February 7, 2007: ETF (bright) ideas, maybe

Here are a few ETF ideas that may be worthwhile to take a look at, sooner or later.

For those that want to hedge against a sudden downdraft in the market, ProShares ETF's are a good bet, as they present a buffet of short choices:

Short Dow 30 (DOG)
Short MidCap 400 (MYY)
Short QQQ (PSQ)
Short Russell 2000 (RWM)
Short S&P (SH)
Short Small Cap 600 (SBB)
Ultra Short QQQ (QID)----"ultra" has 200%, or double the inverse, power
Ultra Short Dow 30 (DXD)
Ultra Short Mid Cap 400 (MZZ)
Ultra Short Russell 2000 (TWM)
Ultra Short S&P (SDS)
Ultra Short Small Cap 600 (SDD)

www. proshares.com

Many of these ETFs are thinly traded. I prefer the UltraShort QQQ (QID),giving your bet an added punch if you are correct about a market heading south.

Looking at other ETFs, I would encourage you to take stock of the following:

Vanguard Small Cap Value ETF (VBR) www.vanguard.com
Wisdom Tree Europe Total Dividend ETF(DEB) www.wisdomtree.com
Powershares Buyback Portfolio ETF (PKW) www.powershares.com
Powershares Dividend Achievers ETF (PHJ)
Powershares International Dividend Achievers ETF (PID)
iShares GSCI Commodity ETF (GSG) www.ishares.com
Healthshares Enabling Tech. ETF (HHV) www.healthshares.com
Healthshares Diagnostics ETF (HHD)
Claymore Zacks Sector Rotation ETF (XRO) www.claymore.com
Claymore Oil Up ETF (UCR)
Claymore Oil Down ETF (DCR)
Rydex Swiss Franc ETF (FXF) www.rydex.com

Each of these funds have unique characteristics and portfolios that may qualify for appropriate insertion in your diversified portfolio. As stated many times during the course of this blog, portfolios of the ETF's make the difference - look at them closely before you leap. Increasingly, timing will be important as the bull market gets a bit worn and tired.

Note that Proshares have just introduced over twenty funds from various sectors that will be either "double long" or "double short" in nature. Big risk, but big reward. A true hedge.