I always personally feel like a good way to find an ETF for a specific subject or sector is to look at what the big players are using. It’s not a perfect way to do so, but it does give you a good idea of ETF’s that are generally liquid and have low fees. These ETF’s most likely have low spreads, lots of trading activity and are priced accurately (close to NAV).
So here we go, as of this morning, here are the top 25 ETF’s based on their outstanding market cap:
As discussed last week, SPY, the Spider which tracks the S&P500 Index is by far the biggest with GLD holding the second position, but there are still many interesting facts about this table:
#1-The three most expensive funds are all Ishares funds: EEM has been discussed in the past and there is no excuse in my opinion to not hold VWO. However, it is not as true for FXI and EWZ. Those markets have more fees & regulations for outsiders that make it more expensive to trade. I do not expect a much cheaper alternative to come around right away. Cheaper? Sure. But not anything comparable to the EEM vs VWO situation.
#2-The number of top ETF’s dedicated to bonds is higher than even a few months ago (5) and rising fast as individuals look for more efficient ways to invest in fixed income. The expense ratio fees of Vanguard’s BND of .11% is very impressive considering it is trading bonds which are usually more expensive to trade than equities.
#3-Despite all of the talk about energy and commodity ETF’s, very few made the top list. GLD sits at #2 of course but you then have to wait for #22 to see the next (and only other) commodity ETF.
Any thoughts? Any surprises when you look at this list?
Ticker Name Shares May 13 2014 Price May 13 2014 Values
OMC Omnicom Group Inc 31 $68.77 $2,131.87
MSFT Microsoft Corp 74 $40.42 $2,991.08
JCI Johnson Controls Inc 41 $45.08 $1,848.28
PEP PepsiCo Inc/NC 29 $87.23 $2,529.67
ETN Eaton Corp 33 $73.20 $2,415.60
DOV Dover Corp 25 $86.58 $2,164.50
KN Knowles Corp 12.5 $30.02 $375.25
ITW Illinois Tool Works Inc 29 $86.90 $2,520.10
XLNX Xilinx Inc 39 $46.18 $1,801.02
SJM JM Smucker Co/The 20 $100.40 $2,008
BLK BlackRock Inc 12 $302.96 $3,635.52
TROW T Rowe Price Group Inc 30 $81.32 $2,439.60
OXY Occidental Petroleum Corp 23 $97.52 $2,242.96
COP ConocoPhillips 26 $78.64 $2,044.64
XOM Exxon Mobil Corp 21 $102.36 $2,149.56
ADI Analog Devices Inc 45 $51.47 $2,316.15
HAS Hasbro Inc 31 $55.50 $1,720.50
MAT Mattel Inc 44 $39.74 $1,748.56
INTC Intel Corp 55 $26.45 $1,454.75
AFL Aflac 30 $63.73 $1,911.90
BAX Baxter International 25 $75.41 $1,885.25
IVZ Invesco Ltd 68 $36.04 $2,450.72
VWO Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets 61 $42.19 $2,573.59
BND Vanguard Total Bond Market 34 $81.80 $2,781.20
Cash $1,050.81
USDP $53,191.08
SPX 15.32335164 $3,427.01 $53,513.28
I know the market has not done well this year and it’s early, but only 5 out of 25 ETFs on the are in the black. Not a great start to the year!
@Ron – Indeed, I was honestly surprised to see such poor performances, you kind of get the impression that returns have been up and down but I guess they are mostly down.
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Should you add the One Year Return %? Tks!
Just discover NFO Claymore/Sabrient Insider ETF. Expense ratio at 0.65%, One year return 108%, totally outperforming the market!! I think it’s worth a look and should be in your 25 top list!!! What do you think about that ETF?
@OneDay – Good point, will try to add that info in future graphs, it is indeed useful!
@John – Wow, that is amazing, will have to look into this, where did you hear about it?
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