Click here to listen to The ETF Store Show now.

Exchange Traded Funds are continuing to evolve and individual investors are reaping the benefits.  Investment options that were previously reserved for only the most wealthy, sophisticated, institutional investors are now being made available to all investors through ETFs.  As we like to say at The ETF Store, with their combination of lower costs and access to an enormous range of investments and investment strategies, ETFs have democratized investing.  On our most recent radio broadcast, IndexIQ CEO Adam Patti joined us to discuss their lineup of liquid alternative ETFs which have helped bring some of these institutional caliber strategies to the broader investment marketplace.  IndexIQ offers several hedge fund style ETFs in addition to some interesting commodity and small cap equity ETFs.  Adam explained where these alternative ETFs might fit in your investment portfolio and he also offered some thoughts on where additional innovation in the ETF industry may come from.

In our market update, we explained how even though the stock market has felt more like a roller coaster ride than a place to invest money over the past month, investors must be careful not to overreact to the wild swings.  While volatility has certainly picked up, the fact remains that the Dow Jones Industrial Average is essentially flat since the Fed first hinted at tapering bond purchases back on May 22nd.  Unfortunately, the financial media might have you believe that the market is down significantly over this period of time.  The lesson for investors is that you need to ensure you have a well thought out, disciplined investment plan in place and not make rash moves based on news headlines or day-to-day price swings.  In our weekly ETF Spotlight segment, given our focus on IndexIQ ETFs, we examined a hedge fund style ETF that is the largest of its kind (IQ Hedge Multi-Strategy Tracker ETF – Ticker QAI).  This particular ETF offers investors exposure to several hedge fund strategies in an attempt to generate returns regardless of market conditions.  Learn more about QAI by visiting www.etfbuzz.com.

Click here to listen to The ETF Store Show now.

On our most recent radio broadcast, First Mortgage Solutions President Ryan Wiebe joined us to cover all aspects of the current mortgage market, including his take on the recent spike in mortgage rates.  Mortgage rates, and interest rates in general, have always been closely watched in the financial markets due to the big impact they can have on demand for housing, the overall economy, and ultimately, your investments.  Ryan discussed what he’s seeing on the ground, covering everything from where mortgage rates may be heading to the tightness in credit from banks and the recent trend of increasing home values.  We also discussed the results of an interesting survey conducted by real estate website Zillow and featured in an article on CNNMoney titled “Homebuyers Clueless About Mortgages”.  The surprising results indicate that there are still some common misconceptions among homebuyers regarding mortgages and Ryan helped to clear up each of these.

In our weekly ETF Spotlight segment, keeping with the theme of the show, we delved into a mortgage backed security ETF (iShares Barclays MBS Bond ETF – ticker MBB).  Mortgage backed securities are bonds backed by a pool of homeowner mortgages whereby the issuer of the bonds collects the monthly payments from that pool of mortgages and then passes on a proportionate share of the collected principal and interest to the bondholders.  During the show, we explained the performance drivers of mortgage backed securities and where they may fit within your investment portfolio.  Learn more about MBB by visiting www.etfbuzz.com.

Click here to listen to The ETF Store Show now.

Do you know if your financial advisor is legally required to act in your best interests?  Many individual investors think the answer to this question is obvious – “of course they are”.  Unfortunately, and surprisingly to many investors, that’s not necessarily the case.  In the financial services industry, so-called advisors operate under many different titles – Financial Advisor, Financial Planner, Stockbroker, Registered Investment Advisor.  Regardless of the title, many investors make the assumption that their financial professional is always looking out for their best financial interests.  What may come as a shock is that only Registered Investment Advisors are legally required to look out for your best financial interests.

On our most recent radio broadcast, attorney Eddie Greim, partner with Kansas City law firm Graves Bartle Marcus & Garrett, joined us to discuss the differences between a Registered Investment Advisor and a Broker (which is what many so-called “advisors” actually are) and the impact these differences can have on the types of investment product recommendations you receive.  You might be surprised to learn that it can be perfectly ok for brokers to sell you the highest fee mutual funds and receive a nice fat commission check for doing so.  At The ETF Store, as a Registered Investment Advisor, we must put our clients’ interests ahead of our own and we don’t receive commission checks for recommending expensive investment products.  We believe that it’s of the utmost importance that you understand whether the financial professional you’re using is a Registered Investment Advisor or a Broker – the potential impact of this distinction can have a profound effect on your long-term investment returns.  Below is a quick chart on the key differences between the two:

In our weekly ETF Spotlight segment, we examined one of the least expensive ETFs on the market and one that offers exposure to 750 of the largest U.S. companies (Schwab US Large-Cap ETF – ticker SCHX).  For an unbelievable 0.04% annually, you can obtain broad based exposure to the US stock market and own companies like Apple, Exxon, Google, and GE.  Compare this ETF to the average actively managed mutual fund which has an expense ratio of around 1.50% and underperforms its benchmark the majority of the time.  Learn more about SCHX by visiting www.etfbuzz.com.

