ETF Adviser
While every investment involves a certain amount of risk, it's the professional responsibility of financial planners to mitigate loss for their clients while helping them achieve their long-term goals through the execution of careful, nuanced decisions. As a result, financial planners can benefit from using cutting-edge tools that allow them to select exchange-traded funds (ETFs) with the greatest investment potential - whether they're emerging market ETFs, sector funds or broad domestic indices - to help clients achieve their goals.
Since they began trading in the early 1990s, the popularity of ETFs has only increased, as many experts now view them as a flexible alternative to mutual funds. In addition, their popularity with investment professionals has risen as well (60 percent in a 2008 survey said they fundamentally changed the construction of investment portfolios).
Of course, no investment tool is foolproof, but, financial planners can increase their ability to make sound decisions by relying on systems that give them the kind of quality information and insight they need to provide direction to clients. The ETF Research Center from AltaVista Research is a reliable source of information they can turn to when attempting to determine the best ETFs for their clients' needs.
Using ETF Research Center to ask the right questions
For the experienced professional, the advantages of ETFs are obvious. They are flexible, low-cost and tax-efficient investment vehicles that offer the complete transparency investors desire. But, like any investment, selecting the best ETFs can be a difficult and time consuming process.
However, using the ETF Research Center, financial professionals can easily access a list of exchange traded funds, complete with expert evaluations and ratings based on a unique approach that examines the fundamentals of each underlying stock in an ETF. As a result, financial professionals are able to evaluate funds based on forward-looking measures of investment merit with the click of a button via this platform in an easy-to-use, but in-depth manner.
Evaluating the functionality of an ETF rating service
Even though a number of outlets give financial professionals the tools they need to screen ETFs on standard metrics such as past performance, fees, and objective, gaining a service that goes more in-depth allows investors to evaluate funds in a familiar yet disciplined way can be immensely advantageous. For example, while emerging markets are a popular investment choice, there are more than 100 emerging market ETFs available. The biggest funds may not necessarily be the best choice for each client.
However, the database on ETF Research Center can help narrow the list to funds that meet a particular client’s investment objectives. Beyond excluding country-specific or sector emerging market funds, an investor with a "growth at a reasonable price" strategy could screen for ETFs with minimum forecast earnings growth but that are trading at a price-to-earnings ratio below a certain level. Doing so narrows the list considerably and ranking the results quickly shows investors which ETFs deliver the most "bang for their buck" on the desired criteria.
Taking client investments to the next level with ETF Research Center
While most ETF research focuses merely on past performance as the sole indicator of an ETF's future, those who take advantage of resources on ETF Research Center gain the ability to take a forward-looking approach to ETF trading. This, in turn, puts financial and ETF advisers in the driver's seat, giving them the tools to ask the right questions and determine whether a specific ETF enhances the value of their client's portfolio not only now, but in the long run.
With more than 700 ETFs in its database, the ETF Research Center allows financial advisers the ability to answer in-depth questions regarding an ETF's investment potential. With the click of a button, users can gain access to such important metrics as annual sales and earnings growth, margins and return on equity, as well as more nuanced data such as an ETF's foreign sales and asset turnover, plus detailed valuation data, making ETF Research Center an investment tool that financial adviser can't afford to pass up.