Famed investor and best-selling author Jim Rogers was interviewed by Yahoo!’s Tech Ticker back in October 2009, and he’s still bullish on commodities, but not so much on gold.

Here’s the 30-second takeaway from the video:

• Individual investors should focus on commodity ETFs, unless they have a deep understanding and interest in commodities futures trading.

• Forget gold, and invest in other material instead like lead, zinc, copper and silver.

• Agriculture is the next big crisis, with the Food and Agriculture Organization warning countries that the world is one disaster away from a major food shortage in much of the world.

“I think I’ll make money in other commodities that are more useful.”

Rogers owns gold, but he not very bullish on it. I think his argument against gold is a good one. He basically thinks that it has some intrinsic value, but only from a subjective point of view. It simply isn’t as practical a metal as lead, zinc or silver. And because gold “is mystical to many people”, it’s garnered the lions share of attention, but that also means there’s less upside potential than there is in more over looked, less attractive metals.

“most agricultural products are still depressed on a historic basis.”

Speaking of useful commodities, Rogers is quite bullish on agricultural commodities. Rogers sees a vast lack of supply, and calls it a looming catastrophe. He thinks that the world is in for a period ahead when some parts of the globe won’t be able to get food at any price.

“The story is not over, not for a while. I don’t see any reason it’s going to be over for a few years because no one is bringing new supply on stream.”

Is Jim Rogers right?

Who knows? But he was right when he called a global commodities rally in 1999. And he presents sensible arguments to support his views on various commodities, which is more than I can say for many of the gold pushers that have been crawling out of the woodwork in the past 3-5 years.

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It’s Mutual Fund Monday again, and I thought that I’d do something a little different this week. Rather than focus on a single fund or concept about funds, I’m focusing on a topic and sharing some of the interesting posts I’ve found on other blogs recently about that topic. The topic: ETFs.

ETFs, or exchange traded funds, first became available to investors in 1993 and have since evolved from being simple index trackers to being full blown portfolios or hedge funds of their own. There’s much mistaken knowledge about ETFs and much confusion. Hopefully these posts will help set you straight on ETFs. Even if you think you know all about them, there is probably a thing or two you didn’t know.

How to Choose ETFs for Your Portfolio from Oblivious Investor is a great place to start when beginning to add ETFs to your portfolio. He examines the usual suspects in regards to the important factors of an ETF, like expense ratio and which index it tracks; but he also covers some lesser known or often overlooked factors like the Bid/Ask Spread of the fund.

Not sure about ETFs, or too sure about them? Be sure to check out Ten Myths About ETF Investing from ETFdb before you make another decision about ETFs

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David Swensen has managed the Yale University endowment from 1984 to 2008 and during that time, the endowment returned an annualized 16.6% – 5 points better than the S&P 500 and a generic balanced portfolio of 60% in a stock index, and 40% in bond index. That equates to a 40 times a grow in wealth with 1/3 of the volatility.

Not too shabby.

That’s the rosy part of the picture though, since 2008 was a devastating year for just about all kinds of investments. From June 2007 to June 2008, the endowment is down an estimated 25-35%. But hey, no body’s perfect. And that’s still a hair better than the broader market. Besides, even when 2008 is factored into the equation, the Yale endowment returned an annualized 14%.

Here’s how you can create your own Ivy League endowment fund with a 10% allocation in each of these ETFs.

iPath S&P GSCI Total Return Index ETN (GSP)

GSP is linked to the GSCI (Goldman Sachs S&P GSCI Commodity Index) Total Return Index and provides exposure to unleveraged commodities. The GSP index is production-weighted, reflecting the relative significance of each commodity to the world economy. Crude oil is currently the dominant commodity in this nondiversified index.

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iShares Barclays TIPS Bond (TIP)

The iShares Barclays TIPS Bond ETF seeks results that correspond generally to the Barclays Capital U.S. Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS) Index (Series-L). This fund invests at least 90% of the assets in TIPS and at least 95% if the assets in U.S. government bonds. The remainder of assets can be in U.S. government bonds not included in the underlying index.

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PowerShares DB Commodity Index Tracking (DBC)

The DBC ETF tracks changes in the level of the Deutsche Bank Liquid Commodity index. This fund investments in a portfolio of exchange-traded futures on the commodities comprising the Deutsche Bank Liquid Commodity index. The index commodities include: Heating Oil, light, Sweet Crude Oil (WTI), Natural Gas, Brent Crude, RBOB Gasoline, Gold, Silver, Aluminum, Zinc, Copper Grade A, Corn, Wheat, Soybeans, and Sugar.