Click here to listen to The ETF Store Show now.

On our most recent radio broadcast, we walked through the 8 common mistakes that retirees make as outlined by Paul Merriman on The Wall Street Journal’s Marketwatch.  At The ETF Store, we spend a great deal of time focusing on ETFs and ensuring our client portfolios are properly positioned, but we also work with clients to put together comprehensive financial plans to help them reach their financial goals.  For retirees, this process includes discussing all of the key factors that go into a financially successful retirement.  There are many potential pitfalls that can derail your retirement and any one of these pitfalls can have disastrous results.  On our show, we discussed each of the pitfalls listed in Mr. Merriman’s article and explained how you can avoid them:

1. Failing to develop a budget.
2. Failing to budget predictable expenses such as income taxes or home repairs.
3. Basing your standard of living on unrealistically high returns from your investments.
4. Withdrawing more money from your retirement portfolio than your portfolio can support over the long-run.
5. Overreacting to bear markets.
6. Hanging on to risky investments for too long.
7. Purchasing illiquid investments.
8. Giving away too much money to either charities or children.

In our weekly market update, we delved into gold and Japanese equities, two areas that have garnered a lot of media attention recently and both of which have been significantly impacted by central bank monetary policy.  We looked at what’s next for both assets and explained how, as always, proper portfolio diversification can allow you to sleep at night regardless of how these assets perform.  Speaking of portfolio diversification, in our weekly ETF Spotlight segment, we examined a broad based, developed international equity ETF (iShares Core MSCI EAFE ETF – ticker symbol IEFA) and explained how international equity exposure can offer diversification benefits to your portfolio.  Learn more about IEFA at www.etfbuzz.com.

Click here to listen to The ETF Store Show now.

On our most recent radio broadcast, we focused on a subject that sounds complex, but is rooted in a very basic practice – asset allocation.  Asset allocation is the process of getting the right mix of investments in your portfolio given your particular situation.  You take into account factors such as your age, risk tolerance, and financial goals and then work to invest in the right asset classes in a manner which will ideally allow you to meet those financial goals.  At The ETF Store, it’s our belief that the performance of your investment portfolio, over the long-run, isn’t determined by picking the next hot mutual fund manager or some high flying tech stock, but instead, your returns are based on proper asset allocation decisions – you want the right mix of stocks, bonds, alternative assets, and even cash in your portfolio.  There was a landmark study that concluded over 90% of the variability of long-term investor returns can be attributed to asset allocation.  So while the concept of asset allocation is fairly straightforward, its importance cannot be overstated.

On our show, we explained how ETFs have completely changed the game for investors by allowing them to invest in a wide range of asset classes that were previously unavailable or difficult to access – investments like gold, commodities, real estate, and emerging market stocks and bonds.  ETFs have provided investors a way to easily and cost effectively express asset allocation decisions.  We also delved into how investors can attempt to optimize returns and reduce risk through proper asset allocation in their investment portfolios.

In our weekly market update, we looked at the top 10 ETF asset gainers so far in 2013 and offered some thoughts on why these ETFs have attracted investor dollars.  In our weekly ETF Spotlight segment, we examined a broad based US Real Estate Investment Trust, or REIT, ETF (Vanguard REIT Index ETF – ticker symbol VNQ) and explained how real estate investments can offer yield, an inflation hedge, and some diversification benefits.  Learn more about VNQ at etfbuzz.com.

Click here to listen to The ETF Store Show now.

On our most recent radio broadcast, Jason Salinardi, estate planning attorney and co-founder of BridgeBuilder-Plans for Life, joined us to discuss the importance of developing a proper estate plan so that both your family and financial goals are met after you pass away.  While this can, without a doubt, be an uncomfortable subject to discuss, there are potentially significant negative ramifications to your surviving family if you fail to put an appropriate plan in place.  On the show, we discussed what an estate plan looks like, why it’s important, and what you can do now to start putting your own plan in place.  We also explained why estate planning is not just for wealthy individuals – it’s something that is applicable to anyone with assets or a family to consider.  At The ETF Store, we work with some of the best and brightest partners to ensure that our clients have access to the right professional services – whether that’s professional accounting, mortgage or real estate needs, or estate planning.  The ETF Store is completely independent and just like with our investment selection, we’re free to select what we believe is best for our clients to help them reach their financial goals.

In our weekly ETF Spotlight segment, we discussed a broad based commodity Exchange Traded Note (the ELEMENTS Rogers International Commodity ETN – ticker RJI) and explained the role of commodities in a well-diversified portfolio.  In our opinion, far too many investors do not have enough uncorrelated assets in their investment portfolio.  They simply have a cookie-cutter portfolio containing stocks and bonds.  We believe this lack of uncorrelated assets can increase the volatility, and therefore risk, of a portfolio.  Alternative assets such as commodities can offer diversification benefits and also serve as an inflation hedge.  Learn more about RJI at etfbuzz.com.

