January 4, 2007: A tale of two ETFs

An increasingly pronounced view about ETFs is to look under the hood and examine the contents of a fund to make sure it meets your portfolio expectations.

Here are the top holdings of an ETF recently launched by Claymore:(as of 01/04)

Exxon 5.65%
Citigroup 4.18%
Bank of America 3.69%
AT&T 3.40%
Microsoft 3.31%
Johnson and Johnson 3.10%
J.P. Morgan 2.57%
WalMart 2.22%
AIG 1.97%

Other holdings include Carnival corporation, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and ElPaso Corp.

The name of this ETF? CLAYMORE LGA GREEN (symbol:GRN)

lightgreen.com provides the index (Light Green Eco. Index) and indicates that companies in their index are environmentally sound and socially committed- at the top of their field- and that the investor with environmentally driven motives should consider this as a socially responsible index.

HUH?

I look at the roster of companies and I am surprised, to say the least, with the fund's portfolio. It also appears that more than a few of the companies in this portfolio would hardly pass muster with our environmentalist friends. Or, with investors.
A thumbs down to this ETF for now.


Here are the top holdings of another recently launched Claymore fund:(01/04)

Exxon 6.50%
GE 5.43%
Microsoft 4.16%
Toyota 3.09%
Royal Dutch Shell 3.06%
AT&T 2.99%
Proctor and Gamble 2.81%
Pfizer 2.66%
Glaxo.. 2.13%

Other holdings include: Ford, General Motors, Eastman Kodak and Baker Hughes.

The name of this ETF? Claymore/Ocean Tomo Patent (symbol:OTP)

This fund tracks the Ocean Tomo index that tells investors which companies have the
highest patent value to book value, amongst other criteria.

I look at the roster of companies and observe that it looks like a badly managed mutual fund. A lot of contrarians might like this ETF. I'll pass.

The number of ETFs is rising almost daily. There will be some excellent angles to play - and some stinkers to avoid.

www.Claymore.com will unlock all the information you need to know about these two ETFs.