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SPDR Dow Jones Intl Real Estate (RWX)

The RWX seeks to replicate the Dow Jones Global ex-US Select Real Estate Securities index. The index is a float adjusted market cap index designed to measure the performance of publicly traded real estate securities in countries excluding the U.S..

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Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock ETF (VWO)

Like the name suggests, this ETF tracks the performance of the MSCI Emerging Markets index. The VWO is a passively managed investment fund which invests all or most of its assets in a representative sample of the common stocks included in the MSCI Emerging Markets index. The index currently includes around 781 common stocks.

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Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US ETF (VEU)

The VEU fund tracks the FTSE All-World ex-US Index. The index is a free-float-adjusted, market cap weighting of nearly 2,200 stocks of companies located in 46 countries.

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Vanguard REIT Index ETF (VNQ)

This fund invests in U.S. based real estate investment trusts (REITs) and is perfect for income and moderate long-term capital appreciation. The fund typically invests 98% of its assets in REITs and tracks the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) US REIT Index.

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Vanguard Small Cap ETF (VB)

The VB ETF tracks the MSCI US Small Cap 1750 benchmark index that measures the investment return of small cap stocks. It’s a passively managed, broadly diversified fund of smaller U.S. companies’ stock.

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Vanguard Total Bond Market ETF (BND)

As the name suggests, the BND ETF invests the majority of its assets (no less than 80%) in bonds held in a broad, market-weighted bond index. The fund maintains a dollar-weighted average maturity consistent with that of the index, ranging between 5 and 10 years.

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Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI)

Vanguard’s VTI fund tracks the MSCI US Broad Market index. It’s passively managed and invests in 1,200-1,300 of the stocks in the MSCI US Broad Market index. It is often used as a proxy for “owning the entire U.S. Stock market.”

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Kiplinger has released their annual “best of” edition, where they rate the best of just about everything. One of the categories is ETF’s. I thought I’d share the picks, and some thoughts on them here, but you should check out the complete issue if you get a chance.

Best ETF for Income.

Kiplinger’s pick for best Income ETF is the iShares iBoxx $ Invest Grade Corp Bond (LQD) ETF. It not only has a decent yield, but a pretty good return so far for the year, especially for a bond ETF – 11.65%.

LQD generally seeks to match the price and yield performance of the iBoxx $ Liquid Investment Grade Index. LQD invests 90% or more of assets in the bonds of the underlying index, with at least 95% in investment grade corporate bonds. The remaining 5% of assets can be in U.S. government obligations, and in cash and cash equivalents. It is a non diversified fund, meaning there is no stock component, only bonds. That’s something to consider if diversification is important in the income portion of your portfolio.

Not only has this fund outpaced most other corporate bond ETF’s, it also pays a monthly dividend.

YTD Return: 11.65%
Yield : 5.38%
Total Expense Ratio 0.15%

Best ETF for Those Seeking a High Return.

Kiplinger’s first of two Vanguard funds recommended in this article is the Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock ETF (VWO). It’s no wonder either, with an expense ratio of only 0.20%, and a total return year to date of a whopping 62.82%!

Vanguard’s Emerging Markets Stock ETF tracks the performance of the MSCI Emerging Markets index. It’s a passively managed fund which invests all or nearly all of its assets in a representative sample of the common stocks included in the MSCI Emerging Markets index.

YTD Return: 62.82%
Yield: 3.11%
Total Expense Ratio 0.2%

Small companies.

The second Vanguard fund recommended is the Vanguard Small Cap ETF (VB).

The VB ETF tracks a benchmark MSCI US Small Cap 1750 index. It invests all or nearly all of its assets in stocks that make up that index. Like all Vanguard ETF’s, the VB has a low expense ratio (0.1%), but a high (for small cap stocks) yield of 1.76% – and it’s had a pretty good run this year.

YTD Return: 30.92%
Yield: 1.76%
Total Expense Ratio 0.1%

Complete portfolio.

The iShares S&P Growth Allocation (AOR) ETF is like a one stop shop for your somewhat generic allocation with moderate risk portfolio. It invests 60-70% in stocks, and 30-40% in fixed income securities like bonds and REITs.

It’s a great out of the box portfolio for the investor who isn’t sure what he should be investing in and what kind of allocation it should be.

