideHedge Fund Terms to Know Geographical GuidesHedge Fund Startup GuideTags: hedge funds in Asia, Asian hedge funds, hedge funds Asia, Asian hedge fund, asian hedge fund performance, Asia Hedge Fund Performance, funds in Asia, Alternative Investment Asia

Link to This Resource:

http://richard-wilson.blogspot.com/2011/09/asian-hedge-fund-performance-2011.html

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