The ETF Review

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Our aim is to provide a disciplined technical approach to selecting investments for a diversified portfolio of exchange traded funds (ETFs). The service includes:

Commentary: each week we evaluate actively traded ETFs covering all major asset classes (stock indices, sectors, international markets, bonds, REITS and gold).
Funds in Focus: we study several ETFs in more depth looking at price trends, relative performance and breadth of trends.
Model Portfolio Recommendations: we aim to demonstrate the practical application of the technical signals produced by our research. Exposure to the various asset classes within our model portfolio will be relatively flexible in order to illustrate the investment areas that we feel offer most potential.
Charts: the weekly email includes charts for our universe of actively traded ETFs, using a disciplined format covering price & relative trends and breadth of trends in the underlying index (if available).
Online access: as a subscriber, you will have access to the daily updated ETF charts on the Investorsintelligence.com website. Our charting engine allows you to apply technical studies including point & figure, candlestick, moving averages and momentum. You can save your fund selections in watch lists. You will be able to view the current ETF Review and archived copies.

Our Methodology

We have selected a universe of actively traded ETFs which provide coverage of all the major asset classes. These selected funds will be analysed each week using the following consistent approach:

a) Price trend

We will determine the current price trend using a six month bar chart. We will use exponential moving averages to indicate momentum of prices; and potential areas of support or resistance.

b) Relative trend

The lower window of the price charts displays the relative (ratio) indicator for the ETF against the S&P500 index.

This provides a very visual picture as to the performance of that ETF against the benchmark S&P500 index: if the indicator line is rising it indicates outperformance, if the line is falling it indicates underperformance.

c) Breadth of trends

Breadth indicators provide one of the best ways of calling intermediate market tops and bottoms and for this reason have been widely adopted by the investment community.

Breadth indicators measure the number of stocks with rising trends within a particular index in order to gauge the amount of participation in that index. We have used the percentage of stocks above their 30 week moving average to determine those in uptrends.

Probably the best market buy signals are generated when the breadth indicator moves up from a low level. This is essentially a contrarian signal as there are still only a low percentage of constituent stocks in uptrends (but importantly this number is now growing, signaling a potential change of trend). Conversely, the best market sell signals come from a decline in the breadth indicator from high levels which indicates that market participation has peaked and there a declining number of constituent stocks in uptrends.

Since Investors Intelligence has global stock coverage, we have been able to construct indicators which measure breadth of trends for most of the countries or regions covered by ETFs.

We have constructed our breadth indicators based on the main local headline indices for each country/region: for example, our Japanese breadth indicator measures the breadth of trends for the constituent stocks of the Topix 100 index. This will, of course, not always be the same as the holdings for a specific Japanese ETF.

To conclude, we will favor ETFs where the relevant breadth indicator is strong and expanding from low levels and avoid those where breadth is weak and/or deteriorating from high

Frequency & Price

The ETF Review is published on a weekly basis and we will also produce special, ad hoc, alerts on a timely basis to communicate changes in the model portfolio.

The service costs just US$149.00 for a full year’s membership.

Click here to subscribe or take a one month trial for just $15.00

Access to our research services requires acceptance of our Terms of Business and is subject to our Disclaimer. View our Privacy Policy. The US Stock Service and the US Market Timing service are provided by Chartcraft Inc (’Chartcraft’), which is not a regulated business. All other services are provided by Stockcube Research Limited (’Stockcube’) which is authorised and regulated by the UK’s Financial Services Authority. Chartcraft and Stockcube are wholly-owned by Stockcube plc a UK company registered in England.