YTD Return: 15.70%
Yield: N/A
Total Expense Ratio 0.11%

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The Vanguard family of funds has many fans in the individual investor community. With their dedication to low expense fees, it’s no surprise. Much has been made of the drag on performance of high fees, and there is a growing investment community that not only shuns investments with high fees, but rates fees and expenses high on the list of things to consider when choosing an investment.

For those of you who count yourselves among this lot of fans, here is a sample ETF portfolio that is entirely Vanguard funds. The average annual expense ratio of this portfolio is just 0.13%! It’s geared toward the average risk tolerance with a 65% stock – 35% bond split.

• 35% Vanguard Total Bond Market (BND)
• 20% Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US (VEU)
• 20% Vanguard Large Cap (VV)
• 15% Vanguard Small Cap (VB)
• 5% Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock (VWO)
• 5% Vanguard REIT (VNQ)

BND

Seeks to track the performance of a broad, market-weighted bond index. The fund invests by sampling the index.
EXPENSE RATIO:0.14%
YIELD:4.44%

VEU

Seeks to track the performance of the FTSE All-World ex-US Bond Index (foreign bonds).
EXPENSE RATIO:0.20%
YIELD:1.83%

VV

This fund employs a passive management investment approach designed to track the performance of the MSCI US Prime Market 750 index, a broadly diversified index of the stocks of predominantly large U.S. companies.
EXPENSE RATIO:0.07%
YIELD:2.00%

VB

This fund employs a passive management investment approach designed to track the performance of the MSCI US Small Cap 1750 index, a broadly diversified index of the stocks of smaller U.S. companies.
EXPENSE RATIO: 0.10%
YIELD:1.64%

VWO

This fund employs a passively managed investment approach by investing all or substantially all of assets in a representative sample of the common stocks included in the MSCI Emerging Markets index.
EXPENSE RATIO: 0.20%
YIELD:3.07%

VNQ

The Vanguard REIT ETF tracks the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) US REIT Index.
EXPENSE RATIO:0.11%
YIELD:5.58%

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With the low fees and wide selection of ETFs, you can now build a portfolio for maximum and minimum fees relatively easily. Here’s one such sample portfolio from Kiplinger that allocates 65% to bonds, 35% to stocks. The bond section is spread between conservative, laddered treasures and riskier junk bonds. As of a month ago, the yield for the portfolio was 6.4%. Not too shabby when you consider inflation is practically non existent and you can lock your money up for 10 years in treasury notes for a measly 3.6%.

• 25% iShares iBoxx $ Inv Grade Corp (LQD)
• 15% iShares iBoxx $ High Yld Corp (HYG)
• 15% PowerShares Em Mkts Sov Debt (PCY)
• 15% Vanguard REIT (VNQ)
• 10% iShares DJ Select Dividend (DVY)
• 10% PowerShares 1-30 Laddered Treas (PLW)
• 10% Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU)

LQD

The iShares iBoxx $ Inv Grade Corp ETF tracks the iBoxx $ Liquid Investment Grade Index.
EXPENSE RATIO:0.15%
YIELD:5.30%

HYG

Seeks the results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the iBoxx(Reg. TM) $ Liquid High Yield Index. The fund invests at least 90% of assets in securities that comprise the index. However, it may invest up to 20% of assets in certain futures, options and swap contracts, cash and cash equivalents, and in bonds not included within the index
EXPENSE RATIO:0.50%
YIELD:9.78%

PCY

This fund normally invests at least 80% of total assets in emerging markets U.S. dollar-denominated government bonds.
EXPENSE RATIO:0.50%
YIELD:6.08%

VNQ

The Vanguard REIT ETF tracks the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) US REIT Index.
EXPENSE RATIO:0.11%
YIELD:5.58%

DVY

The iShares DJ Select Dividend ETF tracks the Dow Jones Select Dividend index.
EXPENSE RATIO:0.40%
YIELD: 4.32%

PLW

This fund normally invests at least 80% of total assets in U.S. Treasury securities.
EXPENSE RATIO:0.25%
YIELD:3.56%

XLU

INDEX:The Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF tracks the S&P International Dividend Opportunities index.
EXPENSE RATIO:0.48%
YIELD:3.57%

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• Mutual Fund Monday - Tips For Mutual Fund Investment. With thousands of mutual funds to choose from, picking the "right one" can be a daunting task. Most investors know not to fall for a short term hot streak - one or two years isn't a long enough track record to show superior skill of the management team over sheer......
• Top Morningstar Bond Funds for July 2009. Morningstar has released their top 3 Bond Funds for June-July. Here's the list: High-yield bonds. T. Rowe Price Spectrum Income (RPSIX) This is a fund of funds. The management team invests in up to 9 T. Rowe Price funds in order to get exposure to all of the sectors of......

