SPDR S&P Emerging Middle East & Africa ETF (GAF)

All Comments on GAF

  • commenter
    valueinvesto
    r123
    May 31 09:12 PM
    Two Ways To Profit from Frontier Markets [view article]
    There are a few frontier ETF's that are getting ready to be launched. I know Claymore is doing one and there is another (I believe powershares). That Tramx has a high expense ratio which makes me pass on it. Reply
  • commenter
    Richard Kang
    May 31 08:01 PM
    My Website
    ETFs, Commodities and Dubai [view article]
    JKC/PT/JSE: I think we agree that what's happening in Dubai seems to be the similar success story of Hong Kong and Singapore. Doesn't happen too often but like Singapore, there's often a heavy handed ruler in the background. The trick is (as a local) hoping you get a benevolent ruler who's thinking about the survival and long-term success of the nation. Who knows if Kim Jong Il really thinks in his heart that what he's doing is for the best of his country/people. The way I think about it, Abu Dhabi is building their success more through its sovereign wealth fund(s), thus thinking externally, while Dubai is focused more on investing internally. Singapore has a good balance of both having built a truly diversified and cosmopolitan city in addition to its own successful SWFs. The key now is to have more of the Mideast nations follow the Dubai/HK/Singapore model of what is essentially Milton Friedman to the extreme (to your point JKC). I think that the current trend of importing skilled talent with the hopes of developing their own homegrown workforce is key in getting that younger demographic thinking less about jihad and more about real individual, social and national progress. In any case, I agree with PT that the region will regain its former glory. But in my opinion, it won't be for the whole but for the few pockets that follow the Dubai model. And generally, I sense that that will be a small number. But who knows, it took some time but China is getting to be a lot closer to Japan and Korea while holding on to its old, hardline ways of governing. Reply
  • commenter
    kylesch
    May 31 07:50 PM
    ETFs, Commodities and Dubai [view article]
    I was in Dubai in January 2008 and the Gould Souk was alive and bumping...I'm sure it was in a bit of a lull due to the heat.

    It's easy to get caught up in the glitz and glamor there...that's what they're going for. At the Executive Council I remember hearing that they'll run out of most oil in 2017 (Abu Dhabi has much more...) and they're trying to remake their city into a multifaceted hub...brilliant planning and vision if you ask me. You really get to see how quickly a country can grow when it has a leader with a vision and is not bogged down in the slow wheels of democracy (not that democracy is bad...it's just not necessarily optimal for growth when you have a strong, capable leader).

    I think they'll succeed in becoming a transportation hub between Europe and Southeast Asia as well as the de facto financial exchange in the middle east (simply because they have a head start on derivatives). The tourism goals they have are pretty lofty and I doubt they'll meet their internal goals, but who knows.

    I got a chance to go out and stand on the UK island of "The World" as it was being built. Simply amazing.

    It's cool that you got to see Dubai in its infancy. I would encourage anyone who has the chance to visit now. It's not everyday that you get to see the next major metropolis in its infancy.     Reply
  • commenter
    MNSL
    May 31 06:18 PM
    Two Ways To Profit from Frontier Markets [view article]
    This is a good article.

    I think there will be great opportunities in frontier markets time to come especially in Asian frontier markets such as Vietnam, Sri-Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Indonesia.
    Some of these markets trade below P/E rate below 10 now.

    In addition frontier markets such as Peru and Uruguay will do well time to come.


    Reply
  • commenter
    jse17
    May 31 09:55 AM
    ETFs, Commodities and Dubai [view article]
    Post oil’s demise, Dubai will own GE, Vestas, Siemens, Areva, ABB, Fluor, CBI, and other E & Cs living then happily ever after!

    Excellent piece by Mr. Kang with a travelogue better than anything Robin Leach produced. No question, Ontario is glorious in the summer. Lake Muskoka is as close to “heaven” as this no good heathen will ever approach (-:
    Reply
  • commenter
    Bear Stocks
    Report
    May 31 09:31 AM
    My Website
    Two Ways To Profit from Frontier Markets [view article]
    It's interesting to note that while EEB (a BRIC ETF) has rebounded 25.50% since its recent bottom, GAF is up merely 14.43%. In our relative strength ranking of almost 750 ETF's, as of 5/30/08, EEB is ranked at number 53 while GAF is at 154.
     Reply
  • commenter
    paultaut
    May 31 04:05 AM
    ETFs, Commodities and Dubai [view article]
    When they run out of oil?

