PICK does deserve some credit for entering a crowded field (there is no shortage of equity-based mining ETFs) and proving adept at attracting assets. The fund has nearly $236 million and if 2013 brings a risk on flair, PICK could soar.
WisdomTree China Dividend Ex-Financials Fund (NASDAQ:CHXF) The WisdomTree China Dividend Ex-Financials Fund is another ETF that entered an arena fraught with competition. There are hundreds of ETFs that offer some exposure to China, and in terms of China-specific funds, that universe is dominated by the iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index (NYSEARCA:FXI).
In other words, any new China-specific ETF that comes to market these days had better offer up something unique or risk being passed over in favor of more familiar fare. CHXF is unique. Not only does the fund feature a lower expense ratio than FXI, it excludes Chinese bank stocks in favor of Chinese equities with better dividend reputations. Up almost eight percent since its September debut, CHXF is straightforward in its approach and has accumulated $29.4 million in assets.
SPDR Series Trust (NYSEARCA:SJNK) For all the attention being paid to outflows from large, longer duration junk bond ETFs, SJNK is off to a banner start on the AUM front. Since its mid-March debut, SJNK has hauled in $548.3 million in assets and that number is steadily rising.
In late September, SJNK’s AUM total was $289 million. A month ago, it was $433.1 million. SJNK’s modified adjusted duration of 2.12 years is just under half that of its longer duration cousin, the SPDR Barclays Capital High Yield Bnd (NYSEARCA:JNK). If there is a knock on SJNK it is that its longer duration rivals have outpaced it this year.
Market Vectors ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:IHY) Keeping with the theme of soaring inflows to bond funds this year, the Market Vectors International High Yield Bond ETF has been an unheralded beneficiary of that movement.
The simple explanation of what IHY does is that it is an international equivalent of JNK or the iShares iBoxx $ High Yid Corp Bond (NYSEARCA:HYG). IHY is 10 basis cheaper than HYG and has the same expense ratio, 0.4 percent as JNK. The Market Vectors offering features a slightly higher 30-day SEC yield than its two larger rivals. Importantly, IHY has not deviated much from the performance of its U.S.-focused rivals. Since, its April debut IHY has slightly outpaced HYG while lagging JNK by a scant amount.
For those that believe a new ETF has to have $100 million in AUM to be validated as a “good” fund, IHY does better than that. The ETF now has over $201 million in assets, implying asset growth of nearly tenfold since late September.
