A commodity market is a market that trades in the primary economic sector rather than manufactured products, such as cocoa, fruit and sugar. Hard commodities are mined, such as gold and oil. Futures contracts are the oldest way of investing in commodities. Commodity markets can include physical trading and derivatives trading using spot prices, forwards, futures, and options on futures. Farmers have used a simple form of derivative trading in the commodities market for centuries for price risk management.
The Standard and Poor's 500, or simply the S&P 500, is a stock market index tracking the stock performance of 500 of the largest companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States. It is one of the most commonly followed equity indices and includes approximately 80% of the total market capitalization of U.S. public companies, with an aggregate market cap of more than $43 trillion as of January 2024.
The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, colloquially known as The Bursa, is the only public stock exchange in Israel and a public company itself, listed on its own exchange since August 1, 2019. It is regulated by the Securities Law (1968) and is under the direct supervision of the Israel Securities Authority (ISA).
An exchange-traded fund (ETF) is a type of investment fund that is also an exchange-traded product, i.e., it is traded on stock exchanges. ETFs own financial assets such as stocks, bonds, currencies, debts, futures contracts, and/or commodities such as gold bars. Many ETFs provide some level of diversification compared to owning an individual stock.
FTSE International Limited trading as FTSE Russell ( "Footsie") is a British provider of stock market indices and associated data services, wholly owned by the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and operating from premises in Canary Wharf. It operates the well known UK FTSE 100 Index as well as a number of other indices. FTSE stands for Financial Times Stock Exchange.
iShares is a collection of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) managed by BlackRock, which acquired the brand and business from Barclays in 2009. The first iShares ETFs were known as World Equity Benchmark Shares (WEBS) but have since been rebranded.
State Street Global Advisors (SSGA) is the investment management division of State Street Corporation founded in 1978 and the world's fourth largest asset manager, with nearly $4.14 trillion (USD) in assets under management as of December 31, 2021.
Gold exchange-traded products are exchange-traded funds (ETFs), closed-end funds (CEFs) and exchange-traded notes (ETNs) that are used to own gold as an investment. Gold exchange-traded products are traded on the major stock exchanges including the SIX Swiss Exchange, the Bombay Stock Exchange, the London Stock Exchange, the Paris Bourse, and the New York Stock Exchange. Each gold ETF, ETN, and CEF has a different structure outlined in its prospectus. Some such instruments do not necessarily hold physical gold. For example, gold ETNs generally track the price of gold using derivatives.
Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. (ICE) is an American multinational financial services company formed in 2000 that operates global financial exchanges and clearing houses and provides mortgage technology, data and listing services. Listed on the Fortune 500, S&P 500, and Russell 1000, the company owns exchanges for financial and commodity markets, and operates 12 regulated exchanges and marketplaces. This includes ICE futures exchanges in the United States, Canada, and Europe; the Liffe futures exchanges in Europe; the New York Stock Exchange; equity options exchanges; and OTC energy, credit, and equity markets.
An inverse exchange-traded fund is an exchange-traded fund (ETF), traded on a public stock market, which is designed to perform as the inverse of whatever index or benchmark it is designed to track. These funds work by using short selling, trading derivatives such as futures contracts, and other leveraged investment techniques.
S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC is a joint venture between S&P Global, the CME Group, and News Corp that was announced in 2011 and later launched in 2012. It produces, maintains, licenses, and markets stock market indices as benchmarks and as the basis of investable products, such as exchange-traded funds (ETFs), mutual funds, and structured products. The company currently has employees in 15 cities worldwide, including New York, London, Frankfurt, Singapore, Hong Kong, Sydney, Beijing, and Dubai.
The S&P SmallCap 600 Index is a stock market index established by S&P Global Ratings. It covers roughly the small-cap range of American stocks, using a capitalization-weighted index.
AdvisorShares Investments is a US-based investment management firm based in Bethesda, Maryland which offers actively managed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) through the AdvisorShares Trust. AdvisorShares partners with third party financial advisers who already manage clients’ assets to package their investment strategy using exchange-traded funds. As part of promoting its funds it also provides educational support to help financial advisors and investors understand actively managed ETFs and their underlying investment strategies.
Alerian, is an American company that provides transparent master limited partnerships (MLP) and energy infrastructure benchmarks and analytics. The flagship Alerian MLP Index (AMZ) is used by industry professionals to analyze relative performance.
Betashares is an Australian provider of exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The company manages the broadest range of ETFs in Australia across major assets classes. Betashares is based in Sydney, Australia with offices in Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.
The SPDR S&P 500 ETF trust is an exchange-traded fund which trades on the NYSE Arca under the symbol SPY. SPDR is an acronym for the Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipts, the former name of the ETF. It is designed to track the S&P 500 stock market index. This fund is the largest and oldest ETF in the USA. SPDR is a trademark of Standard and Poor's Financial Services LLC, a subsidiary of S&P Global. The ETF's CUSIP is 78462F103 and its ISIN is US78462F1030. The trustee of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust is State Street Bank and Trust Company. The fund has a net expense ratio of 0.0945%.
Solactive is a German-based company established in 2007 and specializes in the provision of financial indices. The company is headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, but also maintains offices in Berlin and Dresden. Since 2017, Solactive has expanded its global presence with offices in Toronto, Hong Kong, and Amsterdam.
Global X Investments Canada Inc. is a financial services company that offers exchange-traded funds. On May 1, 2024, the company changed its name from Horizons ETFs to Global X Investments Canada Inc. In April 2017, Global X began offering the first cannabis industry focused exchange-traded fund (ETF), Global X Marijuana Life Sciences Index ETF. The company is also the fourth-largest ETF provider in Canada, with more than CAD$30 billion in assets as of April 2023.
ARK Investment Management LLC is an American investment management firm based in St. Petersburg, Florida, that manages several actively managed exchange-traded funds (ETFs). It was founded by Cathie Wood in 2014. At the height of February 2021, the company had US$50 billion in assets under management. As of October 2023, assets had dropped to $6.71 billion, after a period of poor performance.
