ETF's

displaced dub

hi all.... again.

I am looking into buying some etf's through my davy account, what are your opinions on etf's and what would you consider buying?

Link to Davy etf's http://www.davy.ie/TopLevel?page=etfprices

Cheers

radioactiveman

ETFs are great if you don't have the expertise to evaluate individual stocks and figure out if they are actually a good investment for you. Also you only need two or three to get very good diversification.

I would go with any of the major indexes like the S&P 500, Eurostoxx 50, Emerging markets index, China, or a mix of two or three of them.
You could also look at an Oil and Gas index, it's a good index to hold because it gives you diversification if there is ever inflation due to rising energy costs, and it isn't a bad investment in itself anyway.

I wouldn't buy ETFs that are denominated in dollars (like the ones on the Davy's website) because you then have a currency risk, e.g. if your ETF rises 5% but the dollar falls 10% against the euro, you will lose 5% if you sell your dollar ETF shares and convert the dollars to euros.

You have a currency risk anyway depending on the underlying assets of the investment but it's something to watch out for. I would buy ETFs sold on any of the european exchanges, that are denominated in euros.

There are a few online brokers that are backed up by major banks and that are pretty safe - at least as safe as our own banks or Davy's. You can get an account with no annual charge and with cheaper transactions than Irish stockbrokers (about 10 or 15 euros which is about half of what brokers charge here). All of these things add up and you're investing to make money so why give it to overpriced brokers? that's the way I see it anyway.

Also if you have a choice of say 3 or 4 different ETF companies offering the same index - have a look at the cut the ETF company takes. It's usually between 0.15% (very cheap) and 0.75% (bit pricey).
Also check the dividends that they have paid in the last few years. Some pay more than others - they might not be under any obligation to pay you anything in dividends even though they are receiving them from the individual companies! Sometimes there can be a difference of 1% or 2% in the dividends between the ETF providers.

Also average in - don't buy all at once at the moment. Just a personal point of view. Stocks are pricey at the moment.

displaced dub

radioactiveman wrote: »

ETFs are great if you don't have the expertise to evaluate individual stocks and figure out if they are actually a good investment for you. Also you only need two or three to get very good diversification.

I would go with any of the major indexes like the S&P 500, Eurostoxx 50, Emerging markets index, China, or a mix of two or three of them.
You could also look at an Oil and Gas index, it's a good index to hold because it gives you diversification if there is ever inflation due to rising energy costs, and it isn't a bad investment in itself anyway.

I wouldn't buy ETFs that are denominated in dollars (like the ones on the Davy's website) because you then have a currency risk, e.g. if your ETF rises 5% but the dollar falls 10% against the euro, you will lose 5% if you sell your dollar ETF shares and convert the dollars to euros.

You have a currency risk anyway depending on the underlying assets of the investment but it's something to watch out for. I would buy ETFs sold on any of the european exchanges, that are denominated in euros.

There are a few online brokers that are backed up by major banks and that are pretty safe - at least as safe as our own banks or Davy's. You can get an account with no annual charge and with cheaper transactions than Irish stockbrokers (about 10 or 15 euros which is about half of what brokers charge here). All of these things add up and you're investing to make money so why give it to overpriced brokers? that's the way I see it anyway.

Also if you have a choice of say 3 or 4 different ETF companies offering the same index - have a look at the cut the ETF company takes. It's usually between 0.15% (very cheap) and 0.75% (bit pricey).
Also check the dividends that they have paid in the last few years. Some pay more than others - they might not be under any obligation to pay you anything in dividends even though they are receiving them from the individual companies! Sometimes there can be a difference of 1% or 2% in the dividends between the ETF providers.

Also average in - don't buy all at once at the moment. Just a personal point of view. Stocks are pricey at the moment.

Thanks for the advice very detailed and interesting will look into it further.

ED 209

Yeah an index is much better for the individual investor who doesn't have the time to do extensive research. Love the point radioactiveman made about the ETFs in dollars. Nice one.

joecc

any recommends for online brokers?

Speculator

displaced dub wrote: »

hi all.... again.

I am looking into buying some etf's through my davy account, what are your opinions on etf's and what would you consider buying?

Link to Davy etf's http://www.davy.ie/TopLevel?page=etfprices

Cheers

Not a great selection there. Have you checked out www.tdwaterhouse.ie ?

If I had to make a choice on the ETF's available I would chose
ISHR DJ ENRGY FD I'm currently invested in the following etf's geiger counter, nuke and and new city energy.
Some are availble through New City Investment Managers
http://www.ncim.co.uk/

Good article here
http://www.moneyweek.com/investments/why-invest-in-etfs.aspx

Best of luck with your investment.

bosra

I think one of the best websites (or at least a very good place to start) around for ETF information is - Seeking Alpha .. see http://seekingalpha.com/dashboard/etfs?source=headtabs ..

joecc

FYI in this month's Eddie Hobbs magazine (You and Your Money?) there's an article related to this thread...he notes ETFS Brent Oil, ETFS Physical Precious Metals Basket, ETFS WNA Global Energy Fund and so on...

joecc

radioactiveman wrote: »

ETFs are great if you don't have the expertise to evaluate individual stocks and figure out if they are actually a good investment for you. Also you only need two or three to get very good diversification.

I would go with any of the major indexes like the S&P 500, Eurostoxx 50, Emerging markets index, China, or a mix of two or three of them.
You could also look at an Oil and Gas index, it's a good index to hold because it gives you diversification if there is ever inflation due to rising energy costs, and it isn't a bad investment in itself anyway.

I wouldn't buy ETFs that are denominated in dollars (like the ones on the Davy's website) because you then have a currency risk, e.g. if your ETF rises 5% but the dollar falls 10% against the euro, you will lose 5% if you sell your dollar ETF shares and convert the dollars to euros.

You have a currency risk anyway depending on the underlying assets of the investment but it's something to watch out for. I would buy ETFs sold on any of the european exchanges, that are denominated in euros.

There are a few online brokers that are backed up by major banks and that are pretty safe - at least as safe as our own banks or Davy's. You can get an account with no annual charge and with cheaper transactions than Irish stockbrokers (about 10 or 15 euros which is about half of what brokers charge here). All of these things add up and you're investing to make money so why give it to overpriced brokers? that's the way I see it anyway.

Also if you have a choice of say 3 or 4 different ETF companies offering the same index - have a look at the cut the ETF company takes. It's usually between 0.15% (very cheap) and 0.75% (bit pricey).
Also check the dividends that they have paid in the last few years. Some pay more than others - they might not be under any obligation to pay you anything in dividends even though they are receiving them from the individual companies! Sometimes there can be a difference of 1% or 2% in the dividends between the ETF providers.

Also average in - don't buy all at once at the moment. Just a personal point of view. Stocks are pricey at the moment.

Good info...

From you experience....How does Waterhouse charges compare to other online?
http://www.tdwaterhouse.ie/getstarted/rates/index.php

joecc

Any info on Tracker Bonds - which guarantee your initial investment?

dragonkin

Looking to buy some ETFs myself at the moment. In particular going to buy RICI commodities index and WNA nuclear Index. I believe strongly in both the underlying indexs the RICI and WNA nuclear indexes so that's why I'm buying those ETFs despite the hefty TER prices.

In the process of opening an account with fortuneo.fr as they charge €2.45 for Euronext trades less than €750 with no annual fee etc (min one trade per month). I intend building up the investment over time every month. It's a French bank tho so you need to speak good french to understand the documentation and platform.

Also looking at Utilities and world Energy ETFS.