Create Your Own ETF Hedge Fund

David H. Fry is founder of ETF Digest, a leading newsletter web site (www.etfdigest.com) for active traders and investors involved with ETFs. He founded ETF Digest in 2001 and was among the very first to see the need for a pulication that provided extensive information and advice on ETF investing. Fry has devoted over thirty years to the business of trading and portfolio management. His registration as an arbitrator with both the National Association of Securities Dealers(NASD) and the National Futures Association (NFA) attests to his extensive experience and spotless compliance record.

• Acknowledgments. About the Author.Introduction.Part One. Contemporary Investment Conditions.Chapter 1. Hobson's Choice.Current Situation: The Captive Client.How the Investment Business Changed.The Age of the DIY Investor.If You Can't Beat 'Em, Join 'Em.Bad Apples and Unethical Practices.High Pressure Environment.The Regulators Crackdown.The Mother of All Mutual Fund Scandals.But Wait, There's More Potential Scandal Ahead.Client Rumblings and Grumblings.I Still Want Someone Else To Do It.Reports of My Death Have Been Greatly Exaggerated.Future Area of Growth: Unified Accounts.The Future for Financial Advisors Never Brighter...Maybe.Two Body Blows to Wall Street Fees.Conclusion.Chapter 2. ETFs - The New Investment of Choice.DIY Investors Take Charge.What Took ETFs So Long To Catch On?Indexing versus Active Management.ETFs and Indexing.The ETF Tsunami.Current Choices.New Quantitative Indexes.International ETFs.Inverse ETFs.Ultra, Leveraged Short, or Long ETFs.Commodity and Currency Etfs.Actively Managed ETFs?With Growth Comes Other Problems.A Disruptive Technology Indeed!Chapter 3. The Rise of Hedge Funds.What We Really Mean By Hedge Fund.Hot New Sector: Private Equity.Growth of Hedge Funds.Who Invests In These Complex Strategies?Why Invest In Hedge Funds Anyway?But Can Retail Investors Participate?Hedge Fund Disasters.To Regulate or Not.Hedge Funds Are Here To Stay.Chapter 4. A Convergence Story.Mutual Funds, ETFs, and Hedge Funds.Mutual Funds Adopting Some Hedge Fund Strategies.Alternative Investment Strategies in Hedge Funds.Rydex Investments Leads a Big Change.PowerShares Actively Traded ETF.PowerShares Private Equity ETF.Commodity ETFs Direct.Currency ETFs Direct.Inverse ETFs Direct.New Margin Rules.The Zero Commission.Convergence Well Underway.Chapter 5. The Bullish Bias Gets a Makeover.Other Contributing Forces.Commissions Out, Fees In.Recurring Fees.The Greenspan and Bernanke Put.Money Supply Shenanigans.Excess Liquidity and Stock Buybacks.I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles.Bye Bye Glass-Steagall."Da Boyz" and Primary Dealers Merge.Does the Fed or Treasury Manipulate Markets?Time to Connect the Dots.The New Robber Barons.Two Jokers in the Deck.What Bears Are Up Against.Part Two. Strategies.Chapter 6. Market Neutral.The Northwest Quadrant.Even Here, Risks Remain.ETFs and Market Neutral Strategies.Alpha Strategies.Market Neutral Mutual Funds.Conclusion.Chapter 7. Global Macro.LTCM Blows Up.Gunslingers.Think Global, Invest Global.Trade Global.So You Wanna Be a Gunslinger Too?Conclusion.Chapter 8. Doing It Their Way.Selected "Trader" Profiles.Selected "Stock Pickers" Profiles.Selected "Distressed Securities" Profiles.Selected "Quantitative" Profiles.Other Famous Hedge Fund Practitioners.Insider Trading Building Performance?So if it's a Game for the Big Boys, How Can We Play?Chapter 9. Trading...Do I Have To?One True Thing.Market Timing Myths and Realities.The Lazy or Passive Investor: No Single Strategy Always Performs Best.The Lazy Hedge Fund Investor: The Do-Nothing Crowd.Merrill and Goldman Try To Shake Things Up: Can Passive Indexes Destroy Fees?Day Trading: Frenetic and Intense.Shorting Explained: To Go North, Head South.Quantitative Trading: Reserved for the Left Brain Crowd.Multistrategy: All Things to All People.Conclusion.Part Three. Hedge Funds for the Rest of Us.Chapter 10. Lower Risk Global Macro Long/Short Strategies.The ETF Digest Methodology.Overwhelmed.Fast Forward 35 Years.Trend Following.Risk Management.The Two-Thirds Objective.Finding Your Sacred Cows.ETFs Provide the Tools for Implementing Global Macro Long/Short Strategies.The Trick Is Putting Them Together.Chapter 11. Constructing Your Own ETF Hedge Fund.Typical Questionnaire.Long-Term Investor or Short-Term Trader.Awash in ETF Choices.Performance Myths and Realities of Style.One World Market.True Diversification.Shorting Essentials.Portfolio Reallocation.Actively Managed ETFs and Mutual Fund Posers.Conclusion.Chapter 12. ETF Hedge Fund Portfolios.Long-Term or Short-Term Approach.Aggressive Growth.Growth.Growth and Income.Dave's Special Portfolio.ETF Substitutes.Conclusion.Chapter 13. Tools and Resources.Where to Get the Help You Need.Online Tools.Important Tools I Like.Market Information Resources.Conclusion.Chapter 14. Eight Steps To Building Your ETF Hedge Fund.Step 1. Define Yourself.Step 2. Develop Your Hedge Fund Strategy.Step 3. Use ETFs as the Primary Tool.Step 4. Using Mutual Funds as an Alternate Vehicle.Step 5. Get Help, Even if You're a DIY.Step 6. If You Want To Use a Financial Advisor, Find the Right One.Step 7. DIYs Need an Online Broker.Step 8. Find the Support Tools You Need.Conclusion.Index.