• How To Invest in the Indian Stock Market The Indian Stock Market has giving spectacular returns in the past 12 months.[Its doubled in the past 24 months.]Unfortunately, people who live in America or Canadia aren't allowed to invest directly in Indian Stocks. However there are a few Mutual Funds that are allowed to invest and through them we......
• Investing 101: Mutual Funds (Welcome back!  I hope you are ready for some learning, as we are going to cover the wonderful world of mutual funds.  Hold onto your hats, it's going to be a wacky ride.) Q: What are mutual funds? A: Mutual funds are companies that buy a variety of other investments,......
• Mutual Funds 101 One way that investors can pool their money is mutual funds, which allows them to invest together in a variety of different stocks. Each of the participating investors is charged a percentage fee based on what they invest so that the professional fund manager can receive payment for his work......
• Investment - Choice Between Direct Investment in Stocks and Investment in Mutual Funds BasicsMutual Funds (MFs) are primarily engaged in investing in stocks. Then why should not one invest in stocks directly and what is the need for these funds? This question is answered below:As investors, our priority always will be to focus higher profits in the shortest time. With this goal......
• 10 Off the Beaten Path ETFs That Everyday Investors (Probably) Haven't Heard About Have you noticed that everyone seems more interested in the esoteric, out of the ordinary types of investments these days? I have. Some people might want to buy gold because they're caught up in the fear trade, or others might want to buy raw commodities like oil or natural gas......

Here’s an all ETF portfolio that’s sure to see some volatility. It’s geared toward long term growth, and as such it invests heavily in small cap stocks, foreign markets and commodities. The fund total is 90% stocks, 10% commodities and is best left to investors with long time horizons and a high tolerance for risk.

Here’s the portfolio:

• 40% iShares Russell 3000 ( IWV)
• 20% Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US (VEU)
• 10% PowerShares DB Commodity (DBC)
• 10% Vanguard FTSE All-Wld ex-US Sm Cp* (VSS)
• 10% Vanguard REIT (VNQ)
• 10% WisdomTree SmallCap Earnings (EES)

*Less than one year old.

IWV

Seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the Russell 3000 index.
EXPENSE RATIO: 0.20%
YIELD:1.90%

VEU

Seeks to track the performance of the FTSE All-World ex-US Index.
EXPENSE RATIO:0.20%
YIELD:1.83%

DBC

Seeks to reflect the performance of the Deutsche Bank Liquid Commodity index.
EXPENSE RATIO: 0.75%
YIELD:N/A

VSS

Seeks to track the performance of the FTSE Global Small Cap ex US Index.
EXPENSE RATIO:N/A (just launched in April of 2009)
YIELD:N/A(just launched in April of 2009)

VNQ

Seeks to provide a high level of income and moderate long-term capital appreciation. The fund normally invests approximately 98% of assets in stocks issued by equity real estate investment trusts (REITs) in an attempt to track the investment performance of the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) US REIT Index.
EXPENSE RATIO: 0.11%
YIELD:5.58%

EES

Seeks to track the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the WisdomTree SmallCap Earnings index.
EXPENSE RATIO: 0.38%
YIELD:0.80%

• When it Comes to Investing, Simplicity Rules. There was a time when only the wealthy and well connected could invest in the stock market. Then IRAs and 401(k) plans ushered in a new era of the "common man" investor. Flash forward a bit more, to the Internet age, and we have a grand democratization of the stock......
• 13 ETFs to Hedge Against Inflation. Inflation is in the news again, thanks to worries over the historic deficit spending in Washington today. If the Fed gets the timing wrong on the next round of interest rate hikes, then inflation could be a real problem. According to a recent working paper by the International Monetary Fund:......
• The simple 7 investment portfolio. Looking for an easy, diversified portfolio of stock funds that will grow your money over time, but won't take over your life with demands on your time? ladies, gentlemen and undeclared's, I present the simple 7 portfolio.. Each recommendation is either an ETF, or a no-load mutual fund. Some people......
• Investing Term Tuesday - January Effect. In honor of just closing the books on January, I thought it might be nice to examine the January Effect. The January Effect is an investing term that refers to a general increase in the stock market during the month of January. This effect is typically attributed to an increase......
• Ivy League Investing For The Common Man. David Swensen has managed the Yale University endowment from 1984 to 2008 and during that time, the endowment returned an annualized 16.6% - 5 points better than the S&P 500 and a generic balanced portfolio of 60% in a stock index, and 40% in bond index. That equates to a......

