A.I.M. Users Bulletin Board

[karw]

Hey Cindy,

I have the same question as you have : which ETF's to use ?

I use ETF's in Europe, mainly iShares. I prefer the Dublin based ishares or ishares II because they pay dividends per quarter, while the DE type for example typically pay per year. The same applies to other ETF families in Europe. They have to discover first that they exist for their customers who like frequent payouts.

Because i notice a run in the dollar I also like US ETF's, hoping for euro/dollar benefits on top of Aiming. I have looked at different suppliers and noticed:

- ishares, I like the international sector ETF's. Disadvantage is the cost of 0.48% and half-year dividend payments.

- Vanguard, I like the costs( for example VNQ 0.10%). They dont have global sector funds which is a minus. Only domestic sector funds. I like VGK with its high dividend, better than i can buy in Europe itself.

- Powershares, I like the diversity of what you can buy. It is a nice product set with monthly and quarterly dividend payments although their costs are a bit high. Their indices are not passive but active and looking at their graphs this gives more amplitude for example over the 2003-2008 period. How this method performs from 2008-2009-2010 is unclear to me at this moment. I read about traders who know the Invesco algorithms who anticipate on the portfolio realignments which could undermine the dynamic advantage.

- CEFs - the Nuveen list is very nice and you can search using ETFs, CEFs. I bought a bit here and there, looking at high dividend payments, but have no thoughts about what i see.

- Wisdomtree, I like the Siegel algorithm. Wisdomtree is paying dividends now quarterly. Their costs are at the higher end, but a problem is the ability to trade. Not all trades fill. They supply international sectorfunds.

- Calamos and ACG. You can read a lot on this forum because a lot of people use these for income. CHY is nice to AIM currently.

This is roughly what I consider at this moment. I must say that I get the best feelings using the iShares Global Sector funds. They feel like hard currency to me. It could be because I am based in Europe, but I believe in the Global economy and don't want to be overweight in a particular area.

I also still Aim Stocks, although I liquidated some machines at the top.

I would also like to read other people's ideas/thoughts about ETF's and how they are getting used.

Kind Regards, Karw