Russell Index

Russel Index & Exchange Traded Funds

The Russell Index is one of the most commonly recognized ETFs. (exchange traded funds) There are several products based upon the Russell Indexes. All designed to track subsets of different Russell indexes.

This September there were three new Russel Top index funds introduced by iShares including the 200 Index Fund (IWL), the  200 Growth Fund (IWY), and the Russell Top 200 Value Fund (IWX).

This fund is part of the Russell 1000 and is comprised mostly of highly recognized companies, such as Exxon, Procter & Gamble, and Apple.

The Russell Top 200 Growth Index fund ETFs for trading is comprised of companies that are projected as growth values. (Mostly technology and health care sectors.)

Finally, the Russell Top 200 Value Index that evaluates performance of the largest US stocks with lower growth values and lower price-to-book ratios.

We will see how popular these become in the coming months. Their popularity can be tracked by sorting all ETFs and comparing the average trading volume.

The iShares ETF got its start by Barclays Global Investors and Morgan Stanley. In 2009, Barclays sold iShares to BlackRock, which as of September 2009 consisted of over 180 ETFs.

Investors enjoy ETFs for different reasons. They are actively traded just like stocks and help diversify portfolios. There is a large variety of ETFs based upon international and regional offerings and currencies.

However, one of the most attractive benefits to ETF trading are exchange traded funds low cost. They are less expensive to day or position trade, short sell and trade on a margin account. Add tax exemptions on municipal bonds, and the profits can be even more compelling.

Just remember, ETFs are not magical trading instruments. Like all investments, you must weight the risk/reward and are not suited to new traders with little market experience. Trading ETFs on margin can become even riskier if you are not properly prepared. Knowledge is power – join me every Wednesday evening for free weekly webinars. Click here to join.

Please read about Japanese Candlesticks, in addition to ETF investing, which are the fastest way for new investors to quickly and accurately read stock charts. Once you are comfortable with the major candlestick signals and you know how to read stock charts , expand your expertise by learning the various secondary Candlestick Patterns . Combine these with your favorite Technical Analysis indicators, such as the moving average, and you have the perfect trading arsenal for evaluating stocks, currencies, commodities, or Exchange Traded Funds.