• Income Taxes It is US federal law that income tax has to be paid to the IRS. Knowing the basics, and understanding your own personal situation will help in reducing the risk of overpaying on your taxes. There are ways to reduce what you have to pay, making use of the current......
• Finally: A Vanguard International Small-Cap Index Fund At long last, Vanguard, one of the top mutual fund companies, is opening an international small-cap index fund. The Vanguard FTSE All-World ex-US Small-Cap Index Fund will come in three share classes: investor, institutional, and ETF and will track the FTSE Global Small Cap ex US Index, a market-cap-weighted small-cap......
• Tips for Investing Online The concept of doing your investing online through the use of an online web portal has truly revolutionized everything that financial trading is all about, especially in stock exchanges and in the FOREX market. Availability of resources like quick internet connectivity and portable laptop computers has made it even simpler......
• Real Estate Investments - Good Idea or Bad Idea? Right now, if there was a market that had bad news written all over it, it would be real estate. The housing crisis has made investors jumpy, the economy appears to be tanking and home values are plummeting across the country. Would you believe that this is actually a good......
• 4 Investing Ideas for Your Economic Stimulus Tax Rebate Check Today's post comes from Miranda Marquit. She writes about personal finances for YieldingWealth and edits debt consolidation information for Destroy Debt. The "economic stimulus" tax rebates have begun arriving, and now people are wondering how to spend them. Instead of blowing all that cash on something you don't actually need,......

When this portfolio was originally recommended by Kiplinger, about a month or so ago, the yield was a hefty 5.8%.

A large part of that yield comes from the LQD fund that focuses on high-quality corporate bonds, the IGOV fund which buys foreign government bonds, HYG which focuses on junk bonds, and dividend stalwart DVY. It’s important to not that the DVY ETF was hammered last year due to its heavy weighting in financial stocks. This has since changed, so don’t expect the DVY to mimic bank stocks so much.

• 20% iShares iBoxx $ Inv Grade Corp (LQD)
• 20% iShares DJ Select Dividend (DVY)
• 10% iShares S&P/Citi Intl Treas Bond (IGOV)
• 10% iShares iBoxx $ High Yld Corp (HYG)
• 10% SPDR S&P Intl Dividend (DWX)
• 10% Utilities Select Sector SPDR (XLU)
• 10% Vanguard Dividend Appreciation (VIG)
• 10% Vanguard REIT (VNQ)

LQD

The iShares iBoxx $ Inv Grade Corp ETF tracks the iBoxx $ Liquid Investment Grade Index.
EXPENSE RATIO:0.15%
YIELD:5.30%

DVY

The iShares DJ Select Dividend ETF tracks the Dow Jones Select Dividend index.
EXPENSE RATIO:0.40%
YIELD: 4.32%

IGOV

The iShares S&P/Citi Intl Treas Bond tracks the S&P/Citigroup International Treasury Bond Index Ex US.
EXPENSE RATIO: N/A
YIELD:N/A

HYG

The iShares iBoxx $ High Yld Corp ETF tracks the iBoxx(Reg. TM) $ Liquid High Yield Index.
EXPENSE RATIO:0.50%
YIELD:9.78%

DWX

The SPDR S&P Intl Dividend ETF tracks
EXPENSE RATIO:
YIELD:

XLU

INDEX:The Utilities Select Sector SPDR ETF tracks the S&P International Dividend Opportunities index.
EXPENSE RATIO:0.48%
YIELD:3.57%

VIG

The Vanguard Dividend Appreciation ETF tracks the Mergent Dividend Achievers Select index.
EXPENSE RATIO:0.24%
YIELD: 2.24%

VNQ

The Vanguard REIT ETF tracks the Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) US REIT Index.
EXPENSE RATIO:0.11%
YIELD:5.58%

