According to a report by State Street, US ETF assets grew by $4.7 billion or 0.8% in August to a total of $582 billion as rising US equity and bond prices offset declines in commodity prices and International stocks.
Depending on how you define international, there 200+ funds and well over $100 billion invested in International ETFs – how do you sort through such a large and diverse selection?
George is nearing retirement and doesn’t want a downturn in the market to force him into working for another couple of years. On the other hand, George is worried about inflation and its impact on his standard of living while retired.
Max and Erma are well on their towards saving for retirement with a well-diversified portfolio. Although they have taken a hit in the recent bear market, they still have a substantial nest egg and want to protect their investments against any inflation threats that may arise from the massive monetary and fiscal stimulus actions taken by the U.S. and other large economies.
Portfolio diversification calls for spreading investment risk across asset classes and geographies. In many cases, exchange traded funds offer investors the opportunity to do both.