New ETFs On The Block: Vanguard Tax-Exempt Bond Index Fund (VTEB)

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Going by recent trends, about 200 new exchange-traded funds are launched in an average year. Vanguard, the second largest US ETF issuer after Blackrock’s iShares, however, remains conspicuously absent at most times despite managing $3.3 trillion in global assets. Not any more after the Penn-based asset manager decided to break its long hiatus of more than two years with the …

New ETFs On The Block: First Trust Managed Municipal Bond ETF (FMB)

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The ride for all sorts of long-duration bonds and bond ETFs turned bumpy in mid 2013 after the former Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke announced the central bank would begin to taper its long-running quantitative easing program towards the end of the year. Poor fiscal health management in many municipalities made the situation worse for Munis.The situation for the almost $3.7 …

New ETFs On The Block: Market Vectors Short High Yield Municipal Index ETF (SHYD)

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After witnessing strong headwinds in 2013, fixed income instruments seem to have found favor with investors going into 2014, thanks to weak economic data and a mixed earnings season. Market participants who called for rebalancing portfolios are quietly hitting the pause button, waiting to see more solid numbers before making the next move on riskier assets. The municipal bond segment …