• A Sample ETF Portfolio for Vanguard Fans. The Vanguard family of funds has many fans in the individual investor community. With their dedication to low expense fees, it's no surprise. Much has been made of the drag on performance of high fees, and there is a growing investment community that not only shuns investments with high fees,......
• 13 ETFs to Hedge Against Inflation. Inflation is in the news again, thanks to worries over the historic deficit spending in Washington today. If the Fed gets the timing wrong on the next round of interest rate hikes, then inflation could be a real problem. According to a recent working paper by the International Monetary Fund:......
• Best ETF's For... Kiplinger has released their annual "best of" edition, where they rate the best of just about everything. One of the categories is ETF's. I thought I'd share the picks, and some thoughts on them here, but you should check out the complete issue if you get a chance. Best ETF......
• 3 Recommended Pimco Bond Funds. Bonds are an important part of any good asset allocation, and here are 3 bond funds from the Pimco firm as recommended in a recent Kiplinger magazine article. PIMCO bond total return (PTTAX). Manager Bill Gross sticks to investment grade, intermediate-term U.S. bonds for this fund. The expense ratio for......
• 3 ETFs for the Bear Market Rally. When bear markets rally, it's often the small caps and technology stocks that lead the way. Here are 3 ETFs that may help you make the most of the current rally. iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM ). The EEM is comprised of 329 stocks from countries that have yet......

• 10 Off the Beaten Path ETFs That Everyday Investors (Probably) Haven't Heard About Have you noticed that everyone seems more interested in the esoteric, out of the ordinary types of investments these days? I have. Some people might want to buy gold because they're caught up in the fear trade, or others might want to buy raw commodities like oil or natural gas......
• Best Mutual Funds With Low Minimums Investing can be hard when you're young and don't have much money to invest. Sure, companies like T Rowe Price will let you invest as little as $50 up front in an IRA if you promise to invest an additional $50 per month deducted automatically from your checking account, and......
• Are ETFs a Good Way to Create Secondary Streams of Income? ETFs, or Exchange Traded Funds, are all the rage in the investment world, but so far, they really don’t have much of a track record. This is a fairly new method for investing and the long term data just isn’t there to determine how effective these investments can be over......
• Dividend Investing Supplements Passive Income I've written before about the various passive income streams available, but up until now I have largely ignored the concept of dividend investing. That was until the recession caused interest rates to drop to levels that don't even keep pace with inflation. As I searched for higher yields, I was......
• What About LOR-Lazard World Dividend & Income Fund? When I first heard about LOR, I thought it meant Lord of the Rings, but no, the topic was on Lazard World Dividend & Income Fund(LOR). I got this email from a reader: I love your blogs. Please tell me what to think about an odd stock - LOR. They......

If you’re looking for an ETF portfolio that provides exposure to assets other than stocks and bonds, you may want to check this out.

The ETFs in this portfolio (from Kiplinger’s magazine) are anything but the boring, old index funds that got the ETF started. The funds cover commodities like energy, gold and agricultural, but also Timber, Agribusiness and Water Resources. While those sectors and asset classes have a tendency not to follow stocks and bonds, they also have a tendency to be highly volatile, so the folks at Kiplinger also throw in a TIP fund to act as a ballast to help smooth the ride.

• 20% iShares Barclays TIPS Bond (TIP)
• 15% PowerShares DB Energy (DBE)
• 15% SPDR Gold Shares (GLD)
• 15% WisdTree Dreyfus Emerg Currency (CEW)
• 10% Claymore Glbl Timber Index (CUT)
• 10% Market Vectors Agribusiness (MOO)
• 10% PowerShares Water Resources (PHO)
• 5% PowerShares DB Agriculture (DBA)

TIP

iShares Barclays TIPS Bond ETF track Barclays Capital U.S.Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS) Index (Series-L).
EXPENSE RATIO: 0.20%
YIELD: 3.90%

DBE

The PowerShares DB Energy ETF tracks the Deutsche Bank Liquid Commodity Index.
EXPENSE RATIO: 0.75%
YIELD: N/A

GLD

The SPDR Gold Shares ETF tracks the price of gold bullion.
EXPENSE RATIO: 0.4%
YIELD: N/A

CEW

The WisdTree Dreyfus Emerg Currency ETF tracks money market rated investments in selected emerging market countries available to foreign investors and changes to the value of these currencies relative to the U.S. dollar.
EXPENSE RATIO: N/A
YIELD: N/A

CUT

The Claymore Glbl Timber Index ETF tracks the Clear Global Timber index.
EXPENSE RATIO: 0.71%
YIELD: 2.38%

