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ETF Spotlight Newsletter
A sampling of research & data from AltaVista Research
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In This Issue
Chart of the week
Fund focus
New coverage
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Coverage at a glance
No. of ETFs
613

Total Mkt Cap ($bns)

$769.5

Avg. daily value traded ($bns)

$59.2
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March 7, 2011
Greetings!

Below please find the ETF Spotlight newsletter containing highlights of the research and data on www.etfresearchcenter.com as well as a recap of the past week's action in the ETF market. 

In this week's issue

technicianConsumer Discretionary ETFs 
  • Chart of the week: Discretionary's Improving Outlook
  • Fund Focus: iShares MSCI ACWI ex-US Consumer Discretionary (AXDI)
  • Revisions, asset flows & short interest
  • 2011 Cash flow per share estimates, CF/Shr. vs EPS, and P/CF multiples for major ETFs
  • Market monitor - movers & categories
To download the full newsletter click here.

Chart of the week
Discretionary's Improving Outlook

News on the unemployment front has been somewhat better recently, and consumer confidence has increased as well. This has translated into an improved outlook for Consumer Discretionary ETFs. Specifically, of the ten such ETFs in the chart below, all but one has seen earnings estimates for the current fiscal year improve over the past two months.  

 

However, investors may be getting ahead of themselves. Except in three cases, the performance of these stocks has far outpaced the improvement in outlook over the same time frame. Most of these funds are also coming off of strong performances last year. As a result, the ALTAR Scores™ --our rating of an ETF's overall investment merit--for these funds are not particularly attractive (see table in full newsletter)

 

The standout in this regards is the iShares MSCI ACWI ex-US Consumer Discretionary fund (AXDI), the only one that saw estimates decline slightly over the past two months. AXDI is the subject of this week's Fund Focus.


Download the full newsletter here.    

Chart: Discretionary's Improving Outlook 
Two month change in current FY EPS estimates and stock prices
Discr 2mo change
Source: AltaVista Research  

Fund Focus
iShares MSCI ACWI ex-US Consumer Discretionary (AXDI)open_wallet

Although this fund excludes consumer firms domiciled in the U.S., global brands such as Toyota, Sony and Louis Vuitton constituting AXDI are no strangers to U.S. consumers. Even so, their relative skew towards global consumers means they have not gotten as much of a boost from the belated recovery of the U.S., so estimate revisions have been weak. What we like about this small fund is that its attractive valuation multiples give it the highest ALTAR Score™ among the many Discretionary funds we follow. 


To download the full newsletter, click
here.

New coverage
 
We have added coverage of nine new ETFs. Go to the ETF Research Center for details on any of them.

TickerFund Name
XTLSPDR S&P Telecom
XTNSPDR S&P Transportation
XHESPDR S&P Health Care Equipment
FONEFirst Trust Cea Smartphone
VXUSVanguard Total International Stock
ANDGlobal X FTSE Andean 40 ETF
EMVXGlobal X Emerging Market Value
EMGXGlobal X Emergin Market Growth
ASEAGlobal X Asean 40
As always your questions & feedback are most welcome.
 
Sincerely,
 
Michael Krause
AltaVista Research