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February 13, 2006

ETF charts and components, Mon., Feb. 13, 2006, 1:36 PM

Here is the table I promised that lists the top holdings of each of the ten ETFs I follow in the Week in Review (WIR).

022a010.gif

And here are the interactive links to the charts of each ETF and their key components as well as a snapshot of the Weekly Data charts today. On the interactive charts, you can change the time horizons and technical indicators.

When trading ETFs, what traders need to do is to study the component companies. I go to ADVFN.com and click on the Financial Data link and insert the ticker symbol in order to bring up a financial summary and analysis presentation.

Here is an example for XOM, which is the heaviest weighted component of XLE.

As many of these key ETF components are also Dow 30 components, you can go to Value Line to get a free quarter-yearly analysis from an independent and objective Value Line analyst. Here is the link to the Value Line report on XOM as well as to the StockCharts.com charts and the Investertech.com charts for XOM.
(XOM) (XOM) (Here is the Dec. 16 Value Line report on XOM: next one is due Mar. 17)


If you find the Value Line service helpful, you can either go to a public library to get all the same type of reports on these other ETF components, or you can purchase the full Value Line service (hard copy or electronic version).

The more you know about these companies, and how their stocks trade, and link that to the ETF, the better you will make decisions trading the ETF. It's a lot of work, but if you focus on these ten ETFs plus Gold and a few more, your work is limited, and as you can see, like me, you can set up programs to pull in the data for you.

If you are serious about this, I recommend you keep hard copy files " one binder for each ETF. Handwrite notes on the pages. Get to know these companies, and the nuances of trading their stocks.

Eventually you will get into a routine, and through the discipline you apply to your decision-making, you will start to see better performance results in your portfolio.

Energy
XLE APA BR CVX COP DVN XOM HAL KMG OXY SLB

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Basic Materials
XLB APD AA DOW DD IP MO NEM PPG PX WY

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Industrials and Transportation
XLI MMM BA CAT EMR FDX GE HON TYC UPS UTX

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Consumer Discretionary Spending
XLY CMCSA EBAY HD LOW MCD NWS TGT TWX VIA.B DIS

022a014.gif


Consumer Staple Spending
XLP MO BUD KO CL KMB PEP PG WMT WAG

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(Consumer) Healthcare
IYH ABT AMGN BMY LLY JNJ MDT MRK PFE UNH WYE

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Financial
XLF AXP AIG BAC C FNM JPM MWD USB WB WFC

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Semiconductor (Technology)
SMH INTC AMAT TXN MU ATML ALTR ADI NSM LLTC XLNX

021a003.gif


Telecom Services
IYZ AT BCE BLS T TDS VZ VOD

021a004.gif


Gas and Electric Utilities
XLU EXC DUK D SO TXU FPL ETR FE AEP PEG

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Posted by Posted by Bill Cara on February 13, 2006 01:36:06 PM | Category: ETF

Discourse

Thanks,

I have done the same thing for almost a year now. I adapted this approach because I am not an experienced investor. Here is the sequence of events.
1. Watch about 30 ETFs.
2. Have an additional portfolios for each ETF that have Strong top rated companies and smaller companies.
3. Attempt to buy ETFs on technical market bottoms and sell on technical market tops….
4. If the move is wrong – not much money lost.
5. If the move is right (ETF making money), open the portfolio and buy the strong stocks, then buy the smaller companies as move gets under way.

Most of this can be automated, if subscribed to a service offering fundamental filters, but it is still huge amounts of work.

Also, Goldman Sachs offers some equal weighted ETFs, like IGM.

I adapted this

Posted by: paul [TypeKey Profile Page] at February 13, 2006 2:57 PM [link]

When I look at description of IGM, I do not see "equal weight" approach.

As of 12/31/2005
Holding % of Total Portfolio
MICROSOFT CORP 8.13
INTEL CORP 6.79
INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP 5.84
CISCO SYSTEMS INC 4.82
HEWLETT-PACKARD CO 3.64
etc.

Posted by: HooHa [TypeKey Profile Page] at February 13, 2006 4:19 PM [link]

I should have said, "a little more equal weight" -- XLK has 11.5 for Microsoft.

But this brings up a question.
Here is the break down of IGM from http://www.ishares.com. Yahoo, Amex and Ishare say something different -- who do we trust? I thought I should trust I-Shares.

8.14 MICROSOFT CORP
5.61 INTEL CORP INTC
5.61 INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORP IBM 5.41 CISCO SYSTEMS INC
3.95 HEWLETT-PACKARD
3.27 DELL INC DELL
3.26 QUALCOMM INC QCOM
2.88 ORACLE CORP ORCL
2.66 GOOGLE INC CLASS A GOOG


Posted by: paul [TypeKey Profile Page] at February 13, 2006 5:55 PM [link]