MOO

The Market Vectors Agribusiness ETF tracks the DAXglobal Agribusiness index.
EXPENSE RATIO: 0.58%
YIELD: 0.73%

PHO

The PowerShares Water Resources ETF tracks an equity index called the Palisades Water index.
EXPENSE RATIO: 0.64%
YIELD: 0.51%

DBA

The PowerShares DB Agriculture ETF tracks the Deutsche Bank Liquid Commodity Index – Optimum Yield Agriculture Excess Return index.
EXPENSE RATIO: 0.75%
YIELD: N/A

• Rate Your401(k) and see Where it Ranks. Here's a handy little tool: BrightScope.com. It's a web site that lets people view information about their employer's401(k) offerings and allows them to add information to the site in the hopes of building a better data set. The database tracks over 2,000 statistics on401(k) plans including, net assets, fees,......
• Morningstar's Six Top Candidates for International-Stock Manager of the Year. Morningstar has their Morningstar's Six Top Candidates for International-Stock Manager of the Year available on their website. This is worth a look because if you're thinking of investing in international mutual funds, you'll want to make sure the fund has a good manager. One way to pick good funds is......
• Best ETF's For... Kiplinger has released their annual "best of" edition, where they rate the best of just about everything. One of the categories is ETF's. I thought I'd share the picks, and some thoughts on them here, but you should check out the complete issue if you get a chance. Best ETF......
• A Sample ETF Portfolio for Vanguard Fans. The Vanguard family of funds has many fans in the individual investor community. With their dedication to low expense fees, it's no surprise. Much has been made of the drag on performance of high fees, and there is a growing investment community that not only shuns investments with high fees,......
• Mutual Fund Monday. I'm down with the flu this week, which means I'm taking it easy - but not too easy. I'm catching up on some reading and found some nuggets of knowledge regarding mutual funds that you may not already know about and you may enjoy reading. So, without further ado (because......

• It's Time for Some Personal Budget Planning Tips Personal budget planning is an important part of keeping a handle on your finances. Because there is so much turmoil in today's economy, maintaining a healthy personal budget is more vital than ever. Crafting a personal budget begins with determining how money comes in, and how money goes out, but......
• How to Get Actively Managed Funds for Free The debate over choosing actively managed mutual funds versus passively managed funds (via index funds) is nothing new, and in all likelihood, will keep on going for hundreds of years. While some will say it is entirely possible to outperform the market, index fund proponents will argue that it's impossible......
• 10 Off the Beaten Path ETFs That Everyday Investors (Probably) Haven't Heard About Have you noticed that everyone seems more interested in the esoteric, out of the ordinary types of investments these days? I have. Some people might want to buy gold because they're caught up in the fear trade, or others might want to buy raw commodities like oil or natural gas......
• 9/22 - ETF Trading - EWJ, FXI Put EWJ back on your watch list today, and take an initial position should it close lower today. iShares MSCI Japan Index Fund (EWJ) seeks to provide investment results that correspond to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of publicly traded securities in the aggregate in the......
• Money Sense Money Sense has been a very inspirational magazine to me. Whenever I find the latest magazine in my mailbox I stop whatever I'm currently reading to read it from cover to cover. Their articles cover everything related to your money, including leveraged investing, financial makeovers, real estate and rating stocks. They also have......

Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) offer broad diversity in a single package, and if the ETF is an index fund then they carry added tax benefits when compared to actively manage mutual funds. When ETFs first hit the investment scene, they were simple index tracking funds. They mainly targeted passive investors.

Since then, the number ETF offerings has exploded. One part of the expanded ETF universe is the group of ETFs that hold stocks in foreign and emerging markets. This makes investing in the non-U.S. world of equities a snap.

While the more mature foreign markets performed very much like the U.S. stock market during the most recent bear market, investing in foreign stocks is still an excellent way to tap into the fastest growing countries, and hence the biggest gains.

Here’s a sample portfolio (from Kiplinger’s magazine) of ETFs that invest in foreign equities.

• 35% iShares MSCI EAFE Index (EFA)
• 15% SPDR S&P Intl Dividend (DWX)
• 15% WisdomTree Intl SmallCap Div (DLS)
• 10% iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 (FXI)
• 5% iShares MSCI Australia (EWA)
• 5% iShares MSCI Brazil Index (EWZ)
• 5% PowerShares Emerg Mkts Infrastr* (PXR)
• 5% WisdTree Dreyfus Emerg Currency* (CEW)
• 5% WisdomTree India Earnings (EPI)

*Less than one year old.

