The quickly-growing ETF market now reaches far beyond the basic U.S. benchmarks. It is possible to invest in ETFs that track broad market indices like the S&P 500 and the MSCI All Country World Index, as well as very specific segments of the markets. It is even possible to “short” the market using ETFs.
This is a partial list of the areas of the market tracked by ETFs:
• Broad market indices in the U.S. and around the world
• Different capitalization ranges and style indices for both U.S. and international stocks (small, mid cap, value, growth)
• Country specific indices including developed and emerging market countries
• Currencies
• Commodities including gold and other metals, livestock, oil and natural gas
• Listed private equity
• Broad sectors such as Financials, Materials, and Consumer Staples as well as more granular industries like alternative energy and biotechnology
• Global real estate
• Treasuries, investment grade fixed income, high yield fixed income, state-specific Municipal bonds, Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS)
ETFs that can go short and ultra-short equity indices, countries and sectors