    You want the Area's rulers to pump more oil so that they can run out of it and resort to goat herding?

    I think they have figured this one out for themselves. They are using more and more internally. They only pump enough to support their growth rates.

    Say what you will, they are renewing the Middle East to its former glory.     Reply
  • commenter
    9988
    May 30 10:08 PM
    Two Ways To Profit from Frontier Markets [view article]
    Fidelity FEMEX mutual fund is already available even though that their website doesn't shown any holdings information (roll eyes) Reply
  • commenter
    JKC1967
    May 30 06:05 PM
    ETFs, Commodities and Dubai [view article]
    I have been to Dubai three times, and can confirm this issue of cheap labor being used and frequently exploited. What needs to be understood about Dubai though is that its already largely diversified its economy out of oil (the vast majority of oil in the UAE is in its sister Emirate Abu Dhabi). Dubai is unadalterated capitalism in its purest form (no income tax for expats either!), and the economic and financial framework put in place by its Government is just brilliant. Reply
  • commenter
    DM226
    May 30 04:30 PM
    Two Ways To Profit from Frontier Markets [view article]
    GAF doesn't give all that much frontier exposure. I do like the ETF but its name can be a bit misleading as you can see below.

    The country weights as of 5/29/08:

    South Africa 54.73%
    Israel - Domestic 21.60%
    Morocco 7.82%
    Egypt 7.28%
    Jordan 4.18%
    Nigeria 1.54%
    Israel - Non Domestic 1.38%
    Bermuda 1.17%
    United States 0.30%     Reply
  • commenter
    Richard Kang
    May 30 03:00 PM
    My Website
    ETFs, Commodities and Dubai [view article]
    DW: Mutual funds just aren't a part of what I do but I'm sure there are also CEFs and other instruments that have adequate coverage of the region with a variety of performance histories. I'm not sure if I see the dress on ETFs to be as sexy and posh as you see them ... I've always thought of them as boring power tools for building a sturdy deck. Mutual funds are the ones with managers saying stuff like "I buy good stocks and sell shit stocks". Yeah, that's posh. But if you think the region is relatively inefficient with relatively few market participants and with a wider array of opportunities, why not go full blown hedge fund?
    Still, DW, I tend to lean a bit more towards your comments over JL's over Dubai. The region is a hodgepodge of basket cases with a few success stories hidden within. The diversification of Dubai beyond oil seems to be well into place and should lead down a path similar to Hong Kong and Singapore. My guess is that by the time oil tanks in a serious, long-term manner, Dubai and its masterplan will be fine. The comments above regarding the treatment of labor are certainly disconcerting and the images I saw won't be soon forgotten.     Reply
  • commenter
    John Egan
    May 30 02:54 PM
    Two Ways To Profit from Frontier Markets [view article]
    And the large producers are busy buying back their own shares at a greater rate than in the past rather than re-investing.. Thx jegan Reply
  • commenter
    DaveW
    May 30 02:42 PM
    ETFs, Commodities and Dubai [view article]
    It absolutely stymies me why people ignore T. Rowe Price's Africa & Middle East fund (TRAMX) when talking about investing in this region?? Mutual funds may be a 'ho-hum' investment tool, not sexy like ETFs, but this has been a money making machine since it's inception Sept. '07, low correlation with western markets and huge growth potential. Until the sexy and posh ETF-equivalent comes to market you go ahead and with GAF, I'll stick with TRAMX.

    J.L.: I understand your sentiment and you do have to follow your own moral calling when investing. But this region is westernizing and lacks fundamental extremists. I say let Dubai, U.A.E., Qatar, etc. stand as a beacons of light and forward progress for other M.E. countries to follow. In the meantime, I'm going to ride this one up until oil's eventual demand destruction, years from now...     Reply
  • commenter
    James Levy
    May 30 11:26 AM
    ETFs, Commodities and Dubai [view article]
    The great thing about Canada as compared to Dubai is NOT the weather...It the rule of law, democracy, separation of powers and religious freedom. All of these are missing in Dubai, and the rest of the Arab world. Dubai is an enormous bubble. When the petroleum age finally ends, they will go back to smuggling and goat herding, where they began. Nothing more is possible in a dictatorial regime which is run essentially on imported slave labor.
    Reply
  • commenter
    zenalgorithm
    May 30 07:26 AM
    ETFs, Commodities and Dubai [view article]
    The workers in Dubai are almost like the Pyramids' workers:
    seattletimes.nwsource....     Reply
Loading...
Symbols:
Authors:
Quick Links: