The first U.S. exchange-traded fund ("ETF") debuted in 1993... And nobody cared.

This 'Protective ETF' Will Kill Your Returns By Joe Austin, senior analyst, Chaikin Analytics The first U.S. exchange-traded fund ("ETF") debuted in 1993... And nobody cared. Well, at least not many folks at first... That January, State Street Global Advisors introduced the Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipts. Two decades later, this ETF is now known as the SPDR S&P 500 Fund (SPY). The move gave retail investors access to passive index funds. Then, in 1998, the asset manager added sector-specific ETFs. But most people still just stuck to what they knew. They kept making regular deposits into their 401(k) mutual funds. And ETFs didn't even cross 1% of all fund trading until 2000. A shift took place as asset managers developed more ETFs... The SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) became the first commodity ETF in 2004. In 2006, ProShares added leveraged and inverse ETFs. And actively managed ETFs came around in 2008. Folks could pick from nearly 1,000 U.S. ETFs by the end of that decade. Their amount of assets under management ("AUM") topped $1 trillion for the first time in late 2010. ETFs have become even more popular over the past 15 years... More than 3,600 ETFs trade in the U.S. today. And their total AUM exceeds $10 trillion. But not every type of ETF is good for you as an investor...  For example, a lot of investment advisers are currently selling one type of ETF as a form of downside protection. And yet, as I'll show you, it's not a smart move for your wealth. Instead, you're better off taking a tried-and-true approach... Recommended Links: Until Tomorrow: How to Make MORE Money With LESS Worry in 2025 Hundreds have already claimed access to the brand-new 2025 Total Portfolio – the easier, lower-risk way to beat the market AND sleep more soundly at night. If you ever wondered how the top financial minds would build a "perfect" portfolio against what we're facing in 2025, this is it. Click here by tomorrow to claim access. The DOGE Agenda (Nine Stocks to Buy Immediately) Every investor in America is trying to figure out what Elon Musk will do in Washington, D.C. in the coming weeks. Now, one Boston-based think tank – that has studied Musk's work for decades – is stepping forward to share what they've found. They believe his TRUE plan is far more radical than anyone realizes. It could change the way you live, work, get paid, and collect Social Security... AND it could make more people rich than all of Musk's previous ventures PUT TOGETHER. Get the full breaking story here. First, I'm talking about "buffer" ETFs. They're also known as defined-outcome ETFs. With a buffer ETF, the fund manager lays out all the possible outcomes from the start. The goal is to limit investors' losses over a specific period – usually one year. That's why a lot of investment advisers have turned to them for downside protection. These ETFs also cap the potential upside, though. They form a "buffer zone." Innovator Capital Management created the first buffer ETFs in August 2018. And this type of ETF has grown significantly since then... As of last August, the U.S. market featured 327 buffer ETFs. They combined for nearly $55 billion in AUM. That's up from 73 buffer ETFs and less than $5 billion in AUM in 2020. But as I said, buffer ETFs aren't the best choice for your money... Most buffer funds use options. That's the "magic" behind the scenes. However, as regular readers know, options can be risky for uninformed investors... Among other things, they come with a higher level of "counterparty risk." That's when the other person can't keep their end of the deal if something chaotic happens. Put simply, buffer funds underwhelm from a risk-reward standpoint... They only offer limited protection. And if the market goes down, you can still lose money. Plus, the market goes sideways or up most of the time. So when that happens, you've shelled out good money for nothing. You'll underperform the market and miss the power of dividends. Over the long run, that misstep can cost you more than you think... Last year, a report from mutual-fund giant Hartford Funds looked at the S&P 500 Index's performance from 1960 to 2023. And as you can see, the results are staggering... The S&P 500 itself would've taken a $10,000 investment to $796,432 by the end of 2023. That's a solid return, of course. But reinvesting dividends would've resulted in $5,118,735 over the same period. That's the power of reinvesting dividends and compounding your wealth.  If you tie up some of your money in a buffer fund, you're selling yourself short. So in the end, my recommendation is simple... ETFs are more popular than ever today. And they'll only get more popular from here. But not every ETF is good for you. Buffer ETFs can cost you a lot of money over the long run. Don't let your investment adviser tell you otherwise. Good investing, Joe Austin Market View Major Indexes and Notable Sectors     # Hld:     Bullish     Neutral     Bearish Dow 30 -0.76% 11 13 6 S&P 500 -0.53% 99 246 153 Nasdaq -0.15% 30 50 20 Small Caps -0.9% 409 1041 455 Bonds -0.66% — According to the Chaikin Power Bar, Small Cap stocks and Large Cap stocks remain somewhat Bearish. Major indexes are mixed. *  *  *  * Sector Tracker Sector movement over the last 5 days Communication +1.96% Health Care +1.77% Staples +1.39% Financial +1.22% Discretionary +0.94% Materials -0.24% Real Estate -0.31% Industrials -1.93% Utilities -2.03% Information Technology -3.55% Energy -4.02% *  *  *  * Industry Focus Bank Services 35 54 6 Over the past 6 months, the Bank subsector (KBE) has underperformed the S&P 500 by -0.14%. However, its Power Bar ratio, which measures future potential, is Very Strong, with more Bullish than Bearish stocks. It is currently ranked #5 of 21 subsectors and has moved up 4 slots over the past week. Top Stocks BK The Bank of New York APO Apollo Global Manage ZION Zions Bancorporation *  *  *  * Top Movers Gainers BEN +10.37% EMN +7.53% VRTX +5.31% ABBV +4.7% KEYS +4.59% Losers DECK -20.51% WBA -10.3% RMD -8.33% PPG -6.0% GWW -5.63% *  *  *  * Earnings Report Reporting Today Rating Before Open After Close PLTR MCD, TRMB, TSN CLX, EG, NXPI, STX DOC, EQR, IDXX No earnings reporting today. Earnings Surprises PSX Phillips 66 Q4 $-0.15 Beat by $0.08 CHTR Charter Communications, Inc. Q4 $10.10 Beat by $0.96 XOM Exxon Mobil Corporation Q4 $1.67 Beat by $0.12 LYB LyondellBasell Industries N.V. Q4 $0.75 Beat by $0.05 BR Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. Q2 $1.56 Beat by $0.07 *  *  *  * You have received this e-mail as part of your subscription to PowerFeed. If you no longer want to receive e-mails from PowerFeed, click here. You're receiving this e-mail at STEVENMAGALLANES520.NIMS@BLOGGER.COM. 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