What's Working
ETFs - Trading The Pauses

It's easy to feel overwhelmed by the large number of ETFs that are now available; too many too many choices spread among too many styles, too many sectors, too many asset classes, too many countries, etc. If you have particular preferences, such as a desire for growth stocks, fixed income, developing country investing, etc., that will considerably narrow the choices. But if your goal is simply to find ETFs likely to perform well, whatever type they may be, you face a challenge. Different asset classes and different markets have different trading dynamics (compare commodities with fixed income, for example), so even technical models that work well with U.S. stocks may not be quite so effective with ETFs.   Full Article »

What's Working
Leveraged ETFs In The Real World

Leveraged ETFs are hated by many gurus but are loved by investors. Are we sitting on another financial powder keg? Or are critics going a bit overboard? Here's a small case study that may help shed some light on a huge controversy.   Full Article »

Idea Lab
The Zweig Strategy: Befriend The Trend

"The trend is your friend," an expression long associated with the Martin Zweig strategy, has a lot of appeal. Many argue that it's best to find stocks that others don't follow or like, and there's something to be said for that. But even under the best of conditions, the market can be fraught with uncertainty, so there's also much to be said from validation of your own decisions based on the fact that other investors also feel positive about the stocks you are considering.   Full Article »

What's Working
Putting The CBOE Volatility Index, the VIX, To Work

You may have noticed that the CBOE Volatility Index, the VIX, is now part of Portfolio123 and accessible through the GetSeries function. Not only is this a useful index in and of itself, as some users are already seeing, but it can also be used to help you decide how to use other tools.   Full Article »

Idea Lab
The Piotroski Strategy: Academic Research That Produces Real-World Results

Reading academic finance research papers can be a brutal and perhaps impossible task for those without advanced degrees in mathematics. But don't assume such research is necessarily good. Many are mathematically elegant formulations that implode when actually put to work. Joseph Piotroski is different. His output is deeply rooted in Wall Street reality and common sense, and resulted in a market-beating value strategy.   Full Article »