Click here to listen to The ETF Store Show now.

If you currently participate in a company 401k plan or even if you have an old 401k account sitting with a previous employer, PBS’ new documentary “The Retirement Gamble” could have you second-guessing whether your 401k account is a benefit to you or to the mutual fund industry.  From high fees, to broker kickbacks, to underperformance – this documentary takes a candid look at how mutual funds made their way into your 401k and more importantly, it examines the potential negative impact these funds can have on your retirement.  At The ETF Store, we believe that low cost, index-based ETFs are the best way to build an investment portfolio and we receive no kickbacks for using these ETFs.  We simply select what we believe to be the best ETF for the asset class we want exposure to.  Unfortunately, 401k plan participants are, often times, stuck with high cost, actively managed mutual funds that pay a nice commission to the broker who sold them to your plan.  On our most recent radio show, we discussed PBS’ new documentary in detail and explained why it’s critical that you understand exactly what you’re getting from your 401k.  Watch the full documentary below – and thank us later.

Watch The Retirement Gamble on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE.

Watch The Retirement Gamble on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE.

Watch The Retirement Gamble on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE.

Watch The Retirement Gamble on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE.

Watch The Retirement Gamble on PBS. See more from FRONTLINE.

Click here to listen to The ETF Store Show now.

Some investors select their financial advisor based on the name on the door – the brand, if you will.  Other investors are referred to a financial advisor by family or friends.  While neither of these is necessary a bad place to start, it can be a big mistake to assume that a well-known brand or solid referral will yield the best financial advisor for your situation.  Regardless of how you initially find an advisor, it’s critical to your financial future that you still ask the right questions before ultimately deciding to work with that advisor.  On our most recent radio broadcast, we armed you with the five key questions that you absolutely must ask a financial advisor before hiring them.  Don’t be shy.  If your advisor is uncomfortable answering these questions or simply can’t answer them satisfactorily, you should look for another advisor.  Listen to our full broadcast as we go into detail on each of the following key questions to pepper your advisor with:

• How are you compensated?  In other words, how do you make money off of me?
• Do you have a fiduciary obligation to your clients?
• What investment products do you use?
• What is your investment philosophy or approach to investing?
• How often do you discuss the overall performance of my portfolio and how it relates to my financial plan moving forward?

While there are certainly other questions you can ask, if you use the above as the foundation, you should have a pretty good idea on how the advisor operates and whether they’re the right fit for you.  And, by the way, demand excellence in the answers – it’s your money and your financial future.

In addition to discussing the key questions to ask a financial advisor before hiring them, we conducted our usual weekly market update, fielded our listener question of the week, and spotlighted a very interesting (and popular) low volatility equity ETF – the PowerShares S&P 500 Low Volatility ETF (ticker SPLV).

Geraci helped launched The ETF Store in 2008 and has since led the firm to a doubling of size in the past two years.  The ETF Store is a nationally recognized, fee-based, independent registered investment advisor providing clients with low cost, diversified portfolios comprised primarily of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).  Geraci has been quoted by national publications such as Money Magazine and The Wall Street Journal and hosts the weekly radio show The ETF Store Show, the first and only radio program focused solely on Exchange Traded Funds.  Prior to The ETF Store, Geraci was instrumental in building out a significant portion of the administrative and operational infrastructure at Freightquote.com as the company grew from $1 million in annual revenues to nearly $400 million.

Geraci is a graduate of The University of Kansas, earning both his undergraduate degree in Business Administration and Master of Business Administration.  Geraci also serves on the Board of Trustees for the Missouri Council on Economic Education.

Click here to listen to The ETF Store Show now.

Back in February, Charles Schwab announced what we called an “ETF Game Changer” – the launch of Schwab ETF OneSource.  On our most recent radio broadcast, Eric Pollackov, Managing Director of ETFs at Charles Schwab, joined us to offer his thoughts on this new ETF platform and also discuss some exciting new “fundamental” ETFs that Schwab has in registration.  We also chatted about Schwab’s core lineup of inexpensive, broad-based ETFs and why investment costs have become an even bigger concern for investors over the last several years.

In addition to our conversation with Eric, we spent a good chunk of the show offering a nice refresher on how Exchange Traded Funds compare to mutual funds or even individual stocks and bonds.  We explained how ETFs can potentially lower your investment costs, offer greater tax efficiency, allow for more diversification, and remove the risk of mutual fund manager underperformance.  We also fielded our “Listener Question of the Week” and spotlighted one of the aforementioned Schwab core ETFs – the Schwab U.S. Mid-Cap ETF (ticker SCHM).