Jonas Ferris from Cashin In on Fox pokes some good fun at WisdomTree on Seeking Alpha for poor timing on listing its currency funds (and while he was at it for the timing of its value tilted funds too).
Ok, as I went back to the article to provide the link I saw the article has been removed with the following message left; This article has been removed, pending investigation of claims of material error.
Well I didn't notice any factual error but it is safe to say that Jonas does think the timing of a bunch of new currency products right here is bad. Without worring about whether he is right or wrong for the moment I think one crucial thing was missing which is the asset class nature of currency products.
Not everyone believes that currency is an assets class (I do) which is fine but for the folks that do view it as an asset class the timing of the listing should not matter. If currency is an asset class then a diversified portfolio will always have some exposure; maybe more exposure if the timing is "good" and less if it is not.
So then the question becomes are the WisdomTree products a better mousetrap where there is competition like with the euro and the yen? Where there is no competition, like with the real (ticker BZF) does the product capture the effect? These are ten minutes old (intentional hyperbole) so time will tell if these do work but the timing of the listing does seem to miss the point.
As someone from WT might say you could short them if you think the dollar is cheap (BTW a quick call to Schwab and they do have a few shares of BZF to lend).
Most ETFs are simple exposure to an asset class. Today is either a good day to buy that asset class or it isn't. That statement will always be true in the future as well. Today maybe being a bad day has nothing to do with whether the asset class is viable or not or whether fund does what it is supposed to or not.
A fund is only a bad fund if it does not do what it is supposed to do.
Wikinvest Wire
2 comments:
Timing? It's a trade, right? I've been putting up 6 charts on my laptop and watching the long/short moves. I noticed that it didn't matter if I knew which etf was on the particular screen. Buy low, sell high, buy low, the product doesn't matter much. (I have been partial to SKF). Coming from FOX, it has to be USD forever! I've been using the currencies for holding my conservative cash, and it's coming back to par. charlie
i think the issue with Wisdom Tree funds (i own some) is whether they deliver what they promise or not.
I have been disappointed with their dividend payouts, especially since the funds are dividend weighted. Also not too crazy about how they track the indexes.
For such a great idea I think they botched the implementation of earlier ETFs. i very much would love to own the Brazilian REAL but have been avoiding BZF till I see their payout and tracking.
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