EFA

The iShares MSCI EAFE Index ETF tracks the MSCI EAFE index.
EXPENSE RATIO: 0.34%
YIELD: 2.71%

DWX

SPDR S&P Intl Dividend ETF tracks the S&P International Dividend Opportunities. index
EXPENSE RATIO: 0.48%
YIELD: 3.57%

DLS

The WisdomTree Intl SmallCap Div ETF tracks the WisdomTree International. SmallCap Dividend index
EXPENSE RATIO: 0.58%
YIELD: 6.45%

FXI

The iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 ETF tracks the FTSE/Xinhua China 25 index.
EXPENSE RATIO:0.74%
YIELD:1.31%

EWA

The iShares MSCI Australia ETF tracks the MSCI Australia index.
EXPENSE RATIO:0.52%
YIELD:4.14%

EWZ

The iShares MSCI Brazil Index ETF tracks the MSCI Brazil index.
EXPENSE RATIO:0.63%
YIELD:2.87%

PXR

The PowerShares Emerg Mkts Infrastr ETF tracks the S-Network Emerging Infrastructure Builders index.
EXPENSE RATIO:0.75%
YIELD:N/A

CEW

The WisdTree Dreyfus Emerg Currency ETF seeks to achieve total returns reflective of both money market rated in selected emerging market countries available to foreign investors and changes to the value of these currencies relative to the U.S. dollar.
EXPENSE RATIO:N/A
YIELD:N/A

EPI

The WisdomTree India Earnings ETF tracks the Wisdom Tree India Earnings index
EXPENSE RATIO:0.88%
YIELD:0.70%

• Mutual Fund Monday - Blogosphere Feb 2010 Edition. It's Mutual Fund Monday again, and I thought that I'd do something a little different this week. Rather than focus on a single fund or concept about funds, I'm focusing on a topic and sharing some of the interesting posts I've found on other blogs recently about that topic. The......
• A Sample ETF Portfolio for Vanguard Fans. The Vanguard family of funds has many fans in the individual investor community. With their dedication to low expense fees, it's no surprise. Much has been made of the drag on performance of high fees, and there is a growing investment community that not only shuns investments with high fees,......
• 3 Key Signals When Timing The Stock Market I'm not a practitioner of market timing, and I'm not a proponent of it. That being said, I read an article about it in a recent issue of Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine that made me reconsider. To be fair, the article was more about timing big swings in the overall......
• 3 ETFs for the Bear Market Rally. When bear markets rally, it's often the small caps and technology stocks that lead the way. Here are 3 ETFs that may help you make the most of the current rally. iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF (EEM ). The EEM is comprised of 329 stocks from countries that have yet......
• Best ETF's For... Kiplinger has released their annual "best of" edition, where they rate the best of just about everything. One of the categories is ETF's. I thought I'd share the picks, and some thoughts on them here, but you should check out the complete issue if you get a chance. Best ETF......

• 10 Off the Beaten Path ETFs That Everyday Investors (Probably) Haven't Heard About Have you noticed that everyone seems more interested in the esoteric, out of the ordinary types of investments these days? I have. Some people might want to buy gold because they're caught up in the fear trade, or others might want to buy raw commodities like oil or natural gas......
• Investment Companies Launching Impostor Money Market Funds Currently there’s a lot of turmoil in the investment world with the housing market on the rocks and debt levels reaching higher than ever before. This is causing many investors to seek more secure positions with a lot less risk. Money market funds are considered some of the safest investments......
• Mutual Funds 101 One way that investors can pool their money is mutual funds, which allows them to invest together in a variety of different stocks. Each of the participating investors is charged a percentage fee based on what they invest so that the professional fund manager can receive payment for his work......
• The Pros and Cons of Investing in ETFs In last decade, specialty ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds) are probably the hottest thing to hit Wall Street since the rise of the discount brokers in the mid 1990s. Initially, ETFs were not very popular because they only tracked the performance of a few stock market indices. However, in today's investing......
• 02/09 - ETF Trading - SPY, SSO Let's try this again! Put SPY on your watch list today. For a leveraged trade, consider SSO. Take your first position in the trade should these etfs move lower today. All trades are at the market close. You can follow the trades with this simple etf trading worksheet I created.......