By Jared Cummans
After another choppy week of trading, investors will be on their toes for the coming week, as a number of factors have created high anxiety in the financial world. Perhaps the biggest piece of news is the threat of Greece exiting the euro, as it seems more and more likely each day that the indebted European nation will be forced to abandon the currency bloc. Many are worried that this move may not stop here, as other nations like Portugal, Spain, and Italy are all facing tough debt scenarios of their own. Though the coming week will be somewhat slower than previous sessions, there will still be plenty of headlines for investors to keep a close eye on.
MSCI Japan Index Fund (EWJ)
Why EWJ Will Be In Focus: This fund seeks to replicate the performance of the Japanese equity market and is home to over $5 billion in total assets. Top holdings include household names like Toyota, Honda, and Canon. With the Japanese economy struggling in recent years, this ETF has had trouble getting going, as it has lost more than 30% over the trailing five year period. Its focus this week will come on Wednesday and Thursday when the central bank rate and a key economic report will be released, giving a good indicator of how the Japanese economy will fare moving forward [see also Ex-Japan ETFs In Focus].
COMEX Gold Trust (IAU)
Why IAU Will Be In Focus: This fund measure physical gold bullion and has been making strides in recent months as its expense ratio is a full 15 basis points lower than the mega-popular GLD. This fund has slid more than 8% in the past three months, as gold futures have had an increasingly hard time establishing any kind of upward momentum. But last Thursday saw the precious metal turn things around as technical buyers stepped in at low levels to gobble up the commodity. Some are calling it a dead cat bounce while others expect gold to continue to rally. Either way, IAU will be an important product to watch throughout this week.
Social Media Index ETF (SOCL)
Why SOCL Will Be In Focus: This fund is a one-of-a-kind offering, as it invests in the most liquid companies in the social media space. Some of its top holdings include big names like LinkedIn among other popular web-based companies. Its focus this week will come as Facebook (FB) debuted its IPO on Friday as the biggest tech IPO of all time. Investors will be using this fund to play FB, as the stock will likely be incorporated into the fund before the end of this week. Keep a close eye on SOCL as it will likely enjoy high trading volumes and a nice jump in assets.
Jared Cummans supports the ETFdb analyst team, and contributes articles to the daily newsletter. He has a special interest in health care and energy ETFs.