Over the July 4 holiday, I had the privilege of stepping away from the office for a while, and I found myself watching a lot of financial television, probably too much. Financial media has many positives and negatives – a discussion for another time – but, what has become apparent lately is that these “newfangled ETFs” are being covered in very different ways across networks and media outlets — if they are covered at all. Some observations are warranted to keep investors informed.
First, is the apparent negativity towards ETFs? Typical ETF-focused headlines (and, let’s be honest, a lot of headlines in general) only focus on the potentially negative aspects. Whether passive instruments are owning the whole market, causing flash crashes, or contributing to market volatility, there are generally several unfounded arguments against ETFs that make a lot of the headlines.