Jonathan Liss

Oil price manipulation

Will be interesting to see if they can get around the standard dispute process and work something out between them. May set up a precedent for these sorts of disputes going forward which would be a great step forward imho.

Leveraged ETFs: A Seeking Alpha Expert Panel

Anarchist,

There is no audio transcript - this was a 'written' event only.

Schwab's ETF Innovation

If you look at the advertised Expense Ratios on the new Schwab funds, there's no reason all but possibly the Emerging Markets fund, which is 8 basis points more expensive than Vanguard's, won't quickly amass assets. That being said, it's probably better to let someone else take the plunge first ;-)

Oklahoma State ETF Launches Tomorrow

Thanks Ron - you are correct, this piece was actually submitted yesterday. With volume of over 15,500 shares as of 2:23 p.m., it could be a lot worse (that's what I would have expected).

Seeking Alpha Joins Facebook & Twitter as a Tech Revolution Leader

Thanks Jason, we certainly like to think of ourselves of being members of the elite club you mentioned above. Your continued contributions to SA have certainly enhanced the site's profile and no doubt earned us loyal readers and you loyal followers.

Growth vs. Value: Death of a Paradigm?

This definitely seems like a bit of a rush to judgement. Even those 12-month numbers are significant enough to definitely justify the existence of these products. The fact they're rebalanced formulaically isn't a bad thing - it keeps expenses down vs. an actively managed account or fund.

ETFConnect Is No More

Yes, totally baffling. I will now have to scramble to get overviews of basic ETF information.

DXO Becomes First Victim of CFTC Activity

Gangy,

We should soon have a solution to this problem. In the meantime please report abuse and we'll handle it promptly.

Best,
Jonathan Liss
Seeking Alpha

Wednesday Outlook: Big Brother's House

Where the heck was Morgan and co. to protect their clients during the recent downturn? Now they're suddenly all heavy-handed!

ProShares Launches First-Ever 130/30 Strategy ETF (CSM)

I don't disagree Alex. It will be interesting to see how many assets this product will indeed gather. It did trade 20k shares yesterday which is not bad for the first week out of the gate but far from spectacular.

ProShares Launches First-Ever 130/30 Strategy ETF (CSM)

For purposes of comparison, JFT charges the same 95 basis points charged by CSM, has managed to attract a market cap of just $2.19 million since it's May 2008 inception, on average daily volume of 2,500 shares. In addition, it's down 51% in the recent 12-month period vs. just -28% for the S&P 500 over the same period. YTD, it is up 1%, just 3/4 of a percent more than the S&P 500. So much for Alpha during the current downturn. Similar to CSM, JFT's underlying index is selective through quant methods targeting the 2,500 largest U.S. stocks.

ProShares Launches First-Ever 130/30 Strategy ETF (CSM)

CSM is the first 130/30 ETF. JFT is actually an ETN (i.e. unsecured debt) but you are correct in that I should have mentioned it in the piece for purpose of comparison. Thanks!

10 Reasons Not to Buy Apple

Nice piece. I wonder though, if you don't want to be long Apple, why be long the QQQQ? Its single largest component is Apple, which was 13.31% of its overall portfolio at the end of Monday's trading. If you don't want to be long Apple, then I suggest an alternative tech ETF. XLK, which you mentioned, would be a good alternative based on your argument, with Apple only 7% of its portfolio, behind MSFT, AT&T and IBM.

Also, the QQQQ holds many names that aren't tech companies - it's actually not a tech pure-play at all. Again, this would favor your being long XLK and not QQQQ. Personally, I like QQQQ as an alternative to the S&P 500, with its heavy but not exclusive emphasis on tech, the last thing America still produces and exports the world over.

New MacroShares Up / Down Housing Funds Don't Really Track Case-Shiller

Ron,

Excellent analysis - thanks.

Any idea why the heck MacroShares decided to make these triple leveraged as opposed to just plain tracking funds (or even double leveraged)? Making them 3x funds seems more than a bit extreme considering no comparable fund currently is available to traders/investors.

Seeking Alpha: An Andersonian Free Success Story

Mick,

Excellent piece! I think the newspapers have made the mistake of falling out on Gladwell's side of this argument - they are too tied to the old way of thinking to envision a new one. I'm not saying the Times and Journal should stop paying their reporters... but there are many ways they have failed to make the transition to new media. Not envisioning forms of compensation that are non-monetary for their contributors and communities is one way they have failed big time - now their very survival is at stake.