Part of the ETF marketing machine is launching thematic ETFs with a catchy symbol based on the latest trends. However, not always does the ETF offer exposure to the desired theme as you might think it should. For example, some investing themes may be too narrow and do not have enough established public companies trading in that niche to create a diversified portfolio that provides significant exposure to that theme. Or, the underlying companies held in the ETF may have some, but not significant exposure to the targeted theme. Its not difficult to find the top or even the complete list of holdings in an ETF. ETF provider websites publish current holdings as well as other data on their websites. Morningstar, as well as Yahoo and Google Finance incorporate ETF holdings into their websites. Want to learn more? See “Do You Really Know What’s Inside Your ETF? Probably Not.” at Investors.com.
